Raytec IR Lighting Technology Spotlights Spanish Historic Site

Raytec IR lighting technology is being used to improve security and safety at Malaga Cathedral, on Spain's Costa del Sol. The baroque cathedral is one of the city's main tourist attractions and is situated close to a number of other historic buildings in the city center.

When planners decided to improve surveillance at the site with a new surveillance system, the system should be designed so that it would have minimal visual impact. The use of IR lighting was a key part of the solution. “Lighting is an essential ingredient for surveillance systems. Without adequate lighting at night the images will be grainy and substandard,” said David Lambert, Director of Sales and Marketing, Raytec. “But in tourist areas it may not be acceptable to have much or additional visible lighting which may detract from the ambience of the scene.”

To solve the problem, the IR units were chosen because they don't cause light pollution and allow high performance images to be seen at night. “As the light from the illuminators is invisible to the human eye, they increase security around Malaga Cathedral without detracting from the character of the building, and their neat look fits in well within the architecturally sensitive environment” e Lambert said.