Lighting specialists Raytec have provided energy and cost saving LED illuminators to increase security and deter crime for a not-for-profit housing charity in NJ, USA.
Lighting specialists Raytec have provided energy and cost saving LED illuminators to increase security and deter crime for a not-for-profit housing charity in NJ, USA.
‘Habitat for Humanity', a not-for-profit, international housing development charity, approached specialist network integrator MTS Intelligent Surveillance, and asked them to design and install a surveillance system to improve security at their facilities in NJ, USA. They particularly wanted to improve their CCTV lighting and upgrade from their old costly sodium lighting to an efficient LED solution. Having trialled several solutions, MTS found Raytec lighting to be the clear winner.
‘Habitat for Humanity' creates affordable housing which is built by volunteers. This makes the final price of the housing much lower, helping individuals to qualify for a mortgage who would not otherwise be in the position to buy their own home. ‘Habitat for Humanity' raises money for the cause by selling household items donated by local companies and individuals in ‘ReStore' stores.
Unfortunately, the ‘ReStore' stores sometimes appear in less than desirable locations. ‘Habitat for Humanity' felt that a dedicated CCTV lighting system would help secure the area, protect volunteers and patrons, and help reduce crime.
Rob Merchant, President of MTS, comments on the installation, “I didn't hesitate to recommend Raytec lighting to the Director and General Contractor responsible for renovating the facility. We had previously used Raytec and achieved great results. The Raytec lighting was so easy to work with and very simple to install and adjust, and the low voltage wiring further saves on costs”.
Discounted to cost price, the new purpose designed CCTV illuminators from Raytec helped to improve security during the hours of darkness. Installed alongside new light sensitive cameras, the White-Light LED illuminators deliver a bright, white, even spread of light. This not only helps the CCTV system to generate excellent video footage, but provides a safe and well lit area designed to deter crime.
The previous low pressure sodium lighting was not suitable for the high security requirements and was very costly to operate. It produced a dull, orange glow and an uneven spread of light, resulting in dark areas which were unsafe for people and realistically unusable for CCTV. By nature, sodium lighting is also highly unreliable with a short life and high rate of failure, and often leads to big maintenance and replacement costs for the user.
Since ‘Habitat for Humanity' has to pay the utility bills for the site, they also saw the energy and cost saving benefit in switching over to LED illuminators. All Raytec illuminators provide a long ten year life, have an extremely low power consumption and low running costs, and also require zero maintenance. This has allowed ‘Habitat for Humanity' to make significant savings compared to the traditional sodium lighting.
Rob Merchant comments further. “I am a complete fan of LED solutions, and I believe that they are a necessity for surveillance instead of generic style lighting. They have a very small footprint and are extremely cost effective. Raytec LED illuminators have the right capabilities at the right price and are specifically engineered for surveillance”.