by Shane Henson — October 28, 2013—The uncooled thermal security camera market is forecast to see high unit shipment growth of 25 percent over the next five years, close to twice the rate of the CCTV (closed-circuit television) and video surveillance market. This high unit growth is being caused by steep declines in average selling prices, which means thermal cameras are more appealing to the commercial security sector, according to new research from IHS Inc., a global information company specializing in energy, economics, geopolitical risk, sustainability, and supply chain management.
Uncooled thermal cameras reportedly lend themselves well to the commercial security market. They are able to see in complete darkness, cover wide areas, are not affected by bad weather conditions or altering light conditions, and are well suited to video analytics. Despite this, in previous years, uncooled thermal cameras were considered to be too expensive, and saw limited impact within the commercial security market.
However, IHS says that some companies have reported price drops in excess of 20 percent in recent years, and that this continued price decline is expected to make these products more inviting to the commercial security market. Two major reasons for the price decline that the industry is currently experiencing are increased competition and new technology developments, said Oliver Philippou, a market analyst for video surveillance at IHS.
IHS also expects increased competition from new manufacturers entering the thermal market to impact prices. Traditional visible light camera manufacturers are expected to have new and renewed interest in the uncooled thermal camera market within the next 18 to 24 months. This will allow these manufacturers to offer total video surveillance solutions on large-scale projects.
IHS also notes that some companies are expanding their product range, and have begun to offer lower priced entry-level products. These entry-level products would have lower specifications than some current products and are expected to be used to target new end-user markets that are not currently being serviced by thermal cameras.
As operations in Iraq and Afghanistan reduced and exit strategies were put in place by the various allied forces, government funding for uncooled thermal cameras for military applications has slowed, leaving manufacturing capacity in excess of military market demand. According to IHS, this has caused companies such as DRS Technologies and MOOG, which have strong military connections, to offer much less expensive thermal cameras to the commercial security market. This in turn has thrown a new dynamic on the pricing structure of the thermal market.
For further information on the uncooled thermal camera market, read IHS’s report Thermal Imaging Cameras in Security Applications — World – 2013.
