25 February 2021 - Lara Velasco
Featured in: Product information and OPTEX tech tips, Product bulletin, Intrusion detection
Most outdoor intrusion sensors on the market provide up to 90 degree detection angle and within our own portfolio, our 90 degree outdoor PIR and dual tech sensors rank as the best-selling series. While for many applications, a 90 degree sensor provides exactly what it requested there are a number of other applications in which a wider angle sensor is better suited.
What do we consider as wide-angle sensors?
Sensors with an angle greater than 90 degrees are classified as wide angle. Our OPTEX PIR offering includes series with 120 and 180 degree field of view and detection range up to 12m.
- 120 degree angle QXI series: all-round outdoor detector with a sleek and compact design, that can be installed up from 2.2 m to 2.7m. In low mount installations (0.8 – 1.2m) it creates a pet alley, ideal to avoid false alarms due to pets or small animals.
- 180 degree angle WXI series: flexible panoramic detector that features two completely independent 90 degree detection areas, allowing customisable settings and detection range per zone. WXI is a low mount sensor (0.8 – 1.2m).
- 180 degree angle WXS series: part of our flagship Shield series, WXS offers panoramic flexible detection with two completely independent 90 degree detection areas. As well as low mount (0.8 – 1.2m), WXS can be installed high mount at 2m, with a fixed detection area of 9m.
Key benefits of wide-angle sensors
- Wider coverage, less sensors: OPTEX’s wide-angle detectors were developed to protect extensive spaces while reducing the number of sensors needed and therefore reducing the time spent by the installer on site.
- Wide-angle detectors to trigger visual verification: Our wide-angle detectors can be easily connected to PTZ cameras to send visual alarms when people are approaching the home or building. Our WX series includes two independent detection areas (left/right) with independent alarm outputs, which is ideal to guide the camera to move left or right looking at that particular area where the intrusion has been detected.
When to consider a wide-angle detector?
Wide angle detectors are extremely versatile and can be useful in a number of external spaces surrounding homes, office buildings or retail locations.
Gardens, patios and driveways
Mounted on the building’s wall, wide-angle detectors can fully cover a whole side of the garden or a full driveway providing early detection of intruders. All of our wide-angle detectors are digital sensors and feature OPTEX’s unique SMDA (Super Multi-Dimensional Analysis) logic to differentiate signal generated by moving people and/ or vehicles from the ones generated by other environment conditions. This intelligence makes the sensor very stable in outdoor environment even in adverse weather conditions. One further key benefit of our wide-angle intrusion sensors is the small animal tolerance, avoiding nuisance alarms from small to medium sized pets and wildlife.
In all of our wide-angle detectors it is possible to customise the area of detection and mask areas which could generate nuisance alarms, such as objects reflecting heat.
Flat roof protection
Our panoramic detectors are also designed to be mounted on top of buildings and provide full-coverage protection for flat roofs. They can be installed on poles or mounted on shared walls with other premises triggering the alarm if there is a person on the roof. This can be particularly useful in the case of flat roofs with windows or skylights which can provide easy access into the building if unprotected.
All of our wide-angle detection series include battery-operated models which can be easily installed if cabling or drilling on a wall is not an option.
