How To Deploy Sustainable Green Solutions without Compromising Security
For physical security professionals, ensuring that a site’s security program (physical systems, people and procedures) achieves its goal of reducing risk and protecting assets is of primary importance. Traditionally, this means juggling operational and budgetary concerns against defensive capabilities. However, as organizations increasingly integrate Triple Bottom Line (TPL) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into their daily decision-making, security departments must adapt.
This article looks at how the smart deployment of security technologies can meet security goals while having a direct, measurable, and positive impact in the pursuit of sustainable solutions.
Strategic Security Lighting
Proper site illumination as a deterrent against criminal activity is a widely accepted tenet in the security industry. It also has an important role in surveillance, operations and personal safety. However, adding security lighting involves installation, electrical consumption, and maintenance costs. For sites adjacent to residential or sensitive wildlife areas, light pollution is also a concern.
Fortunately, the use of purpose-built LED-based lighting can help limit costs and light pollution while still performing its security function. Intelligent perimeter-based lighting like the Senstar LM100 combines targeted illumination along the fence line with built-in intrusion detection capabilities.
The Senstar LM100’s directed coverage efficiently illuminates the perimeter while limiting light trespass.
- Detects and locates intrusions, with options to increase intensity or strobe lighting at specific locations or zones when an intrusion is detected, in addition to triggering site alarms.
- Its unique targeted coverage pattern and color options minimizes light trespass, making the luminaires International Dark Sky (IDA) compliant.
- In terms of a return on investment (ROI), the Senstar LM100 provides substantial savings when compared to other security lighting technologies.
Covert, Vegetation-Friendly Solutions
For sites where maintaining visual aesthetics and existing vegetation is required, buried covert sensors may be an option. Intrusion detection sensors like OmniTrax can be deployed with minimal disruption to the surrounding area and are not affected by above ground vegetation like grass, bushes or trees. In these scenarios, the sensors can trigger alarms within the security operations center (SOC), with the precise intrusion location being displayed in the video or security management system (SMS/VMS).
The covert OmniTrax buried sensor is effective and maintains site aesthetics.
Reduced Perimeter Visits
The deployment of high-performance intrusion detection technology along the perimeter can reduce the frequency of trips to the perimeter while maintaining or increasing security capabilities:
- Avoid unnecessary visits to the perimeter by reducing or eliminating nuisance alarms via the deployment of new technologies like EDAPT and sensor fusion. Depending on the size of the perimeter, this could lower fuel costs as well as free up human resources.
- Leverage fence sensor data to quickly detect, locate and repair fence issues such as loose or damaged fence fabric, both of which lower its effectiveness as a security barrier.
- Use exported alarm data from security management systems (SMS) as a quantitative metric for measuring project and security initiative results.
Reduced e-Waste
An often-overlooked aspect of security technology solutions is e-waste. While all technology eventually enters an obsolescence phase, with proper planning and the selection of a reputable, experienced vendor, e-waste may be minimized and deployed systems can be expected to have extended lifespans.
- The Senstar Symphony access control software supports HID iClass Seos cards, which are available in sustainable bamboo-based materials.
- Senstar fence sensor products are designed for extended service lives and include no-cost extended warranties for up to 5 years. The FiberPatrol sensor uses telecom-grade cables, which have a 25+ year service life.
For More Information
Senstar has been securing critical infrastructure and facilities for over 40 years. The depth and breadth of our institutional knowledge, reflected in our comprehensive portfolio and innovative technologies, enables us to offer solutions that solve the security challenges faced at facilities of all sizes. For information on how Senstar can help secure your facility, contact your local representative.