FLIR Systems has announced the ThermaCAM GasFindIR-LW infrared camera. Based on a patent-pending technology, the GasFindIR-LW can detect SF6, the colorless, odorless, nontoxic, and nonflammable “greenhouse gas” that is used as an insulator in high-voltage equipment. SF6, although considered to be an excellent dielectric gas, has been targeted for emissions reductions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because pound for pound, Sulfur Hexafluoride contributes more to the greenhouse effect than any other gas.

In fact, one pound of SF6 has the same global warming impact of 11 tons of CO2. It has 23,900 times the global warming potential of CO2 and has an atmospheric lifetime of 3,200 years. Together, the EPA and many of the major utilities companies are working to find ways to better control SF6 emissions to help to preserve the earth.

FLIR’s revolutionary GasFindIR-LW is lightweight, ergonomic, and easy to operate. It weighs only 4.6 pounds and is powered by a camcorder battery. The GasFindIR-LW enables thermographers to find SF6 gas leaks up to hundreds of feet away quickly and easily. Capable of scanning large areas, the GasFindIR-LW delivers real-time, high resolution thermal images of gas leaks that can be displayed on a standard TV or recorded digitally using the latest real time digital recording technology.

“I believe electric utilities are just as anxious to find these problems as the environmental enforcement community. Until now, they have not had the right tool to quickly localize leaks and assess their severity,” said Tom Scanlon, vice president for FLIR Systems. “Utilities now have that tool and can take the corrective actions necessary to quickly decrease their SF6 emissions.”

The unique GasFindIR-LW camera can detect more than 20 other gases in addition to SF6. These gases include: Acetylchloride, Allyl Bromide, Allyl Chloride, Allyl Fluoride, 1,3-Butadiene, Ethylene, Freon 11, Freon 12, Freon 112, Freon 113, Freon 114, Methylsilane, Methyl Vinyl Ketone, Methyl Vinyl Ether, Propenal, Propene, Styrene, Trichloroethylene, Vinyl Chloride, Vinyl Ether, and Vinylidene Fluoride.

FLIR’s GasFindIR-LW camera is expected to be in full production by Summer 2007.