100 Years of Experience Creates the Latest in IR Sensor Technology

For more than 100 years, Oldham from Industrial Scientific has specialised in safety and more particularly in gas and fire detection. The company offers a wide range of single gas and multigas portable detectors, fixed transmitters and controllers. Their products are always application-driven and solution-oriented. Whether for a single application or multiple rooms and areas, our monitoring solutions have been developed to meet the unique needs of our customers.

Oldham’s Research and Development department designs equipment that meets the latest international standards. They are dedicated to developing gas sensors, detectors and control units that meet or exceed these requirements.

The company’s latest fixed monitoring solution combines the OLCT100, OLCT80 and OLCT60 gas detectors with the XP IR infrared sensor. This completes the Oldham line of fixed systems.

This new patented IR sensor from Oldham makes the OLCT100 XP IR one of the best and most reliable infrared detectors on the market. Infrared detection technology offers significant advantages when compared to catalytic detectors:

This sensor offers fail safe technology: optical detectors continuously control the intensity of infrared light sources. This intensity is maximal in the absence of gas, so any decrease in intensity will indicate that gas is present! XP IR requires far less maintenance than competing sensors, it is also immune to poisons, has a very long life expectancy and can operate in oxygen deficient atmospheres.

The OLCT100 XP IR was also developed to conform to the safety standards IEC 61508 and EN 50402. This means that the complete component design process has been analysed, verified and validated (including specifications definition, design methods, design tools, testing methods, review techniques and documentation).

As a result, the OLCT100 XP IR is SIL 2 certified according to IEC 61508 / to EN 50402 (EN 50502 is an European derivative standard from the generic IEC 61508: Electrical apparatus for the detection and measurement of combustible or toxic gases or vapours or of oxygen – Requirements on the functional safety of fixed gas detection systems). And, its Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD) is 0.35 10-3 with a yearly interval maintenance test.

With a century of expertise behind them, Oldham offers a wide variety of other helpful support services. Their highly professional, yet friendly, staff are always on hand to answer whatever technical questions you may have.