Teledyne FLIR has landed an industry-first UL 2684 listing for its A40 and A70 (Axx-Series) thermal imaging cameras, officially clearing the hardware for use as fire detectors under the joint US-Canadian standard.
Teledyne FLIR Secures Industry-First UL Certification for Thermal Fire Detection Cameras
The certification arrives at a critical time for engineers designing high-density energy environments, such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), massive data centers, and EV charging hubs. Starting with its 2025 edition, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (NFPA 72) requires thermal fire detection systems to be explicitly listed for that purpose.
Shifting from Reaction to Prevention
Conventional smoke and heat detectors rely on combustion—they react to a fire that is already burning. In a modern data hall or a covered charging structure, high-velocity airflow often dilutes and disperses smoke before it ever reaches a ceiling-mounted sensor, fatally delaying the alarm.
FLIR’s Axx-Series bypasses this by monitoring the actual temperature of the asset itself before a fire can spark.
Operators can draw measurement areas over a live image, with the camera tracking the minimum, average, and maximum temperatures. The system can trigger based on absolute limits or, more practically, the rate of temperature rise. A machine running at a normal, steady heat won’t set off the system, but an abnormal temperature spike on a specific EV cable, solar combiner box, or data center busbar joint acts as an immediate early warning.
Because the analytical processing happens at the edge, directly on the camera, alarms aren’t delayed by server wait times or network lag. When a threshold is crossed, the camera instantly integrates with existing fire alarm control panels and sends an integrated visible-light image so operators can verify the hazard before stopping a production line.
Closing the Compliance Gap in APAC
While the UL 2684 listing is a North American standard, its impact is global. Throughout the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, rapid investments in automated manufacturing and rooftop solar are outpacing local regulations, leaving most APAC markets without a dedicated standard for thermal fire detection.
By relying on NFPA and UL benchmarks, this new listing provides fire engineers, insurers, and facility owners an independently evaluated standard. It strengthens performance-based design approvals—such as those required by Australia’s National Construction Code or Singapore’s Civil Defence Force—moving beyond a manufacturer’s own test data.
Ultimately, the technology shifts fire protection into the realm of preventative maintenance. Instead of evacuating a facility or writing off a battery container, operators can pinpoint and isolate a single overheating rack or connector before disaster strikes.
Leadership Comment
“Fire engineers across Asia-Pacific have been asked to evaluate this technology without a product standard to point to,” said Matthew Hasty, Global Vertical Director for Science, Automation, and Early Fire Detection at Teledyne FLIR. “The UL 2684 listing changes that. Performance-based submissions across the region now have independent, standard-based evidence behind them, and that is what owners, insurers, and consultants have been asking us for.”
To Know More About Axx-Series Thermal Imaging Cameras And Teledyne FLIR Early Fire Detection Solutions, CLICK HERE
