Very rarely do we encounter a product so revolutionary that you can't help but be amazed. Here at HIDEAWAYS magazine we were recently sent a home flame detection device product for review that absolutely astounded our team. Eye Deteket is a flame detection product from Forge Technologies based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This flame detector was designed to detect flames where flames should never be.
Created by a pioneering group of experts in science and fire detection technology, Eye Detekt stands out as the sole product of its type available currently. Engineered to identify open flames, Eye Detekt reacts immediately to any fire, providing rapid alerts that can help avert catastrophic fires.
Each year, thousands of home fires are caused by children, with over half starting in bedrooms. Eye Detekt is designed to address this issue by immediately sounding a loud alarm and sending a push notification to your smartphone as soon as a child ignites a match, pinpointing the exact location of the fire. In fire emergencies, every second matters, and Eye Detekt ensures you’re alerted to flames instantly, helping to prevent dangerous fires before they escalate.
Unlike traditional smoke alarms that detect combustion particles (smoke) that must enter the alarm’s sensing chamber to trigger a response, Eye Detekt offers a more proactive approach. It continuously scans for ultraviolet light emitted by flames. As soon as a flame is detected, you receive an alert. The system is straightforward and effective in keeping your home safe.
Eye Detekt is designed to complement, not replace, traditional smoke detectors. While smoke detectors have long been a staple in fire safety, their technology has remained largely unchanged. Eye Detekt, however, introduces a new level of fire detection capability by operating at the speed of light—186,000 miles per second. This rapid detection significantly enhances the response time to a fire compared to conventional smoke detectors.
In practical fire scenarios, Eye Detekt consistently outperformed six leading smoke detector models, providing early detection, alerting, and notifications far sooner. In some tests, Eye Detekt detected fires and triggered alarms over five minutes before any of the smoke detectors, with some even failing to activate at all. This performance highlights Eye Detekt's potential to drastically improve fire response times.
The Eye Detekt flame detector can identify a flame measuring ¾” from a distance of 20 feet in two seconds or less. It is recommended for use in every area of your home where you want to prevent the presence of flames. Unlike smoke detectors, which can often be triggered by dust, insects, steam, or cooking fumes, Eye Detekt is less prone to false alarms.
In addition to its advanced flame detection capabilities, Eye Detekt offers several other features:
This innovative flame detector represents a significant advancement in home fire safety.
Modern fire protection in homes heavily relies on smoke detection, a method that has remained largely unchanged for over 60 years. Traditionally, smoke detectors use either ionization or photoelectric technology, or a combination of both, to identify smoke. These systems depend on smoke particles traveling from the fire source to the ceiling and then into the detector’s housing. Once inside, the smoke must reach the internal sensor, causing a change that triggers an alarm.
Given that 98% of homes are equipped with smoke detectors, you're likely familiar with these devices. However, the process of detecting smoke with these technologies raises several uncertainties, such as:
Adding to the complexity, most smoke detectors have directional sensitivity, meaning that smoke entering from one angle might be detected more swiftly than from another. With these unanswered questions and the increasing number of fire-related deaths in the U.S., despite widespread use of smoke detectors, it's clear that a faster and more reliable method of fire detection is needed.
For clarity, while the industry terms these devices as smoke alarms, we use "smoke detectors" here for ease of understanding, as the distinction is not crucial for this discussion.
The emission of UVC light from a flame is extremely faint, around one trillionth the strength of visible light, necessitating the use of a specialized UV sensor for detection. The Eye Detekt sensor is designed to detect UVC photons individually while ignoring other wavelengths. It leverages the Photo-Electric Effect, wherein photons with very short wavelengths can release electrons from a metallic cathode, whereas longer wavelengths cannot.
In the Eye Detekt sensor, the cathode and anode are separated by a gap of less than a millimeter and are subjected to several hundred volts. This high voltage quickly accelerates the electrons freed by the Photo-Electric Effect towards the anode. The sensor components are encased in a UV-transparent glass tube that has been evacuated and then filled with a low-pressure gas like neon. As the freed electrons approach the anode, they collide with neon atoms, causing the atoms to ionize and release additional electrons. This multiplication effect produces a surge of electrons headed for the anode.
When these electrons reach the anode, they create a conductive path between the anode and cathode, allowing a substantial electric current to flow from a storage capacitor through the sensor and into the pulse detection circuit. This current discharges the storage capacitor, causing a drop in voltage between the electrodes and stopping the current flow. Consequently, a single UVC photon results in a distinct current pulse that can be measured. After each detection, the Eye Detekt sensor needs to have its storage capacitor recharged before it can detect another photon. By repeating this process, the UVC light exposure is translated into a series of electrical pulses, with the frequency of these pulses reflecting the intensity of the UVC light.