What is visibility?

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What is visibility in security fog?

When evaluating a fog cannon, one important performance factors is visibility – but what does that mean, and why is it important?

Visibility refers to how far you can see in a room filled with fog. The lower the visibility, the denser the fog, making it harder for intruders to see, move, or act. In short, lower visibility means better protection.

To measure visibility, we use a simple but effective method:

You place a visibility marker – like a sign with a black cross – at a specific distance (e.g., 1 meter). Then, you activate the fog cannon. When the fog becomes so dense that the cross is barely visible, you’ve reached that level of visibility.

This method helps us determine how quickly a fog cannon can fill a room to a point where vision is severely impaired.

Why PROTECT uses 1-meter visibility

With the introduction of the PROTECT M80™ and PROTECT M90™ last year, we started using 1-meter visibility as our standard when describing and calculating fog output.

This change reflects both advancements in our technology, thus moving away from the old measurement method used for previous models.

This standard also ensures full alignment with EN 50131-8:2019, the European norm that defines how fog security systems should perform. By meeting these requirements, our fog cannons deliver not only strong protection but also legal and regulatory assurance — critical for businesses and institutions alike.

Better Security

At 1-meter visibility, the fog is dense enough to immediately disrupt intruders. The ability to fill a room to this level quickly is essential – it gives burglars little or no chance to act, and helps prevent theft, damage, and harm.

The fog output for the PROTECT M80 and PROTECT M90 is measured according to the updated 1-meter visibility standard, which applies a more stringent threshold for defining low visibility.

Easier room dimensioning with IntelliSuite 2

One major advantage of the 1-meter visibility approach is that it simplifies how fog cannons are selected and configured.

With our new IntelliSuite 2 setup tool, you no longer need to think about fog output figures or complicated settings. Instead, you just enter the size of the room and choose to reach 1-meter visibility.

Advancements in technology have led to the optimization and improvement of our measurement methods, so that we achieve as accurate figures as possible. This contributes to better fog dimensioning of the room, ensuring they always receive the right amount of fog.

The system automatically calculates and adjusts the fog release to ensure optimal coverage. This gives installers peace of mind, saves time, and guarantees the best level of security.

It’s about more than just output

While fog volume is still important, it should always be considered in context. The key question is not just “how much fog does it produce?” but rather “how effectively does it reduce visibility and stop intruders?”

Our new fog cannons deliver on both counts — not only releasing the right volume of fog but doing it faster and more efficiently.

Beyond fog output, ease of installation is a key factor when choosing a fog cannon. With the new PROTECT M80 and PROTECT M90, you get both: powerful performance and faster installation. For many installers, quick and simple setup can be just as important—sometimes even more – than fog output.