Early Fire Detection:
PROTECTING POWER GRIDS & KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON
Automated thermal monitoring brings early fire detection and continuous condition monitoring insights to major Irish power station
In power stations, where a fire can trigger a grid shutdown, the need for early fire detection isn’t just a matter of efficiency: it’s an essential part of national stability.
This reality was made starkly visible during the April 2025 blackouts in Spain and Portugal, which left millions without power, disrupted hospitals and rail systems, and sent shockwaves through Europe’s energy sector.
While the root cause remains under investigation, the cascading effects of a single grid failure reignited urgent questions around energy infrastructure resilience and underscored the dangers of inadequate detection systems.
Flir A500f/A700f Advanced Smart Sensor camera mounted for fixed monitoring at power station.
Overcoming Problematic Failure Points
The utility sector and its suppliers are actively seeking new ways to address the failure points that led to the catastrophic blackouts.
In Ireland, the country's leading energy provider—ESB Energy—is working with integrator, Butler Technologies, to deploy a cutting-edge end-to-end thermal monitoring system.
This solution combines Flir thermal imaging cameras with Flir Latitude Video Management Software to provide real-time alerts, enhance engineer responsiveness, and help futureproof energy infrastructure as it transitions to green power.
Thermal imagery from the Flir cameras, processed through Latitude, shows 24/7 monitoring for anomalies on a burner with multiple alarms.
A shut-down triggered by fire could affect up to 25% of Ireland's electricity supply.
On Ireland’s rugged west coast, Moneypoint Power Station—a legacy site refitted to operate as an oil-burning plant—is now setting a new benchmark for safety and resilience. With a fully integrated thermal monitoring system in place, the site is changing how critical assets are managed. It is delivering round-the-clock visibility, precise early fire detection, and actionable condition monitoring insights.
In an energy landscape where experts now warn that grid fragility could lead to repeat scenarios of international disruption, this Irish installation offers a timely case study in how intelligent monitoring can stop local issues from becoming continental catastrophes.
This installation, led by ESB and Butler using Flir thermography, is the first of its kind within Ireland’s national grid. Its impact is already clear. It is reducing risk, protecting uptime, and laying the foundation for a more stable transition to renewable energy. It offers a working model for the next generation of energy infrastructure.
This thermal image shows high heat readings in burner zones B5 and B6 with Flir alerts triggered in real-time.
A handheld thermal inspection at an electric power facility.
Flir interface displaying triggered thermal alarms for burners B1 and B2 to support rapid shutdowns.
From Delayed Responses to Immediate Alerts
Before automation, thermal inspections at the site were entirely manual. Engineers performed weekly walkdowns using handheld cameras, often capturing images and compiling reports long after any anomalies may have occurred. This meant that critical alerts were delayed, and fire risks could linger undetected for days.
That’s now changed dramatically.
With fixed thermal cameras continuously monitoring high-risk areas, the system now delivers sub-second response times, providing automated alerts the moment abnormal temperatures appear.
In safety-critical environments, such as turbine halls or substations, this swiftness can be the difference between a routine fix and a grid-threatening event.
In light of the Iberian Peninsula outages, where a single transmission fault reportedly triggered widespread failures, this kind of proactive defense isn’t just prudent: it’s essential.
In fact, the solution has already helped demonstrate the capability to initiate plant shutdowns within 15 seconds of fire detection—a key requirement for preventing cascade failures that could disrupt almost half of Ireland’s grid. It offers a critical redundancy, bolstering the system’s capacity when it is overworked, overloaded, or simply undergoing necessary maintenance.
Granular Data & Definitive Deltas: Condition Monitoring Without the Guesswork
Beyond fire detection, the system provides always-on insight into asset health. Cameras monitor components such as transformers, cabling, and valve actuators, which detect changes in heat signatures that may signal wear, stress, or failure risk.
With more than 16,000 reference points per image, these thermal feeds offer far more granular data than traditional sensors or manual inspections. Engineers on-site no longer need to rely on scheduled walkarounds or visual estimates. Instead, they receive real-time alerts, thermal imagery, and exact location data; enabling fast, informed decisions without needing to interpret temperature deltas by eye.
In fact, the site has now ordered more cameras to build into the success of this new system and with the learning that has come from the project, it has pushed Butler Technologies to develop a new application for ESB Energy shift managers to receive push notifications via SMS, email and though the app - for seamless cross-platform monitoring.
As John Free, Senior Account Manager at Butler Technologies describes it, the shift is not about usurping skilled laborers: it's about enhancing their work.
“This isn’t about replacing engineers. It’s about empowering them," he explains. "With fewer hands on deck, this system becomes an extra set of eyes they can trust.”
Thermal reading with accurate temperature tracking on burner 15 for B15/B16 zones.
Flir view displaying tracking points and alarm status within B15/B16 sections.
An Integrated and Intuitive Industry First
One of the strongest advantages of the system lies in its end-to-end design. Butler Technologies deployed fixed thermal imaging, back-end software, and user interface as a unified solution. This enabled a seamless integration into the ESB Energy site’s existing video management system.
Multiview thermal and visible feed display in Flir Latitude.
Alarms are instantly visible through the centralized platform. If triggered, thermal zones automatically expand onscreen, directing operators precisely where to look and act.
Critically, thanks to the fully native architecture, there’s no third-party hardware to maintain or troubleshoot. The system features both Flir A500f Advanced Smart Sensor and Flir A70 thermal imaging cameras, but ESB technicians plan to scale the system to include pan-tilt devices as the station prepares to onboard next-generation infrastructure, including cloud-based monitoring and AI-driven anomaly detection.
Built for Today, Primed for Tomorrow’s Ever-More Ambitious Applications
While the station continues to operate as an oil-fired facility for now, it also serves as the national test site for upcoming renewable energy initiatives, which include offshore wind. That future-facing mission required a monitoring solution that could evolve alongside it and better fit with Ireland’s green energy grid. The system is already supporting exploratory work on advanced AI applications, which include using visual monitoring to confirm valve positions or track operational trends across thermal patterns. These insights could help pave the way for predictive maintenance, remote inspections, and safer operations at scale.
Flir Latitude interface presenting system alarms, snapshots, and operator controls for efficient response.
Live thermal monitoring of burners 15 and 16 with max temperature tracking and historical trends.
Immediate Gains for Ireland’s Grid
As national grids face increasing pressure to modernize, projects such as this demonstrate how thermal automation can deliver immediate gains in safety and reliability while laying the groundwork for smarter, greener energy systems.
As the first station in Ireland to implement such a comprehensive monitoring solution, Moneypoint Power Station is a powerful showcase for how thermal vision can protect assets, accelerate response times, and help keep the lights on for everyone. It's also become a huge talking point within ESB Energy, which plans to further hone its use of EFD systems and, if they prove successful, begin rolling them out to more than 500 substations across the country. As for Butler Technologies, it's taking lessons learned at Moneypoint Power Station and moving forward to create new builds for other European electric power substations.
Early Fire Detection for the Forestry Industry
Forest product facilities are some of the most fire-prone environments in modern industry: with dust-heavy conditions, resin build-up, fluctuating airflows, and outdoor exposure all adding to the risk of ignition.
Click below to see how Flir thermal sensor systems provide early fire detection to help protect forestry infrastructure and improve uptime.
