The COP-R-LOCK detects thefts and sounds an alarm
A new tool is available to help farmers protect their operations from copper thefts and other crimes.
The COP-R-LOCK system allows users or electricians to retrofit any electrical panel or conduit with a sacrificial wire in about 30 minutes.
“It’s not your heavy gauge wire, it’s a small little wire,” Nathan Rosenberg, founder and CEO of Farmblox, which lets farmers build customized automation systems by connecting sensors to an app, told Farms.com. “If that wire gets cut, an alarm goes off.”
Copper wire from any hardware store can be used with COP-R-LOCK, Rosenberg said.
The wire plugs into a transmission box equipped with a trigger sensor.
“The idea is for every conduit, we recommend you put a wire on the inside of it and use PVC tape on the wire on the outside,” Rozenberg said.
Copper theft is a significant issue in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates copper thefts cost American businesses more than $1 billion each year.
For farm operations, it’s not necessarily the copper theft that’s the issue.
“It may only be a few hundred dollars of copper but it’s thousands of dollars in damages to equipment,” Rosenberg said. “The biggest problem is having to dig up the conduit and put the copper back in. Now at worst a thief may only be able to cut halfway through, if that.”
The system includes a bay station to which users plug in a light and siren – the same siren U.S. police departments use.
Each bay station has a range of up to 5 miles (8km) and can communicate wirelessly with up to 10,000 sensors.
Wherever a farmer feels he or she needs protection, the COP-R-LOCK system can be installed.
“We’ve had growers put it through chain link fencing,” Rosenberg said, adding that farmers with solar panels are using it and municipalities have contacted him about the product too.
If the system detects cut wire, farmers can receive pinpoint notifications on their phones.
In addition, farmers can add individual cell phone numbers to receive text notifications or emails.
The system is also customizable to let farmers name specific points of contact.
A future update will see the COP-R-LOCK system automatically notify law enforcement when a wire is cut.
COP-R-LOCK is available throughout the U.S. and can be shipped to Canada.