Monitoring and Controlling the Temperature of Your Refrigeration System

Posted by Patrick Maness +

It goes without saying that maintaining the proper temperature in your operation's refrigerator is of enormous importance. Not too long ago, the best you could rely on when it came to refrigerator temperature control was a mercury-filled stick you would occasionally pull out and read.

Thanks to the proliferation of digital technology and sensors, monitoring refrigerator temperature settings has never been easier. Digital control panels allow you to change temperature, circulate air and control interior fans, all with the touch of a button. You don't even have to open a door! 

For a closer look at how these digital wonders work, we’ll look at two top manufacturers' products.

Nor-Lake’s Enviro-Control

The Enviro-Control is an electronic controller that can be customized for use in a number of Nor-Lake refrigeration systems. This means that any number of units can be retrofitted with this electronic controller.

So what features does it offer? More than just providing the temperature, it is able to control evaporator fans and the automatic fan cycle, reducing the compressor’s run time, saving energy and prolonging the unit’s life. It also allows you to control defrost heaters and gives you precise super-heat control.

Beyond convenience, the Enviro-Control provides added security by connecting to your smartphone and alerting you when parts of the system are not working. Wherever you are, you can monitor your refrigerator from a tablet, smartphone or computer.    

Traulsen’s Epicon visual interface

While it provides many of the same advantages as the Enviro-Control, Traulsen’s Epicon only works on Traulsen’s blast chillers. Further, it has a slightly more specific purpose.

With the Epicon mounted on a blast chiller, workers can select a target temperature and target time for the food to reach that temperature. This is incredibly useful for catering businesses or large cafeterias that must prep a lot of food ahead of time, but still need it to taste great when reheated.  

Overall, this marriage of digital sensors with refrigeration units promises to reduce energy costs through increased efficiency, add a safeguard against system malfunctions by sending you alerts and alarms should anything go wrong, and finally, provide better food storage.

Safe to say, such technology will only get better and become more common. Eventually, digital monitoring systems will probably be as standard as those mercury thermometers once were.  

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