Companies in the healthcare and food industries are increasingly vulnerable to breaks in the cold chain. Products such as vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and food items can easily be at risk of spoilage if effective measures are not put in place.
Given the current situation, authorities are being compelled to establish new regulations regarding packaging, transportation, and storage. This includes monitoring temperatures inside facilities such as refrigerated trucks and, most importantly, cold storage rooms. To ensure compliance with these measures, here’s how you can effectively monitor temperatures in cold storage rooms!
Features of cold storage rooms
Business owners and managers are well aware that the use of cold storage temperature loggers is essential. These devices help identify risk factors in order to prevent product loss.
In fact, cold rooms are temperature-controlled rooms used to store food and products that are highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. They are maintained at a temperature accurate to within 0.5°C, which is the ideal temperature for storing such products. These products typically include healthcare products and foodstuffs.
There are actually two types of cold storage rooms. The first is known as a positive-temperature cold storage room, because its temperature ranges from 0 to 10 °C. The second is called a negative-temperature cold storage room, with a temperature below 0 °C. Regardless of the type of cold storage room used and the products stored there, it is essential to monitor the temperature constantly.
Cold Room Temperature Control Solutions
There are several solutions available for managing the temperature in cold storage rooms. Not all of these solutions offer the same benefits, so it is important to identify the one that best suits your specific needs.
For example, wired temperature sensors are commonly used, but they are bulky. Furthermore, they are unreliable and do not allow for secure remote access to data. They are also highly susceptible to extreme temperatures and have a very short lifespan.
In a constant effort to innovate, new technologies have emerged on the market to enable remote monitoring of the cold chain.
How remote temperature monitoring devices work
TheIoTsector (Internet of Things, i.e.,the internet of connected devices) has grown rapidly in recent years and offers connected solutions on the market that cover a wide range of applications. Today, devices are integrated with the IoT to enable the remote collection of large amounts of data.
This applies to IoT transmitters, wireless radio devices designed to monitor temperatures in outdoor environments or in areas subject to extreme conditions. Equipped with an external contact temperature sensor, these transmitters can measure temperatures remotely by making contact with surfaces. These IoT transmitters feature a rugged IP65-rated housing, high environmental tolerance (from –180°C to +250°C), and a battery life of several years.
Using these devices also helps minimize the number of times cold room doors are opened and closed, and alerts users in the event of a malfunction or disruption. The energy impact and financial costs associated with poor cold chain management are significant. Frequent temperature monitoring in cold rooms is therefore a critical priority for businesses and helps prevent any breaks in the cold chain.
