Designing and Deploying Your Temperature Monitoring Solution

The excitement of getting your brand-new temperature monitoring solution up and running can quickly meet its demise when your initial setup doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. The easiest way to avoid this dilemma is with proper preparation for setting up your new units. A typical first-time setup should only take a few minutes. In this post, we’ll explore best practices to ensure you not only get yourself up and running within minutes, but continue to operate your system smoothly.

1. Cellular vs. Ethernet: Which Gateway Is Right for You?

Our system revolves around two different types of main units known as the gateway. There are two styles of gateways: cellular and Ethernet. The cellular version operates on a cellular network, much like your cell phone. The Ethernet gateway operates on your local network—a great alternative if you know your area has cellular issues or lots of cell signal interference. Picking the appropriate gateway based on your location is the first step in a seamless set-up.

2. How Many Gateways Do You Need?

Ideally, you should only need one gateway per location. Each gateway can communicate with multiple sensors, which allows for an easy system setup.

3. Properly Mounting Your Gateway

The gateway is the brains of your temperature monitoring solution. Our team has run various tests to determine the orientation that allows the gateway the strongest signal output. The ideal location is roughly six feet from the ground, with the antennas facing vertically, which applies to both the cellular and ethernet gateways. The less obstruction, the better, so try to keep the unit in as open of an area as possible to avoid any possible interference.

If you’re using a Cellular Gateway, we suggest getting the unit close to a window when possible to ensure a strong connection with the cell network. Keep in mind the gateway also needs to be within range of any wireless sensors you may be using, and the same logic applies—the less obstruction between units, the better.

4. How Many Sensors Do You Need?

A minimum amount of sensors that you need is one sensor per unit you wish to monitor. For coolers and freezers, you may want to use a buffer vial, or our VBV technology to get even more accurate temperature readings. For any unit, you may want to use a humidity sensor—as well as for ambient temperature sensors—to track the environment and ensure your products are remaining safe.

5. Mounting Your Wireless Sensors

The wireless sensors record your actual temperature readings and send them over to the gateway, which in turn sends it to the cloud, so the data is viewable on our Insights Dashboard. You want to keep two things in mind when placing the wireless sensors: distance from the gateway and placement within the unit you’ll be monitoring.

First, you’ll want to ensure the sensor is close enough to steadily communicate with the gateway. In an ideal environment with zero obstructions, this distance is roughly 1,000 feet. In a more probable scenario with your average obstructions, this distance is about 300 feet. Keep these numbers in mind when mounting both your gateway and your wireless sensors.

The second variable here is the sensor location within the unit you will be monitoring. You want to keep the sensor as close to the center of the unit as possible. Keeping the sensor towards the back of the unit is also best practice, as this will lessen the influence of any outside air affecting the readings when the door is opened. Keep the device away from any internal air-flow as well, as this can cause severe influences on readings. Our sensors are magnetic and can sit on a shelf, but they also have several slots on the perimeter for effortless mounting using zip ties.

Following these guidelines will help ensure a temperature monitoring setup that’s almost as smooth as the product itself. If you’re interested in getting more help with your temperature monitoring system, visit our help website.