IoT-based solution to monitor refrigeration health in Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

With the increasing demand for food storage, there is a continuous need to ensure the safety and freshness of food items. This is accomplished by monitoring refrigeration health in supermarkets and hypermarkets. For instance, in Abu Dhabi, the government is increasing domestic agricultural production by 40 % over the medium term, requiring supermarkets and hypermarkets to have a firm refrigeration storage system to preserve perishable food. Also, for the UAE to supply high-quality food for its growing population, the country requires an efficient storage system and a technology-driven solution to make this happen. The more insight one has into the quality, usage, and condition of its assets, it becomes easier to increase its efficiency, reduce unnecessary expenses and improve operations. Knowing the condition of your refrigeration assets and making them operate up to the best of their potential can increase savings.  Therefore, maintaining storage refrigerators and monitoring assets’ health is important for good food quality. New age IoT based solutions has developed digital sensors that can measure a variety of metrics in real-time, providing detailed statistics about the health of refrigeration assets to drive operational efficiency.

Why is it difficult to maintain refrigeration health in Supermarkets and Hypermarkets?

Supermarket and hypermarket owners face multiple challenges which include the following:

• Unbalanced power supply from electricity board, diesel generators, and solar panels leading to electrical hazards and over-heating of refrigeration equipment or at times compromises its effectiveness
• Fluctuations in voltage degrading the operational efficiency of refrigeration health
• Poor visibility into asset health of refrigeration equipment resulting in untimely breakdowns
• Improper power factor leading to increased energy consumption and poor asset health
• Lack of visibility of refrigeration equipment’s health across multiple locations

All the above-mentioned challenges, directly or indirectly cause spoilage and wastage of perishable food items.

IoT-based automation for refrigeration health monitoring

IoT-based automation enables supermarket equipment to digitally connect with a centralized gateway using wireless sensors and energy meters, empowering the Supermarket and Hypermarket Managers to monitor and manage operations of their stores efficiently. Multiple energy meters installed at refrigeration equipment give real-time readings of energy consumption along with other electrical parameters. It allows recording and analyzing data as desired using AI/ML algorithms through a centralized cloud platform.

IoT monitored Supermarkets and Hypermarkets will always operate efficiently and lead to a reduction in food wastage and prolong the lifespan of the refrigeration equipment.

Zenconnect enabling energy and asset management at Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

1. Extensive Monitoring of Energy Consumption

To be able to efficiently use electricity, monitoring is important. Zenatix deploys energy meters on various supermarket equipment appropriately to monitor supply from various sources, consumption by each equipment, and measure how efficiently certain devices are operating. The monitoring can be performed across different units and locations.

2. Control Voltage and Current balance

Managing the flow of power is important for safety as well as for maintaining asset quality. It is necessary to provide the appropriate amount of current flow to the assets for optimum outcome. Monitoring allows keeping a check on the current flow and taking necessary actions in case of any imbalance.

3. Predictive maintenance

Due to constant monitoring, if the statistics show any kind of regular deflection from the normal readings, prompt action can be taken by the equipment manager to fix the issues and prevent any major breakdown to happen, ultimately enabling preventive maintenance.

4. Automated Ticketing System

In case there is any major deviation in the performance of any equipment or concern with its functioning, an automated alert pops up on the Dashboard, instructing the equipment facilitator to take corrective action. This automated system generates maintenance tickets for keeping the asset health up to the mark.

Zenatix offers IoT based energy & asset management solution for built infrastructures (e.g. retail stores, hotels, warehouses, pharmacies, clinics etc.). The solution helps in monitoring & automation from a central/distributed location(s). The consequent benefits delivered by the solution includes optimized energy consumption, maintenance of environment compliances, predictive management of asset health etc. The solution is based on Google’s OpenThread mesh technology and is equipment OEM agnostic. It is a cloud-hosted application with easy to deploy (plug & play) edge hardware. It can be remotely maintained & provides a quick ROI in a timeframe of up to 18 months.

We have been serving our customers across the Middle East region in association with our local partners. If you need IoT based energy & asset management solution for your built infrastructures, please submit your inquiry at this link.