Wireless Sensors Help Ye Ol' Geezer Stay Cool

Wireless Sensors Help Ye Ol' Geezer Stay Cool

Temperature sensors mounted inside the store's 13 coolers and freezers take readings every 10 minutes and transmit that data to a central gateway. If the temperatures within the units fall below a set threshold, the gateway triggers an alert, which is routed to Monnit's cloud-based server via the butcher shop's Wi-Fi network and then arrives on Evans' and his mother's cellphones as an SMS text alert.

Evans was able to install the sensors himself, by drilling holes in the cooler and freezer cases so that the sensors themselves could be mounted inside the units and the radios could be mounted outside the cases, in order to ensure a good read range. Each sensor is powered by two AA batteries and should run for three to five years, based on the 10-minute reading intervals (when set to report at less frequent intervals, battery life can be extended to seven years or more).

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