Uninterrupted temperature monitoring in refrigerated delivery vehicles made easy

Wireless temperature measurement offers reliability and saves energy.

Monitoring the temperature in delivery vehicles used for direct sales of frozen food has often been complex and had great potential for errors. Recording the temperature in the cargo area and automatic wireless transmission of logged data with the GesySense system made by Gesytec increases reliability and, in conjunction with controlling the cooling process, reduces energy consumption.

According to the relevant EU regulations the cold chain must be constantly monitored and compliance documented. Monitoring the condition of delivery vehicles which were left standing for prolonged periods, such as during weekends, was time consuming and costly.

The wireless GesySense system solves this problem: It ensures that the temperature is constantly documented and automatically transmitted to a higher-level system. Automatic data transmission also makes printers, which have been used in some delivery vehicles up to now, redundant.

The battery-powered GesySense temperature loggers measure the temperature in the cargo area at regular intervals and save the readings.

When the “freezer on wheels” arrives at the warehouse and is in range of the receiver the GesySense system automatically sends the data to the central data acquisition system, which processes it for quality control and supply chain management purposes. At the warehouse the delivery vehicles are also integrated directly in a central temperature monitoring system, which reacts to set off alarms if the temperature exceeds the specified limits.

Dieter Schunk, one of the general managers at Gesytec, reports back on first experiences at a well-known frozen food supplier: “Practical use of the system in everyday life shows that our system is ideally suited to the requirements of refrigerated freight logistics. It is easy to install, works reliably, and cuts the time that it took in the past to zero. Furthermore, it also makes the paper chase a thing of the past: All of the data goes directly to our customers’ data processing systems, without taking any detours.”
Not only does GesySense offer higher reliability, but the system also helps to cut the energy consumption of the refrigerated delivery vehicles: Delivery vehicles with eutectic accumulator cooling, which do not have their own controller, but are only refrigerated when connected to the power grid, are real energy guzzlers.

GesySense can control the cooling process while the vehicle is stationary at the depot at night or on the weekend to avoid the vehicles being cooled for longer than necessary.

To control the cooling, Gesytec offers a suitable sensor/actuator module with two PT1000 probes, a digital input and a switching relay. Settings such as the upper and lower temperature limits are radio transmitted. Appropriate parameters can also be used to prevent all of the vehicles from being cooled at the same time, which would result in consumption peaks.

The alternative: Temperature sensors for use on the road

The wireless, battery-operated logger modules, which are only a little bigger than a box of cigarettes, can also be placed right between the frozen food, in order to record the temperature profile of a shipment on its way over long distances and for a long time. The data is saved in the logger and can be read out using a PC if required.

The modules are battery-operated and can thus work independently of the vehicle’s power supply. Gesytec has demonstrated the system’s exceptional battery lifetime in practice: At a measurement interval of 5 minutes, which is perfectly adequate for temperature measurements in the temperature range between 0°C and -30 °C, a battery lifetime of over five years is possible.