Food Service Monitoring Solutions

Maintaining an optimal temperature in food storage coolers and freezers allows companies to keep products fresh. If the temperature happens to fall above or below the optimal range, costly spoilage can occur. From prep coolers to walk-in freezers, Monnit wireless sensors will help you maintain an ideal environment. Receive alerts in real time should temperatures go outside a set range or if a cooler door is left open.

Monnit's food service monitoring solution includes everything you need to get started:

• 1 - Monnit Ethernet or cellular gateway
• 3 - Monnit wireless temperature sensors (AA) with 3-foot probes
• Free online monitoring with alerts via SMS text, email or voice call

Learn More About Monnit Food Service Monitoring Solutions »

View a White Paper on Food Safety with Smart Monitoring Systems »

View a White Paper on Smart Monitoring Systems for Foodservice and Restaurants »

In this issue

Monnit Releases New ALTA Smart Thermostat

Monnit is excited to introduce the new ALTA Smart Thermostat. The ALTA Thermostat is designed specifically for remote configuration and energy savings. It features an integrated motion sensor to auto detect if an area or room is occupied. The thermostat allows you to set a maximum and minimum temperature range for both occupied and non-occupied states. The system will auto adjust comfort levels when personnel arrive and automatically return to the set energy saving state when they leave. It is also a perfect solution for public buildings such as corporate facilities or schools and churches as there are no physical buttons on the device. This prevents random adjustments by unauthorized people.

Features of the ALTA Thermostat:

• Allows for remote setting and monitoring of HVAC systems
• Detects motion for occupied/non-occupied status
• Prevents unauthorized adjustments or tampering
• Hardware-based lockout feature prevents all configuration changes when enabled

ALTA products offer four times the wireless range (1,200+ feet, non-line-of-site) and much stronger battery life than traditional sensors (12+ years on two AA batteries). ALTA products also use Monnit’s Encrypt-RF® bank level security, featuring 256-bit exchange and AES-128 CTR for all data messages.

Learn More About the ALTA Smart Thermostat »

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Let's take a look in our crystal ball to see what the future holds at Monnit

Monnit's development team is hard at work developing new products for our customers. One of the products nearing completion is our new Multi-Gateway platform. Multi-Gateways will be available in 3 configurations; Ethernet, Cellular LTE and combined Ethernet with Cellular LTE. The new Cellular Gateways will take advantage of the latest 4G LTE CAT-M1 cellular technology, and will feature a backup battery, allowing your Monnit Wireless Sensors to communicate with the iMonnit system via cellular transmission even through power failures. The Ethernet with Cellular LTE Gateway will allow your Monnit Sensors to communicate with the iMonnit system both via ethernet and cellular LTE transmission. Ethernet communication is the primary method of transmission, with cellular fallback and battery backup in the event of power loss. If you would like to learn more or be notified when these new products become available, please email us at sales@monnit.com.

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School Cafeteria and Food Service Monitoring

It's that time of year again! With children heading back to school, it is important to realize how crucial school meals are to both their physical and mental health. Children who are hungry have a difficult time focusing in school, which ultimately affects their learning experience. Our schools help shape the future of our children, which is why we also depend on them for providing our children with healthy meals. What happens if a school is unable to serve a nutritious meal, or makes children sick from food that has spoiled from improper storage temperatures?

Maintaining an optimal temperature in food storage coolers is essential for keeping food fresh. If the temperature falls above or below the optimal range, costly spoilage can occur. Monnit has saved schools hundreds of thousands of dollars in spoilage when using our low-cost, wireless temperature sensors to monitor their cafeteria walk-in coolers.

Monnit provides a low-cost, reliable, and secure wireless monitoring solution that allows you to track and receive alerts for the following types of applications:

All Monnit wireless sensors come with free basic online monitoring, allowing you to view sensor information anytime from anywhere. Receive instant notifications via email, text, or call if a set sensor condition is met or exceeded. Local alerts can also be used to alert staff on-site.

Protect Your Walk-In Coolers and Contents with Monnit Wireless Sensors!

Learn More About Remote Monitoring Solutions for School Cafeteria Walk-In Coolers »

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Wireless Sensor Installation for
Cooler Monitoring

This tech-tip is meant to give to give some suggestions for installing wireless sensors for applications involving walk-in coolers or freezers. For product documentation and additional help visit www.monnit.com/support.

Monnit wireless sensors communicate via RF (radio frequency) and it is important to note that the metal construction of most coolers and freezers can interfere with radio signal. It is also important to note that the temperatures inside of coolers and freezers can often be below the recommended operating temperature of the batteries used in Monnit wireless sensors. Due to these facts we recommend installing the wireless sensors outside of the walk-in cooler to ensure proper operation.

Wireless Temperature Sensor Installation

To install wireless temperature sensors, we recommend mounting the sensor just outside the door and running the sensor probe through the door seal or cooler wall. Alternately for temporary use, you can run the probe wire over the door seal, but this will not allow for a tight door seal. To install through the seal or cooler wall, start by drilling a hole just larger than the size of the temperature probe in the seal or wall. Push the temperature probe through the hole and use clips or twist ties to secure the probe wire to the interior wall or shelving. When you have the sensor mounted outside with the probe ran to its desired location, use silicone caulking to seal the hole around the wire.

To prevent false notifications in the cooler, we also recommend using a capsule containing a substance that will slow the heating and cooling of the temperature probe. This will allow the probe to report temperatures consistent with the contents of the cooler versus any immediate introduction of warm air when the cooler door is opened.



Wireless Door Sensor Installation

To install a wireless open/closed sensor on the door of a walk-in cooler or freezer, simply mount the sensor — using the included screws or double-sided tape — just above the cooler door. Next, you will need to attach the sensing element (screws or double-sided tape) to the door frame as close to the door as possible, making sure that it does not interfere with the door opening or closing. With the door closed, attach the magnet to the door directly below the sensing element. The magnet must be within 1 inch of the sensing element in order for it to function properly, so try to keep the magnet as close as possible without interfering with the door opening or closing.


In order to get the best performance out of your Monnit Wireless Sensors, it is important to note proper antenna orientation and sensor positioning. Antennas should all be oriented in the same direction, pointing vertically out of the sensor. If the sensor is mounted flat on its back on a horizontal surface, you should bend the antenna as close to the sensor housing as possible giving you the most amount of antenna pointing vertically. You should make the antenna wire as straight as possible, avoiding any kinks and curving of the wire.

For more information on using Monnit wireless sensors, visit the support section of our website.

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