Cooler and freezer temperature alarms
For restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, pharmacies, clinics, florists and food warehouses in Alberta and BC.
Updated
The quick answer
A temperature alarm puts a sensor in each walk-in cooler, freezer or fridge and alerts you when it gets too warm or too cold, so someone can act before the stock is lost. We connect the sensors to a commercial alarm panel, so alerts go to your staff’s phones and, if your alarm is monitored, to our monitoring partner’s 24/7 monitoring centre, which handles temperature alerts as well as break-ins. We install temperature sensors from Ajax, DSC, Honeywell and GRI. With a backup battery and a cellular connection, an alert can still go out when the power or the internet is down.
What a temperature alarm watches
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Temperature sensors | A sensor or probe in each cooler, freezer or fridge, with its own high and low limits. |
| A short delay | The alert waits until the temperature stays out of range, so a delivery, a busy rush or a defrost cycle doesn’t set it off. |
| Door contacts | An alert when a walk-in door is left open too long, often the first sign of trouble. |
| Power loss | An alert when the building loses power, before the temperature has started to climb. |
| Alerts | Notifications to the staff on your call list through the alarm app, and to our monitoring partner’s monitoring centre, 24/7, if your alarm is monitored. |
| Add-ons | Water sensors under coolers and in mechanical rooms, and low-temperature sensors where pipes could freeze. |
Usual temperature limits
| Unit | Usual limit |
|---|---|
| Coolers and fridges | 4 °C or colder |
| Freezers | -18 °C or colder |
| Vaccine and medication fridges | Between 2 °C and 8 °C |
These are the general Canadian food safety and vaccine storage guidelines. Your health inspector, your pharmacy rules or the product maker may set other limits, so we set each sensor to the limits you give us. Not legal advice.
Who uses them
Food businesses
- Restaurants and commercial kitchens
- Grocery and convenience stores
- Butcher shops and delis
- Bakeries and cafés
- Hotel and school kitchens
- Food warehouses and distributors
Health and other businesses
- Pharmacies
- Medical and dental clinics with vaccine or medication fridges
- Labs
- Florists
- Breweries and wineries
How an alert works
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Too warm | A sensor reads above its limit for longer than the delay you chose. |
| Alert | The alarm panel notifies the staff on your call list. If your alarm is monitored, the monitoring centre gets the temperature alert too and follows the call list you gave us. |
| Someone checks | Usually it’s a door left open, a tripped breaker or a failing compressor. Staff close the door or move the stock, and call a refrigeration technician if needed. |
| Back in range | A second notification when the temperature recovers. Each event is kept in the alarm’s history. |
Temperature sensor brands we install
| Brand | How it connects |
|---|---|
| Ajax | Wireless temperature sensing for Ajax alarm systems. |
| DSC | Wireless and wired temperature sensors for DSC alarm panels. |
| Honeywell | Wireless and wired temperature sensors for Honeywell alarm panels. |
| GRI | Wired temperature switches that connect to most alarm panels as an extra zone. |
These are the common commercial brands. Wireless sensors usually need a panel of the same brand, so the right sensor depends on the alarm you have. We check it on the site walk.
Adding temperature alarms to the alarm you have
Many commercial alarm panels take temperature sensors as extra zones, so you may not need a separate system. We check your panel on the site walk and tell you what it supports.
No alarm yet, or one that can’t take sensors? We can install a new intrusion alarm that watches the coolers and the doors, and if another company installed your current alarm, our system rescue team can take it over.
Power outages and after hours
Most spoiled stock is found in the morning, after something failed overnight or over a long weekend. An alarm panel with a backup battery keeps watching through a power outage, and a cellular communicator sends alerts when the internet is down. See alarm monitoring explained for how monitored alarms work.
Want to know before the stock spoils?
We’ll walk your kitchen or back room, check your alarm panel and give you a written quote.
Related: intrusion alarmssmall business securityalarm monitoring explainedmedical and dental clinics
Stuck with a system nobody will fix?
We repair and take over cameras, access control, intercoms and alarms installed by other companies, when your current provider has fallen short.
Help: Export Avigilon video
Temperature alarm questions
What is a cooler or freezer temperature alarm?
A sensor in the cooler, freezer or fridge that sends an alert when the temperature goes outside the limits you set, so staff can act before the stock spoils.
Can it alert our phones?
Yes. Alerts go to the staff on your call list through the alarm app, and to our monitoring partner’s monitoring centre if your alarm is monitored.
Does the monitoring centre handle temperature alerts, or only break-ins?
Both. When your alarm is monitored, our monitoring partner’s monitoring centre takes temperature alerts 24/7 as well as break-ins, and follows the call list you set up with us.
Which temperature sensor brands do you install?
Ajax, DSC, Honeywell and GRI, the common commercial brands. Wireless sensors usually need a panel of the same brand, and GRI’s wired temperature switches connect to most panels. We match the sensor to your alarm.
Will it still alert during a power outage?
Yes, when the alarm panel has a backup battery and a cellular communicator. It can also tell you the moment the power goes out.
Can you add temperature sensors to our existing alarm?
Often, yes. Many commercial alarm panels take temperature sensors as extra zones. We check yours on the site walk.
What temperature should a walk-in cooler or freezer be?
General Canadian food safety guidance is 4 °C or colder for coolers and fridges, and -18 °C or colder for freezers. Follow your health inspector’s requirements. Not legal advice.
Will opening the door or a defrost cycle set it off?
Not when it’s set up well. A short delay means the alert only goes out if the temperature stays out of range, and each unit gets its own limits.
Can you monitor vaccine and medication fridges?
Yes. We set the sensor to the range you need, usually 2 °C to 8 °C for vaccines, with alerts if it gets too warm or too cold.
Do you repair coolers and freezers?
No. We install the sensors and alarms that warn you. A refrigeration technician repairs the unit itself.
Can you take over an alarm another company installed?
Yes. We take over and fix systems installed by other companies, and regain admin access where you own the system.
More answers: Alarm questionsGlossary: alarm monitoringglass-break sensor
Get a temperature alarm quote
Tell us how many coolers, freezers and fridges you have, and what alarm you have now. We’ll follow up to book a site walk.
Call and a real person answers, 24/7 for emergencies.