Illustrative dataFaults show as a pattern, not a pile of alarms
With a sensor in more than one case on each group, you see whether one case is warm or every case on a group. Every case and walk-in shows on one screen.
TemperatureWise for grocery and supermarkets
Temperature monitoring for grocery stores
In a supermarket, one rack fault can warm a whole aisle. With a TemperatureWise sensor in more than one case on each rack group, it shows as a group fault in the first hours, not case by case.
- Supermarkets
- Independent grocers
- Regional chains
- Store facilities teams
About 25%of display cases are rack-fed, most of them in supermarketsRenergy failure-mode reference, estimate
16grocery threads in our research, several about a whole aisle or store lost at onceRenergy research corpus
2 per groupsensors, enough to tell a case fault from a rack faultTemperatureWise starting point
What you get
Four things TemperatureWise does for a grocery store
Illustrative data
It learns each case's defrosts
Low-temperature cases have the tallest defrost peaks in the store. TemperatureWise learns each case's defrost pattern, so a normal defrost is not an alarm.
Why temperature alarms cry wolf
Illustrative dataA store record without the clipboard
Every case, every 15 minutes, kept indefinitely, for the inspector and for your own food safety team.
Illustrative dataAlerts climb until someone answers
Email, then a text, then a call, to up to three people per sensor. A rack fault at 3 AM reaches someone who can call the refrigeration contractor.
Where it goes wrong
Five ways a supermarket loses temperature
Most failures here are shared across cases. Two come from people who work in stores, in their own words; three follow from how a rack works.
In their words
"Refrigeration system went down. It's labor day weekend"
A suction group fault warms a whole aisle at once
The cases in an aisle share one suction group on the rack. When the group fails, every case on it warms together. That pattern is the strongest signal in a supermarket, and you only see it with a sensor in more than one case.
- How fast
- Hours
- What the log shows
- Every case on one group warming together
- How to tell
- Cases on other groups hold
In their words
"Manager says this temperature is ok, is it?"
A reset defrost clock puts defrosts in shopping hours
The rack runs its cases' defrosts on a central schedule. After a power outage the clock can restart at the wrong time, and defrosts land in the busiest hours, where shoppers and staff see the warm readings.
- When
- After an outage, every day until reset
- What the log shows
- A defrost bump at the same wrong hour in many cases
- How to tell
- It started after the outage
How it fails
A slow leak fades many cases together
A supermarket rack holds hundreds to thousands of pounds of refrigerant. A slow leak takes weeks to show, and when it does, many cases lose ground at once rather than one.
- How fast
- Weeks
- What the log shows
- Many cases creeping up together
- How to tell
- Recovery after defrost slows across the store
How it fails
Winter control fails on the roof
The rack sheds its heat through a condenser or a CO2 gas cooler on the roof. In cold weather, a failed head-pressure control can leave every case on the rack short of cooling on the coldest nights.
- When
- Cold nights, all winter
- What the log shows
- Warm at night, fine in the afternoon, store-wide
- How to tell
- It follows the weather
How it fails
One case warm while its neighbours hold
Each case has its own valve on the group. If one sticks shut, that case warms while the cases beside it hold. That is how you tell a case fault from a group fault, and it decides who gets called.
- How fast
- Hours
- What the log shows
- One case climbing, its neighbours flat
- How to tell
- Compare it with the next case on the group
Pricing and payback
A store with four rack groups costs $3,500 up front and $3,550 a year
Four rack groups and three walk-ins
| Item | Once | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| 14 LoRa sensors at $200 | $2,800 | |
| Gateway for a larger site | $450 | |
| Cellular connection | $125 | $50 |
| Battery backup | $125 | |
| Monitoring, 14 sensors at $250 | $3,500 | |
| Total | $3,500 | $3,550 |
Two cases on each of four rack groups, and two sensors in each walk-in. No extra charge for the dashboard, alerts, reporting or setup. Price list of 1 September 2026.
Why two cases on each group, not every case
One sensor on a group tells you something is wrong. Two tell you whether it is the case or the rack, which decides who you call and how fast.
A sensor in every case costs more and adds little to that question. Two per group, plus the walk-ins, is the starting point, and TemperatureWise sizes it from your case list.
Want a detailed calculation for your own site? The full calculator on the TemperatureWise page takes your rooms, sensors and connection.
Open the full calculatorHow it works
Three steps, nothing drilled, no shutdown
We plan it from your floor plan
TemperatureWise marks where each sensor and the gateway go before anything ships.
You place the sensors and plug in the gateway
Magnet, adhesive pad or one screw. The gateway goes into an ordinary socket.
It learns each unit in the first week
TemperatureWise learns each unit's defrost pattern and sets alerts around it, so a normal defrost is not an alarm.
LoRa radio through walls and walk-in panels. Nothing drilled.
Every 15 minutesReadings kept indefinitely
Rated to -40°F (-40°C)Battery lasts 5 to 8 years
Temperature and humidityFrom one sensor
The rules
The temperatures a grocery store is held to
US · FDA Food Code
Cold food is held at 41°F (5°C) or colder, in display cases as much as in storage.
Read the FDA Food CodeOntario · O. Reg. 493/17
Food is held at 4°C (39°F) or colder (s. 27), frozen food stays frozen (s. 28), and every unit has an accurate thermometer (s. 30).
Read O. Reg. 493/17Refrigerant leak rules apply to racks this size too, and they are changing, so check the current rule with your contractor. TemperatureWise produces the temperature record; the sign-off stays with you.
Common questions
How do supermarkets monitor display case temperatures?
With sensors in the cases and walk-ins that report every 15 minutes to one gateway in the store. TemperatureWise starts with sensors in at least two cases on each rack group, so a group fault and a single-case fault look different.
How can I tell a case fault from a rack fault?
Compare the case with its neighbours on the same group. One case warm while the others hold is a case fault; every case on one group warming together is a group or rack fault. That comparison needs a sensor in more than one case.
How much does grocery store temperature monitoring cost?
About $3,500 up front and $3,550 a year for a store with four rack groups and three walk-ins on TemperatureWise, with cellular and battery backup. Each extra case adds $200 once and $250 a year.
Does TemperatureWise replace the rack controller's alarms?
No. TemperatureWise does not read the rack controller or its alarms. It measures the cases and walk-ins on its own sensors, so it keeps reporting when the rack or its controller is the thing that failed.
Proof
Case studies at a glance
- Philadelphia · April 2025$150,000freezer, 53 hours of warningA failed defrost timer, fixed in one visit. $0 lost.Read the case study
- Philadelphia · June to August 2025$450,000freezer, 27 days of warningTime to find old parts and move the stock to a reefer first.Read the case study
- Mississauga · December 2025$125,000reefer, 5 h 45 min of warningStopped and did not restart. Stock value estimated.Read the case study
See what your coldest room has been doing
Send us 30 days of readings from one room, or let us put a sensor in it. We will show you what it was doing before anyone noticed. No purchase needed.