From greenhouses growing hydroponic tomatoes and lettuce in January to cold storage units that allow the local grocery store to sell Washington apples in the dead of winter; monitoring the temperature and humidity for optimum conditions is crucial for a profitable agribusiness. If it is too cold plant growth is hampered, temperatures that are too hot can wither plants and cause livestock to suffer. Likewise, too little or too much relative humidity can, respectively, increase watering demands and cause disease and fungus issues in both plants and animals. For a small operation, a simple thermometer and humidistat will do the job, however, larger operations producing multiple crops and livestock would benefit from a centralized, web-based environmental monitoring system. According to a 2000 USDA survey, the average commercial farm operates 2,180 acres and has multiple facilities that require specific temperature and humidity thresholds.

A web-based temperature and humidity monitoring system such as the one available with Ravica’s sensor probes are an excellent solution for these large-scale agricultural businesses. In a networked system, a farm manager can install a BitSight2 with two remote single port temperature and humidity sensors in each greenhouse, barn, or storage facility and set the unique thresholds for the optimum conditions. Each of the sensors can be networked to the main computer on the farm and the conditions in each of the facilities can be accessed from a single location. This cuts back on the time needed to manually monitor and log the temperature and humidity in each location. Instead, a warning alert can be sent to an email or cell phone when any condition surpasses a safe threshold and the problem can be rectified before the condition causes problems with plant growth or disease. In addition, the easy-to-use web interface makes it possible for a farm manager to access information on the environmental conditions at the farm from anywhere.

If you need help setting up an environmental monitoring system at your farm or greenhouse, give us a call at (207) 324-8173.  We’d love to help you get started.

He wanted to be able to provide a greater level of climate-control in a few of the higher priced units in his facility.  After he described the problem, it occurred to me that we could solve his problem with a relatively simple set-up and minimal cost to the customer.  With a BitSight2 outfitted with 2 dual temperature and humidity sensor remotes mounted in the hallway between two storage units, he could monitor both units with the same device.  That way if the temperature or humidity fluctuated into a critical stage in either unit, he would be alerted to the problem via an email back at the main office.  He felt that he would easily be able to charge at least an extra $10 per month for the rent on those units due to the extra protection the Ravica units would be able to provide.  We figured out that the SensorProbes would essentially pay for themselves in about 18 months.

That’s great news for the business owner and even better news for his tenants that want some assurance that their original manuscripts or baby grand piano will be protected even while they are in transition.

However, a web-based system that can monitor for changes in temperature, humidity, airflow, as well as the presence of water, smoke and motion, can be extremely valuable. To demonstrate just how valuable, I thought I would put together a list of the top three reason why a web-based system is more convenient and cost effect for many home and business applications.

1. Remote system management
For many of our customers, the BitSight and SecurityProbe line of monitors are perfect for collocation centers or off site installations, where they may house valuable equipment, like servers and networking hardware, away from their place of daily operations. It is not always convenient for a network administrator to visit a location that might be hours away (or perhaps even on the other side of the country). With a web-based system, monitoring temperature and humidity readings becomes as easy as visiting a web page.

2. SNMP support
Regardless of what network monitoring applications you use, SNMP is one of the most universally supported protocols available. With complete SNMP support, the Ravica line of intelligent sensors can be monitored using the same tools that you already use to monitor the health of your servers and other networking hardware. With enough expertise, configuration commands can even be issued manually via SNMP or using other SNMP configuration tools.

3. Many sensors on a single user interface
With traditional temperature sensors, and the like, there is nothing to report back to. You have your sensor, with the reading, maybe displayed on an attached gauge or screen. If you have multiple sensors that means physically visiting each one to take your measurements. However, with a web-based approach, we provide several sensors readings all displayed in a central interface. There is no longer a need to visit each sensors. Even though they may be physically placed in five separate locations, the readings can all be found from your desk chair.

Summary
So when considering any form of environmental monitoring system, whether you are monitoring temperature, humidity, airflow or smoke, make sure to decide well in advance if a web-based system is necessary. If so, make sure to take a look at Ravica’s environmental monitoring solutions and our line of intelligent sensors. You won’t be disappointed!

~ Jon Mills
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Come to find out, apple storage is best done in cold, humid environments. This “Best storage conditions for apples” blog seem pretty informative as well.

Accurate humidity control is the key to maintaining quality fresh produce in cold storage. Cold storage systems inherently remove water vapor from the air in the cooler. Dry air increases what is called ‘transpiration‘ or water loss from the stored product, resulting in lost weight and lost value. Controlled Atmosphere storage at -2° to + 4° C slows down the transpiration process. On the other hand, very low temperature cold storage dries the fruit as water is lost, due to dry cold air.

Don’t let your fruit get yucky. Contact Ravica for a sensorProbe and receive threshold (i.e. too high or too low) alerts via pager, email or other.

- Mike

If you are a wine aficionado or if you make your living in the wine industry, you know that temperature and humidity control is crucial to storing and aging wines.  The optimal temperature for storing wines is a constant 50° – 55°.  If it is too cold, the wine won’t mature and will taste flat and lifeless; too warm and the wine will cook and end up tasting off.

The optimal humidity for wine storage is 55%-85%.   Maintaining the proper humidity is important primarily for protecting the integrity of the cork and preventing oxidization.  The last thing you want is to do is turn that expensive bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon into a lousy bottle of vinegar.

If you have a wine cellar, or are thinking of building one, you are going to want to have a quality environmental monitoring system in place.  This is true whether the wine cellar is in your home, your restaurant, or at a commercial winery.  The Ravica line of SensorProbes, temperature and humidity sensors, and sensor controlled relays can help you monitor the conditions in your wine cellar, even if you are away from your home or business.  Ravica’s easily configured web-interface can be set up to automatically turn on  air conditioning units and humidifiers to maintain the optimum temperature and humidity levels for your wine collection.  You can also be notified if your equipment is not operating properly by setting up email or text alerts that are sent when the specified temperature and humidity thresholds are surpassed.

If you need help designing an environmental monitoring system that will meet your wine storage needs, give us a call.  We’d love to hear about your project and help you protect your inventory.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Ravica!  And enjoy your glass of Beaujolais Nouveau this year, it is supposed to be a very good vintage.

We also receive calls about security. This is something we can cover in a few different ways:

1. Using a contact security sensor on all doors or windows.
2. Motion detectors have been the topic of a few blogs.
3. We can install strobe lights that can indicate security breaches.
4. We can also install security cameras, which take pictures based on movement.

Pictures, like the ones above, can be emailed and/or archived, depending on the business needs. Sensitivity can also be adjusted.

Our equipment isn’t limited to specialized temperature and humidity monitoring. Please keep us in mind for security as well.

- Mike

You can even see how easy it is to view your data room remotely with the integrated Ravica Security Cams.

Map your probes:

You can easily map the location of your probes via the mapping interface. This dynamic interface will not only tell you the status of your environmental monitors, but will also give you clickable links that give you more information.

Integrate your data:

You can even take this map and integrate it into you own management application. Here is a map of our data room inside our Scrutinizer management interface. Now we can see everything that is going on from one easy to view window.

There are quite a few options for you to explore, have fun!

- Jimmy D

While a building management system can help optimize air flow and lower temperatures, they are not fail proof. That’s where Ravica comes in. Ravica provides some of the largest companies, with the most complex data centers, with solutions that ensure the integrity of environmental conditions within the data room. Not only can our intelligent temperature and humidity sensors tell you when conditions have become hazardous to your equipment, but our SensorProbes can take action as well.

A common application for our environmental monitoring equipment is to set sensors at key spots throughout the room or rack. Once thresholds are configured and the SensorProbe knows what levels are considered dangerous, or outside the norm, a sensor controlled relay can be tripped, which in turn activates other devices to help correct the situation. For instance, if the temperature gets too high, a backup air conditioner could be turned on. Or, if the humidity get’s too high, a dehumidifier can be turned on. It’s a highly customizable solution that can be tailored to meet the needs of any particular data center.

Just last week, I had a client call in looking to configure just such a solution. A few days prior, the temperature in his server closet had reached critical levels. Yup, the air condition unit got unplugged by the maintenance crew (seems strange, but it happened). Luckily, he had a BitSight2 in place that emailed him before things got out of hand. But what he wanted was an automated solution. So we created a scenario, like I mentioned above, where everything happened on its own.

A few days later, my client had his new relay in place and a small back up air conditioner (which he made sure to plug into an outlet that he knew the maintenance crew wouldn’t ever use). To test his solution, he unplugged the main air conditioner for that server closet. He then sat back and watched as the temperature rose 5 degrees, then 10 degrees, then sure enough… Like clockwork, the backup AC unit turned on and he watched as the temp slowly returned to normal. Granted, this backup AC unit is not rated to cool his closet long term. But it will definitely give him the time to get the alert from the BitSight2 and begin working on a solution to the rising temperature – even if it is just walking over and plugging the air conditioner back in.

The moral of this story is that by taking the time to install a solution before hand, when the inevitable happens, the company’s network equipment and, by association, its business critical applications remain alive and well. Network downtime can kill a business, and environmental monitoring is just one of the necessary steps to keeping that downtime to a minimum.

Jon Mills
Follow me on Twitter

The problem is that the grant they received would fund the weather monitoring equipment, but not the equipment that would run the unmanned station. The good news is that their technology budget would cover the BitSight8 and the required sensors.

They needed to be able to monitor temperature, humidity, airflow  and security. The customer explained to me that since this was an unmanned station, knowing if anyone has opened the server room door was extremely important.

We spent some time talking about the various environmental conditions and how they can affect the servers. He was surprised how the environmental conditions would effect the station’s performance.

The environmental conditions of the area can change throughout the year. The winters can drop below zero, while the  temperature during the summer months is in the 90’s with high humidity. Monitoring for humidity is vital; condensation on a circuit board can kill a machine. Having a monitor in place is absolutely vital.

We then went over the alerting and reporting ability of  the probe and how this unmanned station’s IT center would be fully monitored. I also spent some time explaining the SecurityProbe and how it would alert them when someone opened the door. I am looking forward to the install date. I hope that it is in the summer. I hate snow!

- JimmyD

Temperature Monitor
A freezer temperature monitor can easily be installed in most old or newer model systems. Consider it a kind of 7×24 cooler or freezer guard.

If you are looking for a temperature alarm and monitor solution for your refrigerators, freezers, or coolers, this solution can notify you immediately any time, day or night, if temperature drops.

Sound the Alarms!
It sounds an audible alarm and alerts one or more people(s) via phone, pager or other. You can use any web browser – even a cell phone to see the temperature of any refrigerator/freezer.

More than just Temperature
This product can be used for more than monitoring freezer temperature. It can also be used for:

• Monitoring humidity
• Monitoring for smoke
• Monitoring for electricity loss
• Monitoring for motion (i.e. security)
• Monitoring for water
• And much, much more

Check out ravica.com.