NRGHawk Retrofit Case Study

Challenge: Refrigeration Inefficiencies Threaten Healthcare Operations 

A premier senior living facility in Rockford, MI, spanning 176,000 sq. ft. across two levels and 152 specialized units for residents with dementia and other cognitive disorders, faced a growing challenge: their commercial walk-in freezer was showing signs of inefficiency. With food safety and compliance on the line, the facility needed a smarter way to monitor and manage its refrigeration system, particularly amidst slashed budgets, prolonged approval cycles and more intensive scrutiny of regular maintenance and service budgets, having visual real-time and historic performance data is more critical than ever to driving and making the correct operational spending decisions. The manager noticed: 

• Inconsistent internal temperatures 
• Excessive compressor run times 
• Elevated energy consumption 

These symptoms pointed to potential equipment degradation, risking food spoilage, regulatory non-compliance, and costly emergency repairs. 

Solution: Retrofit HVAC Monitoring with NRGHawk 

To address these issues, the facility deployed the NRGHawk HVAC-R Efficiency Monitor, a retrofit IoT solution designed for legacy refrigeration systems. The installation included: 

• Temperature sensors on suction and discharge lines 
• Real-time thermal differential tracking 
• Continuous monitoring of compressor activity and cooling cycles 

This smart building retrofit enabled early detection of a refrigerant leak—well before a full system failure occurred.

Results: Predictive Failure insights in Action

• Issue Identified: Refrigerant leak detected via declining temperature differentials and erratic compressor behavior 
• Action Taken: Facility continued monitoring the cooler until failure was confirmed, allowing them to schedule preventative maintenance at the optimal time 

Outcomes: Operational Gains

• Avoided emergency repair costs 
• Prevented product loss and compliance violations 
• Improved energy efficiency and reduced utility bills 
• Strengthened predictive maintenance strategy 

Further Analysis

The highlighted sections of the graph are predictive of an impending compressor fault.  

Heathy and consistent cycles, runtime, and deltaT until it begins to decline for a few hours and then comes back up again for a time and then begins to dip again. 

For months, the facilities manager had not been successful in obtaining budget approval for regular maintenance and service on this important piece of equipment that weekly contains in excess of 10,000 dollars' worth of food.  

This is not a unique situation. Experiencing food loss due to unexpected equipment failures can quickly rise above 10,000 plus the high cost of multiple emergency service calls and expedited service parts not to mention costs associated with operational disruptions and frustrations.