“This temperature corresponds to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was “probably a round, easy number to remember”
That’s what Allouche and team will be working on next, as they build their research summary into a full report, to be published in September 2024. “These findings give good reasons for ‘3 degrees of change’ to be further explored,” Allouche says.
Three Degrees Of Change: Frozen food in a Resilient and Sustainable Food System (PDF)
The freezer has a far simpler ready-made solution, an Acurite or Lacrosse outdoor sensor ($10-20), an RTLSDR dongle ($10) and rtl_433 to put the data on MQTT.
I do my data logging with the free version of Mango Automation SCADA which integrates very well with MQTT and is lightweight and cross platform.
Got a sensor in each of my freezers and my root cellar, rtl_433 also picks up my weather station and rain gauge, wireless buttons, motion sensors and more, rtl_433 is a great addition to any home automation system and cheap and easy to set up.
Yes, that would be better for people who weren’t already doing what I’m doing.
Oddly enough, I’ve actually also got a RTLSDR dongle lying around. The only thing I don’t have is an outdoor temperature sensor, but instead of getting one I’ll stick with my current plan and save a weather station and/or permanent/continuous freezer monitoring for a future project.
Yup, I was suggesting it as an additional option where you can leave your heatermeter permanently installed on your smoker, and also monitor your freezer with minimal effort. Running rtl_433 is like a 5 minute project, and even an original Pi can run it with cycles to spare.
FWIW I found the best way to improve freezer energy performance is to drop your ambient temperature. This improves the COP and cuts cycle time more dramatically than changing the cold side setpoint (assuming you don’t have the freezer really cranked to near the limits of the compressor).
My freezer is in the coldest part of my house, mostly by coincidence as that’s the part nobody really lives in, with the laundry and such. It’s zoned off to mostly just be kept above freezing by passive heat.