“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)
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.