Smart plugs utilizing Nordic's cellular IoT solutions contributed to simplifying the maintenance of commercial cooling systems.

Nordic Semiconductor announced on the 19th that its nRF9160 SiP has been adopted in SECO's energy sensors.

SECO has launched a smart plug for commercial cooling systems. The sensor, which includes the nRF9160SiP, can detect various energy parameters, allowing users to remotely check the maintenance status of the device.

SECO's energy sensor was developed by Lemonbeat, a German IoT company and a design partner of Nordic Semiconductor, which is a subsidiary of E.ON, a large European utility company.

■ Device and Cloud Connection

This smart plug can record energy, voltage, power, and current variables using sensors, and can be applied to all devices powered by 230V, including existing cooling equipment in grocery stores and supermarkets.

SECO’s smart plug, which adopts Nordic’s nRF9160 SiP with integrated LTE-M/NB-IoT modem and GNSS, can transmit data to a cloud-based platform via LTE-M or NB-IoT wireless connection and manage sensors mounted within the smart plug.

The powerful 64MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 application-dedicated processor embedded in the nRF9160 SiP ensures the accuracy of recorded data. It also employs a proprietary energy pattern detection algorithm that enables the device to report to a cloud platform only when necessary, thereby reducing data costs and power consumption associated with frequent transmissions.

Through these energy consumption patterns, maintenance requirements, along with the status and services of the device, can be monitored on the cloud platform. In addition, by reducing the possibility of cooling system malfunctions, it can help prevent food spoilage and protect customers.

■ Intelligent Plug & Play Solution

Oliver van der Mond, CEO of Lemonbit, stated, “By monitoring energy parameters such as voltage, power, and current in great detail, we can detect patterns that determine the condition of the cooling system and the need for maintenance,” adding, “SECO can simplify maintenance by providing on-site service only when actually necessary.”

He also noted, “While other solutions using Wi-Fi exist, they can increase the total cost of ownership due to various factors that add to the burden of system installation and operation, such as unstable connections, access issues, and password changes,” and added, “After operating for several months, we were convinced that only the nRF9160 SiP solution, which provides LTE-M or NB-IoT connectivity, can realize a truly intelligent plug-and-play solution.”