Patent ID: 8725455

Claim:
A system for monitoring the operational health of a refrigeration system, comprising: one or more sensors adapted to periodically measure a temperature in a refrigeration system or a current drawn by the refrigeration system; and a current transducer configured to measure current flow in an electrical circuit providing power to the refrigeration system; a control processor in communication with the one or more sensors and configured to receive a series of periodic measurements from the one or more sensors, wherein the control processor is adapted to communicate the series of periodic measurements through a network to a monitoring system configured to characterize a state of health of the refrigeration system based on the series of periodic measurements, wherein the series of periodic measurements includes information indicative of a corresponding time of measurement, wherein the monitoring system is configured to predict failure of the refrigeration system or loss of energy efficiency of the refrigeration system based on an analysis of trends or patterns in the series of periodic measurements, and wherein the analysis of trends or patterns in the series of periodic measurements includes analyses of a temperature signal and a signal representing electrical current consumed by the refrigeration system, and wherein the analysis of the trends or patterns in the series of periodic measurements includes a calculated energy efficiency of the refrigeration system based on a pattern in the signal representing the electrical current.