Understanding Your Environmental Sensor Readings 

1. Sensor Placement: Our sensors measure ambient air temperature in their immediate surroundings. To always mitigate against the worst case scenario, we recommend placing them closer to doors where temperatures are typically higher, rather than at the back of the enclosure where colder fan air can skew readings. That said, this placement can create slight discrepancies when comparing data from third-party tools or integrated monitoring systems.

2. Timing: If you’re comparing a manual reading taken in real time, please note that dashboard updates can take 20 minutes or more depending on network connectivity. Within that window, changes like opening a door or introducing new products can temporarily impact temperature reading

3. Airflow & Defrost Cycles: The position of fans and vents relative to your temperature sensors plays a crucial role in readings. Airflow changes—especially during cooling or defrost cycles—can create short-term larger than normal fluctuations.

4. Mounting Height: Even small height differences within the same unit can affect temperature readings. Consistent sensor placement — both for PathSpot and any third-party tools — helps ensure more reliable comparisons.

5. Calibration: Make sure any third-party devices used for validation are periodically calibrated, ideally with an ice water calibration.

When these variables are taken into account, any differences between readings should be minimal. To gain a broader view of your equipment's performance over time, we also recommend using our Time Over Temperature graph — learn more here.

Note that our sensors are factory-calibrated with a tolerance of ±0.3°C and go through rigorous QA testing before shipment. If you need calibration documentation and product certifications please reach out to your Account Manager.