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CEO, Kiona

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Stay cool and informed with our stories on refrigeration and freezing. You will find content on temperature control suitable for rookies and tech-savvy partners. Find blog posts, use cases and videos on temperature control, heat recovery, natural cooling and wireless temperature sensors. Relevant for supermarkets, hotels and restaurants, and large industrial cooling systems like marine and other food processing facilities.

Refrigeration and freezing

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Learn about monitoring energy consumption and temperatures

The <a href="https://www.seedvault.no/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Svalbard Global Seed Vault</a> was opened in 2008 and is now home to over one million seed samples. Some people have compared it to Noah's ark. Others have called it a frozen Garden of Eden. The biblical allegories suggest the seriousness of the issue.



"This is not our biggest assignment, but it may well be our most important. It's with a certain sense of awe that we look after what may come to look after all of us eventually," says Jostein Markussen of Kiona.



<h2 id="h-with-eyes-on-mother-earth-s-backup-monitoring">With eyes on mother earth's backup – monitoring</h2>



It all started when the company Kuldeteknisk (now PTG), a Kiona-certified partner, won the tender to supply the refrigeration plant to total contractor Hæhre. They knew who they wanted to bring along with them as a subcontractor.



"We do a lot of good things with Kiona. They deliver reliable solutions and are flexible, and we work well together. If we need anything, they solve it for us. That's how it was in this case, too," says Martin Corneliussen, project manager at PTG.



While PTG supplies the equipment, Kiona is responsible for monitoring the technical equipment, such as the dehumidification system and CO2 machine, using the SCADA system IWMAC. They're also responsible for monitoring energy consumption and temperatures – from the main door into the innermost and holiest storage areas.&nbsp;



<h2>Overview – and remote control</h2>



Thanks to detailed system images, the cooling contractor can monitor that everything is working correctly. "That's the key to this project," says Corneliussen.&nbsp;



"All the aspects here are important, but without monitoring, we wouldn't be able to maintain control of what's happening. That's vital for Statsbygg, the Norwegian government's building commissioner. They've completed major modifications and are very keen on maintaining a complete overview," he continues.





<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://kiona.com/app/uploads/2022/04/svalbard-seedvault-alamy-P2PPYH-1440x958-1-1024x682.jpg" alt="Inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault" class="wp-image-1460"/><figcaption>Photo: Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Seed Bank) in Svalbard, Norway. Photo by Hemis / Alamy</figcaption></figure>



At the same time, it's not just about monitoring because what if something needs to be changed? Markussen at Kiona explains that the overview is only half the story.&nbsp;



"It's one thing always to have a clear picture of what's happening, but you also need control. Our system allows service partners to remotely control and customize the system from anywhere in the world. So they don't need to travel to Svalbard to make changes."&nbsp;





<h2>The value of perfect temperature</h2>



There are several reasons why Platåberget mountain on Svalbard was chosen. One of them is that the mountain is frozen.



"In other words, what is stored there is not just artificially refrigerated. That provides an extra level of security as a fail-safe. If the human systems failed, the seeds would still stay cold," says Corneliussen at PTG.



But the correct temperature is also about predictability and stability. And the site owner's instructions are clear: The temperature must be -18 °C. No more, no less.



"It is our job to achieve that precise temperature," he explains and concludes:



"And using IWMAC, we can both ensure and document that we can do just that."

The icy Guardians of Svalbard

Guardians of the Ark

Among other things, we're talking about our food. For many store managers, the worry will always be there, like a buzzing noise in the background. A voice that never stops whispering: What if something goes wrong? What if it happens tonight?&nbsp;



At Kiona, we're working to silence that voice — so you can feel more reassured. But not just for that reason. We view it as our social mission to help safeguard these resources. It's about the essential foods intended for people's homes and maintaining sufficient quality. And when we're able to protect that, we reduce both food waste and our climate impact.&nbsp;



<h2 id="h-guardians-of-the-ark">Guardians of the Ark&nbsp;</h2>



Food isn't just stored in the shops. That's why we need to keep our eye on the ball throughout the value chain. Today we have both systems and people monitoring central warehouses throughout the continent. We ensure that food is never exposed to the wrong temperature – and we prevent waste wherever it can occur.&nbsp;&nbsp;



And it doesn't stop with food. Medicine warehouses also rely on uncompromising monitoring to ensure vital medicines are not wasted. In fact, many medicines are far more temperature-sensitive than even food. Socially critical drugs require very specific storage conditions everywhere, from pharmacies in hospitals to large medicine warehouses.&nbsp;&nbsp;



And in Svalbard, 1300 kilometers north of the polar circle, perhaps the holiest is located: <a href="https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/food-fisheries-and-agriculture/svalbard-global-seed-vault/id462220/">The Global Seed Bank</a>. The ark itself. "The doomsday vault." It is part of the last shield we hold in our hands there. We're pretty proud of that.&nbsp;



<h2>Remote control in a time of crisis&nbsp;</h2>



But the greatest non-conformance of all is this: The earth's temperature is all wrong. The alarm has gone off. Here we may not be able to do quite as much, but we can do something. We can arrange for you to control your building's energy consumption wherever you are. We need to end waste. Energy thieves need to be stopped. In addition, in times of crisis, the operations manager can put the building into 'hibernation.'&nbsp;&nbsp;



That option to control systems remotely is essential. We have systems in place in both nursing homes and care homes. If a contractor or service partner is not allowed to travel there when something fails, they can deal with the non-conformance from their current location. And if they need advice, they may be among those who can get it from our <a href="https://kiona.com/products/iwmac/alarmmonitoring-24-7/">alarm centre</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Because there are heroes around who don't wear a cape or uniform. The people who monitor all these stocks of food and medicine – and even more secret things – 24 hours a day. Their job is to let you know the second something goes wrong.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Together with our systems, they are the safety net for all those critical resources.&nbsp;

Critical resources are more than just food