How Climate Energy future-proofs existing cooling systems with VISUALYS
Climate Energy GmbH has been a leading provider of mobile refrigeration and air conditioning solutions for many years. The company offers its customers fast and flexible cooling options for a wide range of applications—from temporary server room cooling and building air conditioning to providing refrigeration units for mobile ice rinks. One thing is paramount: reliability and control.
But how can a fleet of existing cooling units be brought into the digital world without incurring high costs or long integration times? This was the question Managing Director Mr. Streit faced when Climate Energy began searching for a solution to enable efficient, centralized monitoring of its systems.
The challenge: cooling systems without real-time visibility
Traditional mobile refrigeration systems are self-contained systems. Once installed and put into operation, they provide cooling capacity, but there is no easy way to monitor them remotely or control their status centrally. Malfunctions or inefficient operating modes often go unnoticed until a failure occurs, potentially with serious consequences for the operator.
For Climate Energy, this meant:
- No real-time data on operating conditions
- High effort required for manual inspections
- Unpredictable failures associated with high costs
- Limited ability to optimize energy efficiency and performance
To address these challenges, an IIoT solution was required that could be quickly integrated, retrofit existing systems, and remain scalable and cost-efficient.
The solution: digital retrofitting with the VISUALYS IIoT platform
The choice fell on VISUALYS, an expert in industrial digitalization specializing in transforming existing machines and systems into Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments. Guided by the principle “We make you and your business IIoT ready,” VISUALYS provides smart solutions to future-proof existing systems through simple upgrades.
Together with VISUALYS, Climate Energy developed a concept that was implemented within just a few days—without costly hardware expansions or complex modifications. The solution is based on the VISUALYS IIoT platform, combined with powerful IIoT gateways that enable existing Modbus devices (TCP & RTU) to become IIoT-capable.
This combination provides maximum flexibility:
- Existing cooling systems can be easily retrofitted
- No deep modifications to existing control systems are required
- Systems can go online within a very short time
- The solution is scalable and supports seamless future expansion
Mr. Streit highlights the efficiency of the implementation:
“Working with VISUALYS was excellent from the very beginning. We were particularly impressed that the system could be fully implemented within just a few days—without costly adjustments or long integration times. The solution was significantly more cost-effective than many other options on the market, and we see enormous potential to equip our entire fleet with this technology.”
Data as the key to efficiency: machine data acquisition
With the VISUALYS IIoT platform, numerous data points from the cooling systems are captured, visualized, and used for optimization. This information not only helps detect malfunctions at an early stage but also optimizes energy consumption and maximizes system availability.
Examples of collected data:
- Temperatures (actual values, setpoints for cooling and heating, evaporator inlet, condensation pressure)
- Pressure sensors for monitoring the refrigeration cycle
- Status signals of compressors, pumps, and fans
- Alarm messages and fault logs (e.g., overheating, pressure deviations, pump failure)
These insights are valuable not only for Climate Energy but also for its customers. Through intelligent analysis and visualization, operators can respond early to irregularities and reduce unnecessary service interventions. In addition, system runtimes can be optimized—for example, by avoiding peak loads or stabilizing temperature fluctuations.
Security through granular user access
A key advantage of the VISUALYS IIoT platform is that not only Climate Energy but also system users can access the data—while maintaining the highest standards of data security and granular access control.
- Each user receives an individual account with customized permissions.
- Customers can only view their own systems, with no access to other systems or internal company data.
Sensitive operational data remains protected, while customers still enjoy full transparency regarding their own refrigeration system.
This security architecture ensures maximum control combined with high flexibility. Customers always have insight into their machines, while Climate Energy maintains an overall view and can provide targeted support.
A game changer for Climate Energy and its customers
With the VISUALYS solution, Climate Energy can offer its customers an entirely new level of visibility and control over their rented cooling systems. Thanks to the VISUALYS app, customers gain real-time insight into system status, receive automatic alerts in case of faults, and can optimize operations at any time.
Additional benefits include:
- Real-time monitoring: customers and technicians can view the status of all systems at a glance
- Intelligent fault detection: issues are immediately identified and reported
- Optimized service: maintenance is carried out in a targeted and efficient manner
The VISUALYS platform also enables Climate Energy to develop new service models. In the future, this could include pay-per-use billing, predictive maintenance concepts, and performance-based pricing models—offering even greater flexibility to customers.
Conclusion: future-proof refrigeration through IIoT
By implementing the VISUALYS IIoT platform, Climate Energy was able to quickly and cost-effectively transition its existing refrigeration systems to the digital world. The solution clearly demonstrates that the IIoT is not only intended for new machines, but can also help make existing systems future-proof.
With the ability to digitize existing infrastructure, extend machine lifecycles through smart upgrades, and enable entirely new service models, Climate Energy is ideally positioned for the future—providing its customers with a real competitive advantage.
VISUALYS – We make you and your business IIoT ready.
