Axiom Cloud Helps Supermarkets Catch Refrigerant Leaks Early

Axiom Cloud, which uses software and automation to improve cooling systems, has revealed that its Early Leak Detection (ELD) module, formerly in beta, is being released for commercial use throughout North America. According to the company, the ELD module leverages AI-powered algorithms, instead of requiring new physical sensors, to detect leaks much earlier than most grocery stores and cold-storage facilities do today. The ELD module helps facilities dramatically lower their refrigerant leak rates and reduce scope 1 greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. It also provides clear notifications (that often specify the location of the leak) to enable faster and more efficient service calls.

The ELD module leverages a combination of AI-powered algorithms and 11-plus indicators derived from system-level models to detect variations indicating refrigerant leaks. By operating without the need for PPM (parts per million) sniffers or receiver-level sensors, the company says that the ELD module can be applied uniformly and quickly across a disparate portfolio of stores, it streamlines most leak detection strategies into a single process, and it catches leaks much earlier than other methods – as short as one to seven days.

[Read more: “New Ways to Approach Cooling in Stores”]

Axiom Cloud has also been listed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as an Automatic Leak Detection (ALD) system, which means that the ELD module enables facilities to avoid required quarterly or monthly manual leak checks while simultaneously lowering the facility's leak rate.

"I am more excited about our Early Leak Detection module than any other new technology we have introduced in the refrigeration industry to date," said Amrit Robbins, CEO of San Jose, Calif.-based Axiom Cloud. "Across the 240-plus sites where it's already operating today, the ELD module has proven it can increase Axiom Cloud's greenhouse-gas impact by more than 10 times, which is incredibly motivating to me and the Axiom team. I'm excited to partner with the big grocery and cold-storage companies to deploy ELD in thousands of facilities fast, so we can realize these climate and financial benefits at scale soon."

Axiom Cloud released a new case study featuring the ELD module providing value at a Sprouts Farmers Market store near Sacramento, Calif. The ELD module detected back-to-back leaks at the facility that were otherwise overlooked, avoiding two emergency cooling outages, saving approximately 300 pounds of leaked R407F refrigerant (equivalent to 550,000 pounds of CO2 emissions), and saving the facility approximately $9,600 in refrigerant costs alone.