Discover More About OverShield’s Calculation Channels

What is a Calculation Channel?

A Calculation Channel (or Calc Channel) is a virtual sensor created inside the OverShield platform.

Unlike physical sensors that gather raw refrigeration data directly (temperature, pressure, current, etc.), a calculation channel uses that data by performing computations with it, ultimately creating new values that provide more insightful information than the original data. These new values appear in the OverShield trend charts, just like physical data.

Turning Raw Data into Rich Data

Consider two sensors on the low side of a compressor: a pressure sensor that reads the suction pressure, and a temperature sensor that records the suction temperature. Collecting this physical data enables inputs for two calc channels that refrigeration technicians often use for analysis: the saturation temperature and the superheat.

Saturation temperature

The saturation temperature is valuable information that indicates what the refrigerant is supposed to be doing, e.g.,boiling, condensing, superheating, or subcooling. Technicians use this to know if the evaporator is cold enough and if the condenser is rejecting heat efficiently.

A calc channel that outputs the saturation temperature can be created from the suction pressure data.  

Superheat

Superheat indicates whether all liquid refrigerant has boiled off before entering the compressor. It is a simple calculation to perform within a calc channel.  

OverShield utilizes calc channel data to define new alerts that activate when the superheat or saturation temperature (or both) goes out of specifications. When a refrigeration technician needs to calculate these values manually, they only capture the data at that moment. But OverShield trends these critical values over time, so technicians can see how and when they are changing.

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Why it’s Important

Calc channels are a very fast and flexible way to capture and create valuable data. OverShield sensors capture data every five minutes, and calc channels automatically refresh at the same frequency.  

The resulting data from calc channels can be:

• Alarmed
• Trended
• Reported on
• Used as an input to other calculations

Calc channels can be used for unit conversions or important diagnostic information, such as superheat, subcooling, compression ratios, and more. These conditions can be combined to create a single intelligent alert that isn’t based on as ingle parameter and therefore less likely to generate a false alert.  

Learn how Calculation Channels can support your operation

Calculation Channels unlock a deeper understanding of refrigeration system performance, while OverShield transforms that intelligence into actionable maintenance insight. Contact Predictive Monitor to learn how these capabilities can support your operation.

See the data that matters most to your operation. Contact us today to learn how OverShield Calculation Channels can deliver deeper insights, smarter alerts, and faster troubleshooting.  

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