Why is my commercial fridge showing a temperature alarm, and what does it mean?

A temperature alarm usually means the controller has detected the cabinet has been outside its allowed high or low temperature limits for long enough to trigger an alert.

Common meanings in day-to-day use:

High temperature alarm: the cabinet air temperature has risen above the high limit, often due to door left open, heavy service, warm stock loaded, poor ventilation, a dirty condenser, or a genuine cooling fault.

Low temperature alarm: the cabinet is colder than intended, which can be caused by incorrect setpoint changes, probe issues, or control faults.

Important: on many forced-air commercial cabinets, the alarm is typically based on a probe reading air temperature (return air), not the core temperature of your food. Treat it as an early warning to check conditions, verify temperatures with an independent thermometer, and protect stock per your HACCP procedures.

Read the full guide: Unifrost Commercial Fridge Ambient Temperature Controller: Troubleshooting Alarms in Irish Kitchens.