ASTON, Pa. (PRWEB) March 24, 2015

Elmwood Park Zoo had a close call in January, when a power outage caused the heating system to fail and drove handlers to use their body heat to warm snakes, frogs, toads and turtles. To avoid such a potentially deadly situation in the future, the Norristown, Pa.-based zoo and Sensaphone®, a leader in environment alerting technology, have partnered to install devices that provide 24/7 monitoring of the temperature and power where the animals live.

The zoo lost power during the night when keepers were not on the premises. The facility’s old temperature monitor malfunctioned and failed to notify staff of the outage. The blackout damaged the heating system in the Bayou building, which is home to reptiles and amphibians. When the keepers arrived in the morning, the building was dangerously cold, and the lack of heat could have been fatal to the animals. The zoo’s diligent staff saved the cold-blooded animals by holding them close to their bodies to warm them until the heat came back on.

“Proper temperature is critical to the safety of so many animals,” said David Wood, animal curator for Elmwood Park Zoo. “Moving forward, we have peace of mind because this new monitoring system will alert us immediately of both power failures and changes in temperature. It will definitely give us a much faster response time when animals’ lives could be at risk.”

Sensaphone technicians installed a wireless WSG30 monitoring, alarm and event logging system and connected seven temperature sensors and seven power sensors. The system will watch over areas that house reptiles and monkeys in the Bayou building, as well as the animals used in education programs housed in the Casa Bella building.

“The zoo is going through an expansion phase, and after surveying the site, we decided a WSG30 would be an excellent product to grow with their needs,” said Dave DeFusco, vice president of engineering at Sensaphone. “A single WSG30 unit can support up to 30 wireless sensors, which gives the zoo the flexibility to add sensors easily for future exhibits.”

Laura Blanchard, president of Sensaphone, added, “Elmwood Park Zoo does such great work, so when we heard that some of the animals were put in jeopardy after a power outage knocked out the heat, we offered our expertise in protecting remote facilities. Early detection and notification of power failures and potentially dangerous temperature fluctuations are vital to rectifying problems before they become catastrophes.”

About Elmwood Park Zoo

Located in Norristown, Pa., the Elmwood Park Zoo is a premier destination for families and wildlife enthusiasts. The zoo features over 100 animals, primarily native to North, Central and South America. Elmwood Park Zoo offers guests both unique wildlife encounters as well as one-of-a-kind entertainment opportunities. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and is owned and operated by the Norristown Zoological Society, a non-profit organization. For more information about upcoming zoo events, visit http://elmwoodparkzoo.org.

About Sensaphone

Sensaphone® offers a comprehensive line of remote monitoring products that safeguard valuable assets by tracking critical environmental data such as temperature, humidity and power failures. Sensaphone products provide alerts and proactive monitoring data to homeowners and facility managers in many areas including telecommunications, oil and gas, water and wastewater, HVACR, agriculture, healthcare, data centers and greenhouses. More than 400,000 Sensaphone systems are in use today around the world, and they continue to be manufactured in the USA. For more information, call 877-373-2700, email sales(at)sensaphone(dot)com or visit http://www.sensaphone.com.

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Media Contacts:

Lisa Goetz    

Schubert b2b for Sensaphone    

lgoetz(at)schubertb2b(dot)com

610-269-2100 x244    

Shaun Rogers

Marketing Director

Elmwood Park Zoo

srogers(at)elmwoodparkzoo(dot)org

610-277-3825 x233






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