Community Solar Cold Rooms

• Cold room: Comprising 150mm (6”) thick insulated cold room panels with a floor made of stainless steel. Dimensions (LxWxH): 3m x 3m x 2m (10ft x 10ft x 7ft). This contains approximately three tons of perishable food arranged in 150 units in 20kg (44lbs) plastic crates stacked on the floor. • Refrigeration unit: An energy efficient natural refrigerant-charged R290 monoblock refrigeration unit with 24/7 autonomous refrigeration, using 658W of energy per hour and specially designed for off-grid use. The temperature is kept at around 5°C (41°F). • Solar power: Provided by rooftop solar panels generating approximately 5.5kW, connected to a set of deep-cycle, long lasting batteries, off grid and on grid inverters. The power generated is sufficient to run the hubs on all weather conditions. • Natural refrigerants: The system uses propane (R290), which is a natural refrigerant with no Ozone Depleting Potential and a very low Global Warming Potential (GWP) – a sustainable and future-proof choice. According to ColdHubs, they haven’t had any issues using R290. They take extra care in handling this and make it a priority to ensure that the Hubs are not installed in areas where there is any type of fire or open flame nearby. • Remote monitoring: Breakdowns and down-time is managed through the ColdHubs Advanced Remote Monitoring System (CARMS). On each ColdHub, there is daily monitoring of the number of door openings, battery state of charge, ambient temperature, cold room temperature, and solar irradiation. CARMS is being upgraded to have a video camera with capabilities of taking and storing pictures in the cloud, so they can see the loading and offloading of food remotely. With CARMS, the team manages and pre-empt the performance of each Hub. • Increased the household income of 3,517 small farmers, retailers and wholesalers by 100%, an additional US$60 (EUR50) to the previous US$60 (EUR50) earned, making their monthly income a total of US$120 (EUR100), simply by eliminating the previous 50% food loss. • Created 48 new jobs for women, by recruiting and training them to work as Hub Operators and Market Managers in markets and farm clusters. • Increased the quality of 20,400 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, ensuring food safety by reducing exposure to harsh direct sunlight, chemical, bacterial and mycotoxin contamination, eliminating rapid rotting. Thus it made 20,400 tons of nutritious food available for local consumption. • Saved an estimated 462,528kg of CO2 emissions with an annual energy consumption reduction of 547kWh