Solar powered cold storage

ERG 211 Assignment

By,
Swetha .R
2018001108
B.Sc(hons)Agriculture
2nd year
Cold storage structure’s importance in agriculture:

• India is known as the fruit and vegetable basket of the world and the
second largest producer.
• Yet, the post harvest loses in fruits and vegetables in India ranges
between 30-35% which accounts for an economic drain of Rs2.4 lakh
crore annually.
• Perishability leads market gluts, price fluctuations and other similar
problems.
• At low temperature, perishability is reduced and shelf life is increased
and thus the importance of cold storage.
Solar powered cold storage:
• Exclusively depends on solar power:
It uses solar energy to run the cold storage system and
charges the back up battery.
• Solar hybrid cold storage:
In addition to solar power ,alternate sources of power (like
diesel and electric current from grid) are used as back up.

Conventional cold storage Solar cold storage

Heat and carbon emissions Heat and carbon emissions

are more are less
It pollutes the environment Environment friendly

Initial establishment cost is Initial establishment cost is

nearly half that of solar comparatively higher
powered coldstorge

But the running cost is high Running cost is very low

Solar powered movable storage structure
- designed by P.K Sharma and H.S Arun Kumar
Storage structure:
• Size: 1.83*1.34*1.9m
• Total volume:4.85m3
• No.of crates: 40
• Crate size:56.5*36.5*27 cm
• Crate capacity:25 kg of fruits and
vegetables
An air conditioner :
• 0.8 tonnes(800W)
Solar photovoltaic system(spv):
Its components include,
• 8 solar panel(Each solar panel produces 210
Wp)
• Solar inverter(3000VA)
• Battery bank(4 Batteries(12V/150Ah each)

Result: Lower temperature and higher R.H maintained inside the storage structure
helped to increase the shelf life of tomatoes by upto 20 days
Case study:
Farmer’s name: Somanath Sopan Jagdale
Place: Pune ,Maharashtra
Farm size 6 acre flower farm(chrysanthemum)
Difficulty faced: Selling flowers at distant markets
due to the perishability of flowers
Installed: Ecofrost solar cold storage unit
No of units inatalled: 2

Results:
 The flowers stored remained fresh
for 20 days.
 Once cooled ,the flowers remain
fresh even after 4 days of selling.
 He gets better and sustainable
returns.
 The cold storage system uses only
solar power.Solar power is used to
charge the thermal back up
Solar hybrid cold storage: • Pure grid tie system
• Battery based hybrid system
Solar grid tie system: Utility grid is a virtual battery

Condition 1: Electricity produced<= Consumption

All solar produced electricity is consumed on site and only
differential electricity is drawn from grid.
Condition 2:Electricity produced > Consumption:
Excess solar power is exposed to grid through bidirectional meter
Condition 3:When pv is down
Power supplied through grid only
Battery based hybrid system:

Grid Battery Battery charging , motor and load requirement

PV met by
+ + _ Both with pv as priority
_ _ pv with battery as buffer
+
+ _ _ pv. With temperature achieved, compressor acts in
energy saving mode .Excess power IS exported to
grid

_ _ Loses > Diesel generator starts running

30%cap
acity
Pure grid tie system Battery based hybrid system:

The electric power grid is used as a Batteries are used to store power
virtual battery
As there is no storage, there might be Ensures 24*7 electricuy
black outs if there is no diesel
generator
Diesel generator are run comparatively Very minimal or no need to run Diesel
more. generator.
Pilot project: Solar hybrid cold storage
Location: Chuadanga, Bangladesh
Sponsored bay: World bank and IDCOL

Description
Cool room dimension 5m*3m*2.5m
Cool room temperature 4 C (2-4)
Humidity 85-90%RH
Storage goods Fruits,vegetables,flowers
Product storage capacity 2MT
Power system solar powerl(68%)
Alternate sources(main grid diesel
generator)(32%)

The freshness quality test was done after 14, 21 and 24 days of storage.
Result :The perishable good remained fresh for a long time withut degradation
in their quality.
Solar hybrid cold storage
 Reference:

• Sharma P.K & Arun Kumar H.S(25 may 2018) Solar powered movable
cold storage structure for perishables[PDF file].Retrieved from
c40a299e5008bf23c91e79e6757d31dda621-1.pdf

• Solar hybrid cold storage(August 2017)[PDF file].Retrieved from

https://s.docworkspace.com/d/AL7CnNTHzsFKwePTxdidFA

• Statcon energiaa(2016) Solar cold storage[PDF file] Retrieved from

https://s.docworkspace.com/d/AMdNxWXHzsFKgcnsv9idFA

• Ecozen(2019,December6).Ecofrost Solar Cold Room(Flower Farming)

[Video].Youtube. https://youtu.be/Xt4PbAW3tvY

• Ecozen(2015,November15).Ecofrost(Solar Cold Storage-Ecozen)[Video].

Youtube.https://youtu.be/K8l8X17lk44.