SOLAR POWERED COLD ROOM; How post-harvest technology is helping cut costs on farm produce right from the farm

Tired of incurring huge losses of your perishable farm produce and spending much money on electricity for their preservation? Well, worry no more with the new solar powered cold room innovation by two young Kenyatta University graduate entrepreneurs providing a homegrown solution through technology. The affordable and environment friendly cold room technology helps farmers in preserving perishable produce such as tomatoes, vegetables, among others right from farms to the market. Such produce always requires a long period of storage at a cool and regulated temperatures.

Peter Mutua, a Mechanical Engineer graduate at Chandaria Business and Incubation Center, Kenyatta University, the brain behind the innovation. He and his fellow innovator Peter Muhoho conceived the ambitious idea in fourth-year as their research project for the course. Their solar powered cold room technology is housed at the Chandaria Business Incubation Centre. Mutua, also the founder and CEO of Colreftec Solutions notes that they were so passionate about developing the food preservation idea to help small and large scale farmers as well as businesses in the field of horticulture.

“What really motivated us was the increasingly post-harvest losses of perishable produce. I thought of something that could be of so much help to food and people, and this how we came up with solar powered cold room,” Mutua says.

“We design, fabricate, install, maintain and service both fixed and mobile cold rooms. We also offer support and logistic services for perishable goods farmers, to ready – market countrywide.This enables farmers to transport their products to various markets like from their farms,” Mutua added.

Apart from the solar system, a finger scanner is incorporated to enhance security of the produce to avoid unaccountability in case of loss during transportation. Mutua reveals that  a client can monitor the system from wherever they are using a mobile installed application integrated system to help regulate the amount of kilograms and tonnes of product to be stored in the cold room for it to be more secure.

The cold-rooms have been tried out and their performance has been excellent. They are favorable in Sub-Saharan region where sunlight intensity is plenty throughout the year.

The cold-rooms basically preserve the produce within the set temperature by use of digital thermostat. Normally cold-rooms maintain a temperature range of (0-5) degrees Celsius.

“Ideally, by use of solar panel we harness the solar energy and store it in the battery. We do sizing of the solar equipment to ensure sufficient flow of energy during the day and night,” Mutua says.

Powerful standby batteries charged during the day are fitted on the solar powered cold rooms to provide power at any given time in case of limitations. The energy stored in the battery powers the condensing unit, the security unit, as well as lighting of the bulbs during the night. The weight of load to be stored also has to be ascertained for proper estimation of the energy needed to drive the entire system. The time taken for every produce stored in the cold room further depend on the amount of energy that a particular produce carries.

The solar energy used by the cold room again varies depending on the size of the cold room and the load to be stored in it. For instance, a cold room of 6ft by 6ft by 7ft requires 0.0012.341354j. The solar powered cold room offers a lasting solution to farmers who always experience heavy losses when their produce goes bad right from the farm during the harvesting period.

“In Kenya, according to the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, 50 percent of the perishable produce that is harvested goes to waste during transportation and so an extension of preservation period would help save a farmer’s product,” Mutua notes.

Moreover, tonnes of fresh produce stored depend on the size of the cold room and clients’ specifications. For instance, a cold room of 6ft by 6ft by 7ft has the capability to store more than 2 tonnes of tomatoes in more than 10-15 days maintained at a temperature range of 5-6 Degrees Celsius. However, it is during this period that the client can seek ready market where the produce can be transported.

Mutua points out that the cold rooms are cheaper compared to the imported ones in the markets. He attributes their pocket-friendly costs to the fact that they are made locally and do not use electricity.

Mutua asserts that the electric-powered cold room of 6ft by 6ft by 7ft can cost one more than Kshs.10, 0000 monthly in electricity bills unlike the solar-powered one that is always 20 percent less.

In every business venture there has to be challenges and Mutua reveals one of the hiccup he went through. “During the Enhancing Food Security Outreach Youth Champions (ESYOC 2019) project in Kenyatta University, Colreftec Solutions won a tender to supply one solar powered cold room in Makueni County, but while on our way the machine fell from the vehicle and got damaged. We are yet again to assemble one and supply to the county,” Mutua narrates.

He is optimistic that his solar powered cold room innovation offers quality foods full of nutritious value to boost the agricultural sector in the country. The engineering graduate is confident that this will eliminate hunger and malnutrition which stands high among children.

“It is eco-friendly by the virtue that it is using green energy which is renewable and farmers will not have to sell their produce at throwaway prices citing losses and the nation will feed her citizens adequately simply because a lot of the food produce won’t go to waste,” Mutua says.

He affirms that solar-powered cold rooms won’t have any negative impact to the society as they use green energy which is harmless to human health and the environment.

Mutua states that using cold rooms will eradicate poverty through job creation to many unemployed youths including graduates interested in agribusiness.