04
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM GUIDELINES
The forced-air evaporative cooling chamber detailed in these documents is designed for the storage of fruits and vegetables. Cool air is created in these chambers using the principle of evaporative cooling, where water evaporating from a wet pad reduces the temperature and increases the humidity of the air passing through the pad.
​
Because the air flowing through the chamber is both cool and humid, this chamber is only suitable for storing produce that can effectively be stored in humid environments; agricultural products like cereal grains and onions will rot in the humid conditions present in these chambers and should be stored using other methods.
This section covers the electrical system for the forced-air evaporative cooling chamber. The chamber can be designed for either on-grid or off-grid operation. In the case that a reliable electricity grid connection is not available, a solar photovoltaic system is an option to power your cooling chamber in off-grid settings.
The key electrical components that need to be powered for the chamber to operate are:
-
Power supply
-
Industrial exhaust fans to force airflow through the chamber
-
Submersible water pump to recirculate water for the cooling pads
-
Electrically activated solenoid values to regulate water flow
-
Switches / control system to activate the other components.
The control system can be manually operated, use simple timers, or an automated control system using sensors and a microcontroller.
​
In this document, we have diagrams for manual and automated operations, key specifications for each of the components, how they function, and their role in the system.
​
