OUR EXPERIMENTAL WORK
Solar powered chilled storage
The perfect use for solar power, the hotter the sun shines, the more cooling it can provide!
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In 2019, funded by British Airways Carbon Offset Fund ( Responsible Business | Community Investment & Corporate Governance (britishairways.com) ), we hosted a project to design, model and build a zero carbon, chilled storage area to keep the farm’s fresh produce in ultra tip top condition between picking and delivery.
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The sustainable timber-based construction, insulation and solar powered refrigeration units provide year round dry, cool and fresh conditions keeping the crops at their early morning, just picked best.
The design was done in-house. Temperature modelling and predictions was carried out by  Lubo Jankovic, Professor of Advanced Building Design at University of Hertfordshire (Ljubomir Jankovic — University of Hertfordshire (Research Profiles) (herts.ac.uk)) The build was completed by local craftsmen, workers and volunteers. ​The building continues to work almost autonomously and its performance is being recorded for future research. The next project will be to apply smart feedback to the fridge timer settings, an available project for any technology student looking for ideas!
GET IN TOUCH
For more information about crops available and volunteering on the farm please contact Sue Johnson on 07764 814008.