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Refrigerator designed to stay cold for extended periods without power for use in developing regions with poor electricity supplies that make conventional refrigerators unusable
About
Three billion people around the world lack access to efficient cooling. Lack of access to efficient cooling can negatively impact people’s lives where they may be unable to cool themselves in hot weather, access life-saving medicines, or safely store food at low temperatures for later consumption. Refrigeration is also a significant contributor to global warming. The goal of The Refrigeration Project is to provide an accessible off-the-grid cooling solution that can help solve these problems and improve the lives of the billions of people currently unable to benefit from access to efficient cooling. The initial solution for The Refrigeration Project is a desktop refrigerator designed to be accessible for the urban and rural poor populations of India. It aims to provide efficient cooling in regions subject to frequent power cuts lasting for up to 2 days at a time. It aims to provide organised cold storage for food and drinks using electricity whilst it is available and utilise off-grid cooling technology to allow it to stay cold for extended periods without electricity during power cuts as opposed to conventional refrigerators which heat up quickly when the electricity supply is removed. It aims to use low-cost materials and components that are readily available, easy to assemble and disassemble so it is easy for users to construct and repair it.
Key Benefits
Off-grid cooling technology keeps payload cold for extended periods without power which could reduce energy use and carbon emissions where system does not need to be powered on for as long to keep payload cool. Low-cost product aimed at urban and rural poor populations of India with 8000 Rupees (~100 USD) per unit Initial target sale price for desktop solution to be accessible to target users. Robust construction, use of off the shelf parts, parts that can be disassembled and replaced or repaired increases product lifespan and suitability for users in developing markets. Modular design could be resized for different applications.
Applications
The Refrigeration Project is an accessible off-grid refrigeration solution designed for developing markets, with the initial design having been developed specifically for the rural and urban poor populations of India. India has a total population of 1.3 billion, with 173 million people in urban/rural poor populations living without access to efficient cooling.