Studies on solar photovoltaic powered cooling for enhancing shelf-life of vegetables

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic technology is now-a-days the promising and popular source of energy for generating power as compared to other sources of renewable energy. The solar electricity has been proved to be a viable option for refrigeration purpose as against the mechanical one. In the remote areas where grid electricity is not available or the supply is erratic, solar photovoltaic electricity can be used sustainably for cooling of freshly harvested vegetables for minimizing the post-harvest losses and to prevent their distress sales. This paper discusses the viability of using solar powered cooling arrangement for enhancing shelf-life of vegetables.