Solar-powered evaporatively cooled vegetable vending cart

Abstract

A solar-powered vending cart was designed and developed for storage of fruits and vegetables. It was tested for its performance during summer season. The minimum and maximum drop in temperature ranged between 8.1°C and 11.2°C, and the increase in relative humidity was observed to be up to 15% and 25% inside the vending card chamber in June. The requirement of water ranged between 16.5 and 20.0 litre/day. There was considerable effect on physiological loss in weight of different vegetables kept either inside or outside the mobile chamber. The freshness and shelflife of vegetables increased substantially after storage in the cart.