Solar-powered Refrigerators

One of the biggest objective behind the development of solar refrigerators was to prevent global warming. Normal refrigerators that are powered by electricity, use up a lot of energy and indirectly contribute a lot to global warming.

Another very big reason was to prevent energy crisis. As mentioned earlier, refrigerators that are powered by electricity consume a lot of energy. Solar refrigerators, however, cool and preserve food with the help of abundant solar energy.

Refrigerators running on solar energy would prove to be more advantageous, if they are put to use in tropical regions, suffering from food shortage. The tropical regions face the direct glare of the sun's rays, and thus, are potential places where solar energy can be used. The more intense the solar energy, the more food can be stored in the refrigerator.

Some solar refrigerators of huge capacities are already being employed in regions of Africa and are running very successfully. One of the biggest advantages of these devices is that, they are energy-efficient.

The refrigerator basically deploys the concepts of solar power conduction and convection. This device does not require any electricity, and the cooling method that is deployed is pretty different from a normal refrigerator. The cooling device is made up of two cylinders that are located one inside another.

The cylinders can be designed, and made with the help of any material that include wood, cardboard, or even metal. The gap that is left between the cylinders is then filled up with organic matter like wood, animal waste, organic or kitchen waste, etc. This decomposable matter is then saturated with generous quantities of water and is left out in the sun.

The heat of the sun evaporates the water that is present in between the cylinders. The water that turns to steam, takes all the heat with it while escaping to the atmosphere, thus cooling down the temperature inside the inner cylinder to about 6 degrees Celsius.

Another type of solar-powered refrigerator is the one that works with the help of a regular solar panel. This type generates electricity with the help of solar panels, and then uses the electricity like a normal plug-in refrigerator.

Though this type of refrigerator is powered by solar energy, it is not hundred percent eco-friendly as the cooling gases that are used in the refrigerator, and the ones generated due to cooling, contribute to global warming and depletion of the ozone layer.

One of the biggest practical advantages of solar-powered refrigerators is that they can be made using the least possible resources. These refrigerators work according to the atmospheric temperatures, i.e., the greater the heat of the sun, the lesser the temperature will be there in the inner cylinder.

The drop and rise in the heat of the sun directly affects the rate of cooing. This solar-powered heating device can be used to replace energy-efficient refrigerators. Many scientists predict that solar refrigerators would totally replace conventional refrigerators, as the most energy-efficient refrigerators.