'Nduja di Spilinga
Soft, spreadable Calabrian pork sausage made with a great deal of red chilli and fatty pork, stuffed into natural casings, sometimes smoked and matured while staying soft.
Built structures · Cabinets and chamber conversions
Forced-air evaporative cooling room
Forced-air evaporative cooling chamber · Container evaporative cooling room
An enclosed room, based on a used shipping container, in which fans draw hot dry air through wet cooling pads. The cooled air then passes over produce crates. It is an advanced, powered design for hot, dry climates.
Overview
A forced-air evaporative cooling room moves hot dry outside air through a wet pad, where the water evaporates and cools the air. The cooled air then moves through a room of produce crates. Fans and a pump drive the process, which makes it a powered design rather than a passive one.
The MIT open-source design is built in a used shipping container. It is documented in a set of guides covering dimensional design, airflow, electrical, plumbing and construction.
Sources for this section
How the air moves
Industrial exhaust fans draw hot dry air into the chamber and through porous wet pads. The water evaporates from the pads and cools the air before it reaches the crates. The pump recirculates water to the pads, and solenoid valves control the flow.
Bypass airflow, where air avoids the pads, lowers the cooling. That is why the design is not simply shrunk: small changes in geometry change how much air meets the pads.
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Cost and energy
The MIT material states that the design costs about half as much as a typical refrigerated cold room of similar capacity, and uses about one quarter of the energy. These are the design team's comparisons and should be measured against local cold-room prices and energy use before being relied on.
Pilot units in Kenya and India used packaged evaporative pads about 6 inches thick, 50 mm insulation panels, galvanized iron supports and an IoT-connected control system.
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Electrical and water systems
The electrical guidelines cover the power supply, the industrial exhaust fans, a submersible pump that recirculates water to the pads, and electrically activated solenoid valves. Plumbing guidelines cover the water side.
Because water and electricity share one structure, the layout matters as much as the cooling performance. The design documents should be followed closely, and any change should be checked by a qualified person.
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Climate and limits
The design is meant for hot, dry conditions. Humid climates reduce the cooling a wet pad can give, so results from a dry climate cannot be carried over to a humid one without testing.
Passive cooling is the simpler comparison. Energy, water and crop performance should be measured against a passive cooler for the same produce before the powered room is chosen.
Sources for this section
History
MIT D-Lab and the MIT Building Technology Program developed the forced-air design. Pilot units were built in Kenya and India, and the design documents are published open source.
Site
SettingEnclosed structure in a hot, dry climate
GroundA level base that can carry the container and its water system
ClimateHot, dry air is the intended context. Humid climates should not be assumed to give the same results.
NotesBuilt in place from a container, so moving it means rebuilding the installation.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Risks and precautions
Electrical supply with pumps and fans in a wet area
Water, pumps and fan motors share one enclosure, so electrical faults and water leaks are a real hazard.
Hazard sourceFollow the electrical system guidelines in the design documents and keep electrical parts clear of the water supply
Control sourceElectrical work should be done by a qualified installer to the applicable code. Measure airflow and temperature before storing produce.
Materials
- Used shipping container
- Evaporative cooling pads
- Insulation panels
- Galvanized iron support structure
- Industrial exhaust fans
- Submersible water pump and solenoid valves
- Vented produce crates
- Start from the open-source design documents, which give dimensional schematics for the room and its airflow, electrical, plumbing and construction systems.
- Install the wet cooling pads on the air intake, with the exhaust fans drawing hot dry air through them.
- Route cooled air through the room over the produce crates, and recirculate the water with a submersible pump and solenoid valves.
- Add the electrical supply, controls and monitoring that the design documents specify, and measure airflow and temperature before storing produce.
Places
No source in this record establishes a place.
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Sources
MIT D-LabDesign · Documentation
MIT open-source evaporative cooling chamberOpen-source design documentation in six sections: introduction, dimensional schematics, airflow, electrical, plumbing and construction guidelines.
Cited in: Overview; How the air moves; Cost and energy; Electrical and water systems; Climate and limits
Community Jameel, MITDesign · Cost · Pilot units
Design: Forced-air evaporative cooling chamberBased on a used shipping container; industrial exhaust fans draw air through wet pads; pilot units in Kenya and India used 6-inch pads and 50 mm insulation.
Cited in: Overview; How the air moves; Cost and energy; Electrical and water systems; Climate and limits