Picked fruit goes into a hydrocooler, which showers or immerses it in chilled water to pull field heat out quickly, then into a cool room. Some orchards run motors on retractable rain covers, which protect fruit from splitting in summer storms. On top of that, there are picker facilities: a kitchen, hot water, toilets and lighting for the crew who may be living on site. Summer thunderstorms bring both rain that splits fruit and lightning that takes out the lines.
Small hydrocoolers on a family orchard can fit within 15 kW, especially if the cool room and hydrocooler are staggered. Large packhouse hydrocoolers and refrigeration plants often exceed that and would need a larger or multi-unit setup sized in the pilot, or a different supply. Round-trip efficiency is 30% or less, so cooling from hydrogen is for outages. The aim is to protect fruit already picked, not to replace the grid.
How it works →
Hydrogen is made overnight on off-peak power, or from wind, and kept at 30 bar or less for weeks. When the grid fails, the inverter switches over instantly so cooling controllers and cover motors keep working, and the fuel cell takes the steady load. Crew facilities and lighting also stay on, which matters when a dozen pickers are sharing a kitchen at the end of a long day.
On a small orchard, sometimes, within 15 kW. The pilot would log both during harvest. Larger systems may need a multi-unit setup, and some packhouse plants are simply beyond what this system is designed for.
Cover motors are usually modest loads and fit comfortably. Because the switch-over is instant, the controls keep working through the outage, so covers can still be closed when rain is coming.
Lights, kitchen, fridges and hot water for crew quarters typically fit alongside other loads. Big electric water heaters can be heavy, so the pilot would check what runs at peak.
Pilot installs go to people on this list first. Rural homes, farms and remote sites especially. No spam, no payment.