Truffle farms are orchards of inoculated oak or hazel trees. Through winter, dogs find ripe truffles, which are brushed, graded and weighed in a cleaning room, then held in a small cool room or fridges until dispatch. Irrigation through dry summers is run on a controller with a modest pump. Many farms also host tours and a small shop or tasting room. Winter storms bring outages at exactly the time the cool room holds the season's most valuable product.
Hydrogen is made overnight on off-peak power, or from wind, and stored at 30 bar or less for weeks. When the grid drops, the UPS-mode inverter switches instantly, so the cool room, scales and dispatch computer never reset. The fuel cell then takes over, with water as its only by-product, which goes back into the system's own loop.
How it works →
A small cool room, grading room lights, scales, irrigation controller and a farm shop fit well within 15 kW continuous. The summer irrigation pump is usually modest on a truffiere, but the pilot would check it. Round-trip efficiency is 30% or less, so this is about protecting a short, valuable harvest, not lowering bills. A farm hosting busy tours with a commercial kitchen may need a larger setup at peak.
With instant switch-over, the cool room compressor and controller keep running through the outage. A small cool room is a modest load, so the stored hydrogen goes a long way.
A modest drip or micro-sprinkler pump often fits within 15 kW. Larger pumps may not. The pilot would check the pump and watering schedule to confirm. Young trees in their first dry summers are the ones that most need watering kept on schedule.
Yes. There is no engine. The system is quiet, with fans running as needed. Truffle dogs working nearby will not be distracted by a generator, and visitors on a tour will not have to talk over one either.
Pilot installs go to people on this list first. Rural homes, farms and remote sites especially. No spam, no payment.