A successful field test for a solar-powered people cooling shelter
Last month we conducted a successful field test of the xCOLD solar-powered cooling unit leveraging a tent-like shelter to simulate an off-grid climate-controlled environment for people.
As weather has become more unpredictable and extreme, heat-related illnesses are becoming a serious factor for businesses and governments to consider. In the U.S. alone, 33% of workers are exposed to the outdoors as a regular part of their job. The hotter it gets, the less productive workers become and the greater the risk of injury or even death. Climate controlled spaces are one of the best solutions for preventing heat-related injury.
SolarXWorks and the xCOLD have a solution to help solve this challenge by providing a renewable-powered cooling solution that can blow cold air into any space without the need for conventional power sources.
With some help from our friends at Western Shelter (www.westernshelter.com), we setup one of their airframe fast setup shelters to be our cooling space, a 13' x 13' x 11'1" space. Within minutes, we had the shelter ready to go, the solar panels lined up, and the xCOLD blowing cold air.
At the time of the test, we experienced a ground temperature of over 110°F. Within 15 minutes of running the xCOLD, the temperature inside the shelter dipped below 80°F. Within 30 minutes of running, the temperature inside the shelter was down to 72°F. A difference of 40°F! We were pleasantly surprised with these results, as the xCOLD is still a prototype and not optimized for this specific use case. However, it proved that our solution could be leveraged in this use case and help solve this problem—reducing the instances of heat-related illness by providing an off-grid climate-controlled space wherever it is needed.
What comes next? We have a couple of things on our to-do list. First, we plan to take the xCOLD on a road show to demo in the southwest states (Arizona, California, Nevada). This region have been ravaged by extreme temperatures during the summer 2023 and is likely to have more extreme heat in the future. Our platform provides businesses and governments in these states a solution to help battle heat-related illness—whether for outdoor workers, guests at outdoor events, and those most vulnerable such as the houseless and low-income population.
Second, we are working on a revised version of the prototype xCOLD. One that is easier to transport, more efficient, and cheaper to build and therefore offered at a lower cost. This second generation prototype will be much closer to the manufacture-ready design and will allow us to economically build multiple units for additional field testing with potential customers.
More to come in the near future! If you have any questions, would like to do a field test with us, or simply want to learn more feel free to email us at contact@solarxworks.com or visit our Contact page to submit a form.