CoolBot Press

Cape Cod Times: Inner Technology a Cool Process

“I love that this was created to fill a need. But even more, I love the way others have picked up on this basic element, done their own tinkering and carried it into more communities.”

Colorado Coolers: Custom 2017 Refrigerated Draft Trailer by Colorado Coolers

“The window air conditioner is powered by a CoolBot, which is a really cool feature. It saved me about $3,000 on the trailer.”

Innovation Excellence: Why Sustainability is Your Next Big Innovation Opportunity

“Coolbot provides a simple and inexpensive solution for developing world farmers to store produce for longer, helping reduce food losses early-on.”

Salvationist: Cooler Brings Healthy Choices to French Creek

“We built our own 20-by-12-foot cooler using a high-powered air conditioning unit and a CoolBot device to regulate the temperature.”

Farmer to Farmer Podcast: Susan and Harley Soltes of Bow Hill Blueberries on Organic Berry Production and Adding Value to Products, Farm, and People

“You have to get your produce cold. The difference between then and now is that now there’s CoolBot. You can build an affordable walk-in cooler powered by a CoolBot and a window air-conditioning unit.”

A Better Whey: Using a CoolBot in Your Cheese Cave

“For those of you who make a lot of cheese, there is an easy, inexpensive solution – using a CoolBot along with an air conditioner (or mini-split) to chill a room sized cave.”

Sweet Potato Kitchen: Small Maine produce farmers press on even in the winter months

“With [a CoolBot], Kyffin said that it costs a fraction of what it used to cost to refrigerate produce, making business much more feasible for small-scale farms like theirs.”

Chasin’ Whitetails: Coolbot – Revolutionizing Home Processing

“I get a lot of questions about home processing and why I hang big game for so long. After a year of using the CoolBot, I am comfortable to say that this is best thing I ever did.”

Feed the Future: American Innovators Bring Agricultural Technologies to Global Markets

“With Partnering for Innovation’s support, Store It Cold is introducing the CoolBot to Central America, where companies that market fruit, vegetables and other fresh products in the region and for export to the United States often lack access to reliable and affordable cold storage.”

The Survival Podcast: Episode 1938 – The CoolBot as a Walk In Cooler Solution

“With this technology homesteaders, farmers, and anyone in need of cold storage can build a large walk in cooler for thousands of dollars less than buying one. Since 2006 over 35,000 CoolBots have been deployed all over the world.”

National Farmers Union: Access to Markets: Growing for a Farmers Market

“Consider building a mobile cooler to maintain the quality of your goods, even through sweltering heat and humidity. A few structural insulated panels, a window air conditioner, and a CoolBot mounted on a trailer can be a worthy investment.”

Mother Earth News: Build a More Resilient Homestead

“At our home, we put up dozens of quarts of canned tomatoes, along with smaller jars of jam, pickled peppers, and beets. We also store fresh vegetables and fruits for months. We don’t have a root cellar, but we’re planning to build a CoolBot—a relatively new type of walk-in cooler that uses a specialized controller that allows an off-the-shelf window air conditioner to maintain temperatures close to 32 degrees.”

Homegrown Liberty: E0043 | CoolBot DIY Walk-In Cooler Technology

“I’m interested in this one particularly because with our soils, we can’t afford to build a root cellar just yet. But it’s a whole lot more affordable to insulate and close in our breezeway, and use a CoolBot to keep the room around 55 degrees. That’s perfect cellar temps and if it costs us $2000 instead of $12,000 to build a nice sized root cellar with excavating, pouring concrete and all that. Man, talk about a time saver!”

Common Sense Homesteading: Build Your Own Walk In Cooler with a CoolBot Controller and A/C Unit

“A CoolBot and a regular household window A/C unit lets you turn any well insulated room into a walk-in cooler. Instead of paying over $5000 for a small commercial walk in cooler, you can save thousands with this DIY cooler option.”

Devex: How Universities Are Sowing the Seeds to Feed the Future

“‘We do research and adapt and modify technologies to make them more feasible for resource poor farmers who farm on a small scale in the developing world,’ said Elizabeth Mitcham, director of the Horticulture Innovation Lab at UC Davis.”

Mountain Xpress: Learn to Build a Mobile Walk-In Cooler

“Using the CoolBot, a tool that overrides air conditioner temperature sensors to cool a space to as low as 38 degrees, Link says farmers, market gardeners and others can build an efficient and affordable cooler for use on the farm, for transport to market or other purposes.”

Come and Brew It Radio: Episode 59 – The CoolBot Controller

“Right out of the box, the CoolBot is an easy solution to everyone who has issues with storing their finished or fermented products. But since most of us can’t afford a $10k walk-in system, we need another solution. And for a minimal price in comparison, this new controller is the answer to your brewing cooler dreams.”

Farm Show: Mobile Cooler Keeps Flowers Fresh

“We realized that if we put a cooler on a trailer, we could use it for deliveries too….CoolBots are a godsend to those of us without the space or financial ability to buy a large production-level cooler.”

IN FOCUS – Walk-In Cooler on a Budget

“You effectively have a compressor that’s worth a couple thousand dollars for maybe $500.”

The New Paltz Oracle: Farm Fresh Food – Family of New Paltz Looks to Reduce Food Waste

“Local food pantries are open for a limited time each week. Currently, much of the food goes bad before it can be distributed. ‘With this source, we will put food away in proper storage and give to people as they need it,’ [executive director Michael Berg] said.”

GoOutdoorsNE.com: Summer Heat Doesn’t Keep Hunter Indoors

“Because the meat tastes better the longer the deer hang, Hastings built a cooler a few years ago in the shop outside his home some 20 miles southeast of North Platte. A piece of equipment called a CoolBot that he ordered online fools the air conditioning into running as low as 40 degrees.”

The Decorah Newspapers: Patchwork Green Farm Field Day is Sunday

“Our root cellar is insulated concrete construction, with a washable interior. We installed a CoolBot system to cool it down and maintain temperatures between 35 and 40 degrees in fall and winter. Last winter, we were able to keep potatoes in good, saleable condition until they were sold out in late March.”

Fox 31 Denver: Gadget Converts A/C Unit into Cooler for Brewers, Farmers and Businesses

“Walk-in coolers are a staple for restaurants and bars. Problem is, they’re expensive! Usually $10,000 and up and the maintenance costs can add up fast. CoolBot is a little computer that can turn an off-the-shelf air conditioner into a DIY walk-in cooler…Typically the entire setup with the CoolBot, an A/C unit and construction of an insulated room will cost about $3,000.”

Lancaster Farming: Mass. Farmer Talks Wintertime Storage Options

“One of Currie’s top tips was to purchase a ‘CoolBot,’ which he said saves money on energy while still cooling the room to appropriate temperature.”

The Huffington Post: Innovative Technologies for Reducing Food Waste

“Cold chain management is a complex topic, but there are many small-scale methods and simple cooling/cold storage equipment that can be used by retailers and home use to reduce food waste.”

1808 Greensboro: Piedmont Foodways – Simple Tomatoes

“We all know that vegetables don’t wait until Friday to ripen in time for sale at the farmers’ market on Saturday, so what happens to all of the rest of the wonderfully delicious tomatoes that ripen during the week? Farmers used to hold them and hope they would keep, and the tomato-buying consumer would engage in a game of chance. The CoolBot has changed all of that.”

Parksville Qualicum Beach News: Parksville Qualicum Beach Food Bank Finding News Ways

“While all types of people frequent the food bank and other related local services to help them make ends meet, Jiggins said ‘A lot are university educated people in their 50s who are just not able to buy food because something has happened in their lives.'”

Lake County News-Sun: Lake County Churches Growing Produce for Local Food Pantries

“Congregation member Russell Weiler, who built an outdoor storage shed for the gardening equipment, is insulating the room and will use a CoolBot Walk In Cooler system, which runs a standard window air conditioner to regulate the temperature in an insulated room.”

Technically Baltimore: This Old Shipping Container Holds the Future of Farming

“‘We want to redefine what farm to fork means in this urban environment,’ said Urban Pastoral’s J.J. Reidy.”

Khmer Times: Helping Farmers Keep Their Cool

“One of a farmer’s greatest enemies is heat. As many as 50 percent of the fruit and vegetables harvested in Cambodia are lost because of heat – lettuce wilts, onions become slimy, tomatoes turn to mush.”

University of California: How One Farmer’s Invention is Reducing Postharvest Losses Around the World

“In many developing countries, more than half of all fruits and vegetables are never eaten, but instead are lost, damaged or spoiled after harvest. These ‘postharvest’ losses can mean that farmers need to sell their fresh produce as soon as it is harvested for whatever price they can get, before they lose the crops that represent investments of labor, water, and agricultural inputs.”

Food Tank Farmer Spotlight: Bethanee Wright Farms Sustainably to Feed the World

“I am reducing post-harvest losses by CoolBot!”

BusinessDen: Investment Startup Plugs in First Deal

“Founders Michael Dworkis and Ryan Berk, who grew up together in Dallas and both worked as investment bankers in New York City until moving to Denver in December, said Store It Cold fits their investment strategy to a T.”

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs: Tackling Post-Harvest Loss

“Because post-harvest also is key to maintaining nutrients, strengthening it improves health as well as economic outcomes. The challenge is that power for cooling often is too costly or simply unavailable.”

TEDxNairobi 2014: CoolBot Technology- Tackling Post-Harvest Loss

“We’re so excited to finally get to see this video! Dr. Jane Ambuko is doing some incredible work and we are so excited to be a part of it.”

Farm Show: CoolBot Controller Makes Jury-Rigged Cooler Work

“The cooler is a nice size for our operation and lets us store produce in the insulated coolers that we take back and forth to farmers markets….We end up with better quality merchandise and less work.”

Colorado Springs Independent: Storybook Beer and a Superhero Sandwich Shop

“Brewer and owner Pete Kilman…brings 17 years of experience to Storybook. He brews on an all-electric, three-barrel system that he says is slightly more energy-efficient than common gas kettles, and has also constructed a more eco-friendly walk-in cooler via a gadget called a CoolBot.”

The Sunrise: CoolBot, A New Magic Tool for Farmers

“The magic tool is known as a CoolBot, a handy gadget that is attached to an air conditioner to bring down temperatures in a confined space.”

R. Shea Brewing: Keg / Draft Walk-in Cooler are ONLINE

“Finally, after 16 weeks, we have one brewery system fully functional and online. This may not be exciting to most of you, but it’s one of the most important features to the taproom. Cold beer is a must.”

Examiner.com: Cost-Effective Walk-In Coolers

“CoolBot cooler systems cost significantly less up front than conventional compressor-cooled walk-in refrigerators or coolers. Conventional coolers use more electricity, have higher repair bills and tend to dry out greens and vegetables.”

UC Davis: New Grant Aims to Build Global Food Security Through Produce Research

“The Horticulture Innovation Lab has tested the CoolBot with farmers in Honduras, Uganda, Kenya, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and elsewhere — including at the UC Davis Student Farm.”

San Antonio Current: Filling Station Tap Room’s No-Frills Shop

“Cooled using an air-conditioning window unit and a CoolBot, which turns the AC into a cooler compressor, the roughly five-by-six-foot, closed-off space houses 19 of the kegs, all varying in sizes from full to half, quarter and eighth barrels.”

Broadfork Farm: Our 5 Favourite Market Gardening Tools

“What would we do without you, little CoolBot? We would spend a lot more money to get a good storage temperature for our crops.”

Jewish Telegraphic Agency: This Week in Jewish Farming – Meeting the Neighbors

“Back in the spring, I struggled to figure out a good cold storage solution for the farm. I settled on the idea of buying a used cargo trailer and converting it into a refrigerator, which isn’t quite as crazy as it sounds.”

Morning Ag Clips: FSMA-Compliant Produce Handling and Building a Cooler with a CoolBot

“Learn about CoolBot specs, budget and permitting process. CoolBots override an air conditioner’s temperature gauge and turns an insulated room and standard household air conditioner into a walk-in cooler.”

JOC.com: Researchers Target Ways for World’s Farmers to Stem Food Loss

“Ending world hunger has been a goal of governments, charities and charitable businesses and people for as long as there have been hungry people. Efforts have ranged from producing or donating massive amounts of food to reducing food waste and food loss.”

USAID Frontlines: Kenya’s Crop of Innovators Moving the Needle on Food Security

“The CoolBot not only has the potential to raise the incomes of farmers, it also gives them a central place to bulk their mangoes and allows them to diversify and venture into other high-value perishables like French beans, tomatoes and leafy green vegetables like kale.”

Brewers Union: In Praise of CoolBot

“This device is ingenious. It turns a normal, everyday, working air conditioner into a refrigeration unit without messing with the electronics. How does it do this? It has a little heater that is attached to the temperature sensor of the unit with a piece of foil. This fools the unit into thinking that it is warmer than it really is. Brilliant.”

Hobby Farms: 6 Tools to Keep Vegetables Fresh Through Market Day

“Quickly cooling down produce is often the key to its longevity. Because most beginning farmers don’t have luxuries like walk-in coolers to cool veggies rapidly, Eric Wooldridge from Bells Bend Farm in Nashville, recommends a handy device called the CoolBot…”

Crawling Towards Sustainability – A Homesteader’s Journey: Root Cellar Upgrade

“If I have any wisdom to impart with all of this, it’s if you ever build a house, design it around your heating system and your root cellar.”

The Postharvest Education Foundation: Use of Cold Chains for Reducing Food Losses in Developing Countries

“The use of ‘cold’ handling and storage systems as an investment to prevent perishable food losses is widely used in developed countries and can be highly cost effective compared to continually increasing production to meet increasing demands for these foods.”

New Farmer Webinar: Postharvest Storage

“Postharvest Basics: Stored crops are still alive, metabolism continues after harvest (respiration), and it is highly dependent on temperature.”

The Gathering of Southeast Wisconsin: CoolBot Cooler Room Construction Almost Completed!

“Through this grant, The Gathering is partnering with UWM professor Dr. Phillips and her undergraduate class entitled “Practical Approaches to a Sustainable Future.” The class is growing their own produce in ten garden beds…As an added bonus, the class will be working with The Gathering’s Fresh Produce Preservation Project to learn how to safely preserve the produce they have grown.”

Market Farming Success: The Business of Growing and Selling Local Food

“An insider’s guide to market gardening and farming for those in the business of growing and selling food, flowers, herbs, or plants.”

The Magazine: Hoe Down – Small-Scale Farmers Have Turned to High Tech to Invent the Tools They Need

“Ron Khosla left the technology industry to farm with his wife in New Paltz, New York. He focused on solving inefficiencies in an effort to compete as much as possible with conventional growers. Khosla approached day-to-day farm problems with a ‘better living through technology’ philosophy. One early success was the CoolBot…”

Wildfire Fellowship Farm: Wildfire Farm Tech – The CoolBot

“Even without the added foam the cooler has performed very well during summer weather in the 90 degree range.”

Sullivan Center for Sustainable Agriculture: Chilling Out

“Hooking up the CoolBot was easier than cabling up a new computer.”

Taproot Farm & Fruit: Second Task – Walk-In Refrigerator

“If you want to be able to deliver the freshest produce you can, as well as being able to save some for yourself, then a walk-in refrigerator is a necessity. “

Food Blog: Hot Days, Cool Rooms, Tasty Vegetables

“Temperature management, or cold chain, is the single most important factor in maintaining postharvest quality in fruits and vegetables.”

UC Davis: Horticulture CRSP Launches Third Regional Center of Innovation

“Among the horticultural technologies on display were seed-drying beads, postharvest tools, the CoolBot, pest-exclusion nets, a solar dryer, a banana ripening chamber, vermicompost and garden kits, a plant diagnostic clinic, and others.”

Our Shared Ground: The Dough Lair!

“The more patient you are with letting the dough rise in a temperature controlled space, the more delicious your bread will be.”

Colorado Farm to Table: Precooling Colorado Crops

“The term precooling refers to the removal of heat energy from crops, known as field heat, after they are harvested. Precooling is ideally done immediately after harvest, as many crops begin to degrade rapidly after harvest if kept at high temperatures.”

Modern Farmer: How a Farmer Hacks Big Ag

“When Ron Khosla and his wife, Kate, started farming 14 years ago in upstate New York, they wanted to do things differently. ‘We were committed to the idea of doing local, organic, and supercheap,’ Khosla said. ‘And that forced us to look at our techniques or else we would die.'”

Stonewall Farm: Small Farming Technology – CoolBot

“Any farmer, of produce or dairy, will tell you that a primary challenge for their business is cold storage. Veggies quickly wilt in the heat of the summer sun and we all know that dairy products don’t stand a chance without some substantially cool temperatures. Yet too often, cold storage systems are prohibitively expensive for new business owners.”

UVM Extension AgEngineering: CoolBots – Inexpensive Cold Storage

“Demand for on-farm cold storage of produce and other Vermont agricultural products is increasing as local markets for these goods expand.”

Butchery and Sausage-Making For Dummies

“Creating your own curing room is possible with the help of a brilliant product called a CoolBot. The CoolBot turns window air conditioners into cooling machines.”

Big Rip Brewing: Making of a Cold Room Part 1

“Some people have been asking us how we are building our cold room, or cooler, for the brewery. We are going a different route than a lot of breweries because we wanted to maximize our space but minimize the hit on our budget.”

ACORN Conference: Off-Grid Farm Infrastructure

“Cost: $800 for CoolBot and air conditioner.”

Standard Brewing: Small Victory Today

“For hunters and homebrewers, a regular old refrigerator just won’t cut it on volume. They need a small room size to store five deer carcasses, or the last 8 brews in corny kegs, but who wants to shell out a few grand for a proper walk in cooler?”

Eighth Day Farm: We’ve Accomplished Our Goal

“The CoolBot will not only save us on installation and repair costs, it will also save electricity, reducing our operating costs when combined with our Energy Star air conditioning unit.”

APPPA Grit: Building Cold Storage

“We built the CoolBot because we couldn’t afford a real walk-in cooler compressor. We couldn’t afford a real walk-in cooler box either, so we built our own there, too.”

Ottawa Citizen: Root Cellar Revival – Construction Options for Building Classic Food Storage Area

“If you like good food, if you’re interested in taking greater responsibility for your food supply, and if you like the idea of lightening your personal environmental burden on the planet, then you’re probably ready for a root cellar.”

Tom’s Gardens: Building a Walk-In Cooler

“The small black box you see below the AC unit is a device called a CoolBot controller. It controls the AC so that the temperature inside the cooler can get much colder than the AC could normally get it, and also keeps ice from building up on the AC unit.”

Broadfork Farm: Harvest Morning

“Harvest mornings (and market days) are the culmination of our week’s work. This is the day we see our vegetables as food (rather than beautiful plants we’re trying to keep healthy and alive) and we get excited to share that food with others.”

Botanical Brouhaha: Working Designer Wednesday – Mixed Bag

“We are a little cut flower farm. Our CoolBot is in a little insulated shed that runs continuously year round. We have had it for 7 years and had to replace the air conditioner once because it was undersized. It works great holding our flowers and bulbs at a constant 35-38 degrees. Highly recommended, great support and info from the CoolBot folks.”

Cornell University: CoolBot Enables Small Farmers to Build Do-It-Yourself Coolers

“Like many small-scale vegetable growers, Anton Burkett couldn’t afford a large, expensive walk-in cooler compressor to cool his produce before market. Then he found the CoolBot.”

Morning Sentinel: Somerset County Farmers Receive Grants

“The system allows small farmers to create their own efficient cold storage rooms for a fraction of the cost of conventional refrigeration. efficient and cost effective.”

The Mushroom Maestros Blog: What’s Happening at the Farm – Truck Grow Hut

“Ray called in with a special report about a unique feature of the Mushroom Maestros homestead in Lake County. He and Juan Diego are reclaiming a box from an old beer delivery truck for use on the farm.”

2012 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention: Low Cost Cold Room Using CoolBot for Refrigeration

“CoolBot control unit overcomes limitations of using air conditioner for refrigeration.”

Stones Throw Urban Farm: Vacant Lots to Vibrant Urban Farms

“We, revolutionary urban vegetable growers in the Twin Cities, need to convert 10 new vacant lots into vibrant, productive micro-farms.”

Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Urban Bioshelters in New England

“Bioshelters focus on energy efficiency, renewable resources, and appropriate technologies. They balance high tech energy saving designs with passive low cost systems in order to create an indoor ecosystem rather than a typical greenhouse.”

Cherry Tree House Mushrooms: Ready for Mushroom Spawn!

“Last year I acquired a half dozen refrigerators in order to store spawn and fresh mushrooms. I decided a walk-in cooler would be more efficient and convenient, so I decided to make our root cellar also work as a walk-in cooler.”

Special Fruits: Use of CoolBot Technology for Construction of Low Cost – Low Capacity Cold Storages on Farms

“Our main focus was to develop a prototype low-cost storage structure for the small and marginal farmers from locally available insulating material and to test the effectiveness of the CoolBot/room air conditioner combination.”

Tiny Farm Gear: CoolBot – Inexpensive Walk-In Cooler

“Combined with a $300-500 air conditioner, CoolBot promises to deliver the performance of a commercial cooler compressor that would cost at least $3,000. It also saves around 60% on electricity bills. Installation is incredibly easy: tape a CoolBot sensor to the A/C unit’s temperature sensor.”

Shared Legacy Farm: What’s a CoolBot?

“A nicely cooled space that saves us lots of money on equipment (only needed to buy an AC unit), installation (did it ourselves), electricity ($60/month), and repairs. And at a price of $300, that’s not a bad deal!”

D-Lab, UC Davis: CoolBot Coolrooms: D-Lab Demo Site in Uganda

“Refrigeration is key to the successful marketing of perishable items. The fresh produce and floriculture industries of the developing world depend on low temperatures to reduce water loss, slow the development and incidence of postharvest diseases, and limit responses to ethylene and other metabolic changes which reduce shelf-life.”

The Devine Happenings of Jacob and Beth: Our Walk-In Cooler Works!!!

“Our walk-in cooler broke down at the end of our January Interface team… a very sad day. An even sadder day came when we found out the price to get it fixed. But then there was hope… the CoolBot!”

Food Safety News: Cut Salad Greens – How Cold is Cold Enough?

“Khosla’s system costs about $800, which includes the cost of air conditioner and the CoolBot…Parsons describes it as a perfect system for farmers because it’s affordable, easy to install, and an efficient way to cool produce.”

University of Connecticut: Lower Your Electric Bill With CoolBot

“CoolBot will not only save you on installation and repair costs, it will also help you save electrically, reducing your operating costs when combined with new Energy Star air conditioning units engineered to much stricter environmental standards than standard walk-in cooler compressors.”

Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Program: Small-Scale Coolrooms & Cool Transport for Limited Resource Farmers

“Low temperatures reduce metabolic changes, reduce water loss, slow the spread of post-harvest diseases and limit responses to ethylene. In the developed world, refrigeration is universally recognized key to successful marketing of perishables.”

Heinennellie: CoolBot and CoolBot Continued

“The CoolBot is working, hurrah. It turns out to be the little miracle device I had thought it would be.”

SPIN-Farming: DIY Coolbot Walk-in Cooler Tips

“Here’s a few quick thoughts about walk-in cooler design, largely based on what my appropriate technology group used to recommend for village small-scale DIY walk-in cooler systems.”

The Complete Root Cellar Book: Building Plans, Uses and 100 Recipes

“This book takes a fresh look at the art, science and romance of building and stocking a root cellar. There are detailed illustrated construction guides for making four different kinds of root cellars that are functional and attractive. These include never-before-seen models for apartment and condo dwellers and home owners without a basement.”

APPPA Grit: Building a Simple Cold Storage Unit

“After careful consideration of the options I elected to use an air conditioner and a Cool-Bot. The advantages of this setup are a low capital expense, readily available components, a good warranty, energy efficiency, and that it is user installable.”

Silvery Moon Creamery: Current Options in Cheese Aging Caves: An Evaluation, Comparison, and Feasibility Study

“[The CoolBot] is the rising star of this list of temperature control options! It is a relatively new device that several cheesemakers are utilizing with success.”

Horticulture Collaborative Research Support Program: Coolrooms and Cool Transport for Small-Scale Farmers

“Very few smallholder farmers have access to cooling or cool storage facilities, and even refrigerated transportation is a rarity. The unreliability of local electricity supplies, the expense of conventional coolers, and the lack of technical expertise for the installation and maintenance all have led to the search for alternative solutions such as evaporative cooling systems.”

NYSERDA, Energy Innovation and Business Development: Evaluation of the CoolBot Controller for Small Farm Walk-in-Coolers(ST10563-1)

“The COOLbot™ approach makes on-site refrigeration more accessible to farmers, resulting in more income and productivity. GHG emissions are decreased overall because less produce must be transported from farm to consumer.”

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation: Cool Storage Reduces Produce Losses

“There is a rule of thumb for perishable crops: every hour lost before cooling to proper storage temperature results in a loss of one day of shelf life. The bottom line is that cool storage extends the market window for produce and reduces loss due to spoilage – both contributing factors to a grower’s profitability.”

Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, SATOP Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program: CoolBot Ice Sensor Makes It Possible To Build a Do-It-Yourself Walk-In Cooler

“Many times an invention has worldwide implications, which make it possible for people to lead better lives. CoolBot has done just that.”

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture: Low-Cost Cold Storage Room for Market Growers

“Fresh fruits and vegetables start to deteriorate as soon as they are harvested because they are cut off from their source of water and nutrition. They lose weight, texture, flavor, nutritive value, and appeal. Cooling significantly slows down the rate of deterioration, thereby increasing the storage life of the produce.”

The Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club: Hudson Valley Veganic Farm Attracting Worldwide Attention

“Among the impressive list of Ron’s innovations are a solar electric tractor (instructions are on their website), a radiant heating system for their greenhouse and the CoolBot, a system to run their walk-in cooler using a standard air conditioner.”

HortCRSP and USAID: The CoolBot – Appropriate Cooling Technology

“In much of the developing world, postharvest losses are as high as 80% and the cold‐storage chain is virtually non‐existent due to the high cost of equipment and spotty electricity. Because fresh produce can perish in a matter of days under ambient temperatures, temperature control alone can extend the shelf life by weeks or even months.”

Pure Petals: CoolBot – An Affordable Cooler for Flower Growers

“Having a cooler is an important part of business planning because it allows flower growers to harvest their flowers at the peak time, and store them until market days. For example, if your sunflowers are fully open on a Tuesday, and you won’t need them until Friday’s market, a cooler allows you to hold the sunflowers until you can sell them rather than having them start to wither outside.”

International Potato Center: Innovative Potato Storage for Smallholder Farmer Households in Bangladesh

“Potato storage can be a challenge in a country like Bangladesh. The USAID Horticulture Project with CIP and AVRDC is working with communities to find the best options.”

Growing for Market: Flower Farming

“Cut flowers are one of the most profitable crops you can grow, with growers across the United States reporting sales of $25,000 to $30,000 per acre. This book contains all the essential information you need — planting, tending, harvesting, pricing, and selling flowers.”

Times Herald-Record: Farmer’s Cool Invention Turns Profitable

“For anyone who’s not a farmer, a compressor-condensor-evaporator may not sound like something you’d want to spend much time building a better one of. But Ron and Kate Khosla are farmers, and it had always bothered them that it could cost $3,000 or more to have such a huge and heavy contraption installed to create a walk-in cooler room, cool enough to store their harvest in.”