New Delhi   

Now a solar vaccine refrigerator

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has acquired the first environment-friendly Solarchill vaccine refrigerator.

It was installed at the President's estate clinic in the presence of Mr. Kalam.

Vaccine cooler

The Solarchill was conceived as a vaccine cooler for remote areas in developing countries where access to power supply is difficult. Powered by three 60-watt photovoltaic panels, it stores the energy of the sun in ice instead of batteries.

In place of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and other ozone depleting and global warming substances, Solarchill relies on ozone and climate-friendly hydrocarbon refrigerants.

It offers many practical benefits also as it can be used where electricity lines are non-existent or unreliable, it is safer than the kerosene vaccine coolers now used in remote areas, and it is 50 to 60 per cent cheaper than the currently available battery-operated solar vaccine coolers.

Households

A second Solarchill model is being developed for food refrigeration that will be suitable for households and small businesses.

It will also play a useful role in natural and human-made disaster areas.

The technology will be placed in the public domain and made freely available to any company in the world once it is certified by the World Health Organisation.

The refrigerator has been installed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the ongoing annual meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sheila does a U-turn
High Court reserves judgment on Bharti Yadav's petition
MLAs in line for higher salaries
Charity with a difference
A new twist in JNU polls drama
An offering from Italy
MCD gets a state-of-the-art mapping system
DU teachers oppose honorary degree to Sheila Dikshit
Happy birthday
Campus recruitment under taxman's scanner
Now a solar vaccine refrigerator
Court reserves judgment on Bharti Yadav's petition
In the Capital Today

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu