Example RFQ for Solar Support for Cold Storage

Buyer scenario

An example rural cold store spends heavily on diesel and wants to know what share of its load solar can carry, with or without battery storage.

Key feasibility questions

Questions a supplier or partner will normally ask before quoting this scope.

• Should solar offset daytime load only, or support night operation?
• Is the refrigeration plant suitable for variable supply or does it need stabilising?
• Is thermal storage (cold buffering) an alternative to batteries?
• Who maintains the system after commissioning?

Procurement considerations

Commercial and technical points that typically change the cost of this request.

• Batteries usually dominate cost; thermal buffering can be cheaper
• Energy efficiency work on the store often beats adding panels
• Payback depends on diesel price and outage frequency

What ColdMatch needs before routing

Minimum information for the request to be routed to suitable suppliers or partners.

• Energy consumption data or the equipment list to estimate it
• Space available for panels
• Objective: cost saving, resilience or both
• Budget band and timeline

Common mistakes in this request type

Frequent gaps that make quotes incomparable or delay responses.

• Sizing solar from cold room volume instead of measured kWh
• Ignoring night load, where most freezing energy is used
• Skipping efficiency upgrades that reduce the required array

What this example is not

This is a typical, anonymised illustration. It does not describe a named client, and it does not guarantee supplier acceptance, pricing, financing approval or project outcomes. Every figure is subject to partner review.

Best for

Commercial and industrial cold chain projects, typically from USD 250,000 upward: cold rooms, refrigerated warehouses, blast freezers, processing plant refrigeration and distribution hubs.

Not a fit: domestic refrigerators, household or office air conditioning, small repair call-outs, or spare-parts-only enquiries.

Typical cold chain project types

• Fruit, vegetable and horticulture cold storage with pre-cooling
• Meat, poultry and fish chilling plus blast freezing
• Dairy and beverage process cooling
• Pharma and vaccine GDP cold chain (2–8 °C, −20 °C, −70 °C)
• Refrigerated warehouses, 3PL hubs and mobile cold rooms

Cold room vs refrigerated warehouse

A cold room is a single insulated chamber, usually under ~500 m³, serving one process or storage step. A refrigerated warehouse is a multi-zone facility with racking, docks, air locks and a central refrigeration plant, sized by pallet positions and daily throughput rather than by room volume.

What affects project cost

• Storage volume, pallet positions and daily throughput
• Target temperature and ambient design conditions
• Refrigerant choice (NH₃, CO₂, HFC) and plant redundancy
• Panel thickness, doors, air locks and civil works
• Backup power, solar, freight, duties and commissioning

Temperature range checklist

• +12 to +16 °C — bananas, potatoes, curing
• +2 to +8 °C — pharma GDP, dairy, fresh produce
• 0 to +4 °C — meat, fish and chilled distribution
• −18 to −25 °C — frozen storage
• −35 to −40 °C — blast freezing and IQF

RFQ checklist

• Product, temperature and daily intake
• Room dimensions or required pallet positions
• Site location, ambient conditions and power supply
• Backup autonomy and redundancy level
• Budget range, timeline and scope exclusions

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Project type cluster

Agriculture and horticulture cold storage

Pre-cooling plus storage for fruit, vegetables and flowers, usually +2 to +12 °C with high humidity control and fast pull-down after harvest. Sized by daily intake in tonnes, not only by room volume.

Meat, poultry and fish cold storage

Chilling at 0 to +4 °C combined with blast freezing at −35 to −40 °C and frozen holding at −18 to −25 °C. Hygienic panels, drainage and separate dirty/clean flows are part of scope.

Pharmaceutical and API cold storage

GDP-compliant 2–8 °C rooms, −20 °C and, for some active pharmaceutical ingredients and biologics, −70 °C. Requires mapping, IQ/OQ/PQ, N+1 refrigeration, backup power and alarm escalation.

Refrigerated warehouse and 3PL distribution

Multi-zone facilities sized by pallet positions, dock doors and daily throughput. Typical scope covers racking, air locks, dock levellers, a central plant and an energy strategy.

Food processing plant refrigeration

Process cooling, chillers, spiral or tunnel freezers and glycol loops integrated with production lines. Usually specified alongside ISO 22000 and HACCP food safety requirements.

Mobile and containerised cold rooms

Plug-and-play 20 ft or 40 ft refrigerated units for seasonal peaks, remote sites and temporary capacity, typically −25 to +8 °C with optional solar or generator support.