Cold room at Ogbete Market

A cold room is only a cold room while it is cold. Nkechi was spending about ₦18,000 a day on diesel and still losing stock whenever the generator cut overnight without anybody hearing it. Twice the top layer of a full chest went soft before six in the morning.

We measured the compressors rather than the floor area — the load audit came out well under what she had been quoted elsewhere. 12 kWp on the shed roof, 30 kWh of lithium storage sized to carry the compressors through the night with margin, and an automatic changeover to grid when it is available.

The diesel line in her book went to zero and stayed there. No overnight losses in fourteen months. She has since added a second chest freezer, which she describes as the real proof.