ChillWrap — solar-powered artificial winter sleeve for fruit trees

Hi a random idea popped in my head and I figured I'd share it. I have no idea if it'll work so please be critical. I need constructive criticism. Thank you. ChillWrap — Artificial Winter for Fruit Trees (Open Hardware Idea) Alright, here’s an idea that’s been stuck in my head and I can’t let it go. It’s rough, version 0.1, no equations — just the basic concept. If it’s impossible, please say so. If someone wants to run with it, even better. Problem: A lot of temperate fruit trees (apples, pears, cherries, peaches, almonds, etc.) need anywhere from 500–1,500 chill hours below ~7 °C (45 °F) each winter. Huge parts of the Middle East, North Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the lowland tropics basically get zero chill hours now. Farmers are losing billions, and certain varieties are just disappearing. Idea / Goal: Make an affordable, solar-powered wrap or sleeve that gives a tree an “artificial winter” by keeping the trunk + lower scaffold branches around ~0–5 °C (32–41 °F) long enough to meet chill hour requirements — without frying the tree, and without insane energy costs. Version 0.1 Concept: A big flexible “cooling blanket” (2–4 m tall, sized to trunk + overlap). Something like moving blankets or frost cloth, but insulated. Inside the blanket: PERT or thin silicone tubing loops carrying chilled glycol/water (basically underfloor heating, but cold instead of hot). A small 100–300 W thermoelectric (Peltier) or mini vapor-compression chiller at the base (think mini-fridge compressor). Solar powered: 200–400 W panel + 100–200 Ah battery so the whole thing runs off-grid. Simple controller: ESP32/Raspberry Pi + DS18B20 temp sensors + moisture sensor. Basic logic: only cool when canopy temp >12 °C AND you’ve got solar/battery reserve AND bark temp stays above –3 °C for safety. Optional plug-in 110/230 V model for farms that already have electricity. Target cost if done at scale: $400–600 per tree for a mature-sized setup. Why I think it might actually work: You don’t need to chill the whole tree — once leaves drop, only the trunk + main branches matter. The heat load is tiny compared to trying to cool an entire orchard with foggers or misting. Numbers I’ve seen suggest ~80–150 W average draw per tree. Peltier modules are dirt cheap now. Put 20–30 of them in parallel and you can move a surprising amount of heat. One unit = one tree. Easy to scale from a backyard hobbyist to a 10,000-tree commercial farm. If it works, it opens up chill-dependent fruit varieties to regions that haven't had them for decades — or ever. Looking for people who actually know what they’re doing: • Horticulturists / pomologists who have real chill-portion data for different cultivars • Mechanical engineers who can help design the flexible heat-exchanger “fabric” • Embedded engineers for the cheap controller, safety systems, and firmware • Fabricators in the Middle East / North Africa / India who can make these cheaply • Farmers in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, UAE, India, Thailand, Mexico who might want to prototype/test in winter 2026–2027 If anyone wants to contribute time, knowledge, or even just poke holes in the idea, I’d love to hear it. Please tear this apart.  I'm not sure if it will even work. Just an idea to potentially help feed more people