Abstract—There was a scenario present day that drying of fresh fruits and vegetables by indirect solar drying by using mechanical device; hence, an effort was made to develop a small scale solar tunnel dryer (STD). Drying of spinach is carried out to analyze the performance of the dryer and to study its drying characteristics. To evaluate the performance of dryer the independent variables were ...

A solar absorption icemaker was designed. It is an intermittent system and uses Calcium Chloride and Ammonia as absorbent and refrigerant respectively. The single glazed collector/absorber/generator unit uses a plane glass sheet as the outer cover. Overall collector plate exposed area is 1.0m. A thermodynamic simulation of the icemaker has been performed in order to investigate the effect that ...

A hybrid solar panel has been invented to integrate photovoltaic (PV) cells onto a substrate through a functionally graded material (FGM) with water tubes cast inside, through which water serves as both heat sink and solar heat collector. Therefore, the efficiency of PV cells can be improved by temperature control while the heat conduction to the substrate can be minimized for saving of air con...

The mode of operation of mini parabolic solar panels made of germanium, mild steel and aluminium were investigated experimentally, as means of providing heated water on a farmland; the process was also modelled. Angular adjustments of the solar collectors from 70-90o were adopted in order to determine, the best material of construction for the parabolic solar collector and the angular orientati...

Building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPV/T) systems serve two purposes – generate electricity and heat ambient air using absorbed solar energy. High wind velocity reduces the efficiency of unglazed transpired solar collectors (UTC). Indeed, wind flow on the collector’s surface reduces the useful heat transferred to the plenum air by effectuating convection losses and suction in the pores;...

In this paper, an attempt has been made to obtain nonsensitive solutions in the multi-objective optimization of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air collector. The selected objective functions are overall energy efficiency and exergy efficiency. Improved thermal, electrical and exergy models are used to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters, overall energy efficiency, exergy components a...

Photovoltaic (PV) modules and solar thermal collectors are convectional solar systems that convert solar radiation into electricity and heat energy respectively. PV modules generate clean electricity and ideal for use in developing countries where human settlement is scattered in remote rural areas and no grid electricity is available. However, electrical conversion efficiency of commercial PV ...