Hybrid Solar Dryer for Drying of High-Value Flowers

The world energy crisis has now given importance to solar energy utilization, research and development programmes all over the world. The sun is the largest fusion reactor known to mankind which supplies about 1000 times more energy than we need each day in the form of electromagnetic radiations. In order to harness solar energy, a dark surface is exposed to solar radiation so that it is absorbed 1 . Two main approaches currently in use to harness solar energy are converting it to electricity by photovoltaic approach and converting it to thermal energy by solar thermal conversion. The simplest and most efficient way to utilize solar energy is to convert it into thermal energy for heating applications. The economic feasibility of solar energy utilization depends upon its efficient collection, conservation and storage. The efficient utilization of solar energy for heating, cooling and process applications requires the use of flat-plate or even focusing collector systems which first receive, as much as possible, the incoming solar radiation and then deliver a large fraction of the thermal energy to the working fluid 2 . The flat-plate collector is the key component of any solar energy system.