THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF A NEW SOLAR AIR HEATER

A solar air heater, part of a food drying system using solar energy as a renewable energy source for heat, was developed and tested for several agricultural products (i.e., sultana grapes, green beans, sweet peppers, chilli peppers). Drying processes were conducted in the chamber with forced natural air heated partly by solar energy. Solar air heater performances were discussed along with estimates of energy efficiency of the system. The obtained results indicate that the present system is efficient and effective.