Design and Fabrication of Portable Solar Air Heater for Raisins

Author(s)	Ajay Anantrao Joshi, Nilesh Rambhau Gowardipe, Archis S. Dhawale
Country	India
Abstract	Solar air heating technology utilizes solar thermal energy by capturing solar isolation(insolation) using an absorbing medium to directly heat air. This renewable energy solution ishighly suitable for building heating/air conditioning and process heat applications, oftenproving to be the most cost-effective among solar technologies, especially in commercial andindustrial settings. The typical configuration involves drawing ambient air, passing it throughthe collector where it is warmed by conduction from the absorber plate, and then supplyingthe heated air to a dehydration chamber using a fan or blower. The system investigatedfeatured an absorber plate constructed from a Tin alloy metal and coated with a jet black paint to maximize absorption. Performance was assessed under various climatic conditions,demonstrating that the system is affordable and portable. The device successfully raised theair temperature from an inlet of 40 0 C to an outlet of 70 0 C. The measured thermal efficiency of the solar air heater was found to be 42.12%, with the potential for further improvementthrough minor design modifications.
Keywords	Solar air heater, Thermal storage, Blower, Absorber plate, Tin alloy, Collector, Thermocouple.
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-05-22
DOI	https://doi.org/10.63363/aijfr.2026.v07i03.5782

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