Performance Evaluation

of a Solar Greenhouse Dryer

Asim Ahmad
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Birla Institute of Technology,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India
e-mail: asimlife91@gmail.com
Om Prakash
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Birla Institute of Technology,
Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India
e-mail: 16omprakash@gmail.com
at Different Bed Conditions
Under Passive Mode
Greenhouse drying shows a significant role in the bulk level of drying. In the present setup,
a greenhouse dryer operating under natural convection mode was designed and fabricated.
The sensible heat storage concept was applied to the bed of the drying chamber. Four dif-
ferent beds, namely, gravel bed, ground bed, concrete bed, and black painted gravel bed
was being selected for the comparative heat transfer analyses of the proposed setup. The
maximum heat gain takes place at the black painted gravel bed conditions, i.e., 53%,
while for concrete bed, gravel bed, and ground bed, it is 33%, 49%, and 29%, respectively.
Hence, black painted gravel bed condition is strongly recommended for maximum heat
storage. The proposed setup was used for drying of tomato flakes in black painted gravel
bed condition. It has been found that the moisture content in the tomato flakes has been
removed from 96% to 9.10% in 13 h. The average drying efficiency of the proposed green-
house dryer is found to be 23.49%. The comparative analysis of the performance evaluation
has been done with other investigators, and it was found that the drying rate of the proposed
setup shows superior performance as compared with others. The design of the proposed
greenhouse setup with black painted gravel bed condition is strongly recommended for
small-scale industries and farmers. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4044194]

Keywords: natural convection greenhouse dryer, heat storage, embodied analysis, drying,
efficiency, heat transfer, radiation, solar

1 Introduction removal also depends on the removal of humidity inside the green-
house drying chamber. The main advantages of greenhouse dryer:
Energy has played a vital part in the evolution of rural
(a) utilization of thermal energy in a more efficient and effective
agro-industries. This evolution also enhanced the opportunity of
manner. (b) The initial investment is comparatively low. (c) It can
employment and economic growth of the rural area. The proper
be used for the production of dried crops throughout the year [9,10].
supply of energy helps in proper growth of the industrial operation.
Many experiments have been accomplished in the field of natural
In the past decades, the study shows that the applications of renew-
convection mode of solar drying. Performance evaluation of solar
able energy sources are increasing in a rapid manner. The main
greenhouse (tunnel) operating in natural convection mode has
reason for increasing the use of renewable energy sources is the
been done for coconut drying [11]. The removal of moisture takes
environmental pollution produced by greenhouse gas emissions.
place in 52 and 57 h under half and full load condition, and the
Geothermal, wind, and solar are the types of technologies which
average thermal efficiency of the setup was 20%. The experiment
are considered as clean energy sources that create a minor impact
was performed to investigate thermal performance for coconut
on nature as compared with that of the conventional energy
drying using sensible heat storage material like rock bed, sand,
sources [1]. Among different renewable resources, solar energy
and concrete [12]. It has been found that moisture removal takes
possesses the most significant positions and is being widely used
place from 52.2% w.b. (wet basis) to 7% w.b. at 78 h for concrete,
in various sectors. It is used in agricultural greenhouse heating
followed by 66 h for sand and 53 h for rock bed. The thermal effi-
that is why its applications in agricultural production are increasing
ciency for rock bed, sand, and concrete was 11.65%, 11%, and
rapidly [2].
9.5%, respectively. An experimental study was accomplished for
The usage of solar power in the area of drying reduces the use of a
novel solar greenhouse dryer (mixed mode) operating under
conventional source of energy from 27% to 80% as the higher
active mode to study the drying performance of sultana grapes
amount of energy is required for drying. Drying also minimizes
and red pepper. The drying time was reduced to 17 h for grape
the spoilage of agricultural products [3,4]. Open mode of drying
and 7 h for the red pepper. The payback cycle was observed to be
is being commonly used throughout the world from the former
1.6 years for the dryer [13].
times. It is not suitable for large scale of drying due to issues like
The main focus of this research is to develop a portable labora-
uncertainties in weather condition, longer drying duration, insect,
tory scale size natural convection mode-based greenhouse dryer
dust, etc. [5,6]. The solar greenhouse dryer is a direct mode of
integrated with sensible heat storage bed conditions. The developed
solar drying which has been used from the past two decades for
setup will be beneficial for small-scale industries and farmers for
low and intermediate temperature drying [7,8]. The moisture of
drying of higher and medium moisture content crops. The major
crop inside the drying chamber can be removed either by forced
challenges faced by the farmers are to preserve the cultivated
convection method or by natural convection method. The moisture
crops because of costly conventional fuel and lack of electricity.
In order to overcome these problems, heat storage bed conditions
are designed, which decreases the heat losses and increases the
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL
OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING ENERGY
thermal performance of the dryer [14,15]. Natural convection
CONSERVATION. Manuscript received November 9, 2018; final manuscript received mode of solar greenhouse dryer is being used in the proposed
June 19, 2019; published online July 23, 2019. Assoc. Editor: Ting Ma. setup because it minimizes the chances of overheating of the

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 crops. Excessive heating of the products leads to the shrinkage and
loss of the quantity of the dried crops. This results in an increase of
the hardness and dryness of the product which leads to monetary
loss because of the cheap-quality final product. Therefore, by
using an economic and efficient greenhouse drying system, all
these problems can be avoided [16,17].
The present study includes (i) the thermal analysis of natural con-
vection greenhouse dryer at four different bed conditions in no-load
condition, (ii) analysis of heat gain percentage at different bed con-
dition, (iii) comparison of drying characteristic of the proposed
setup, (iv) the rate CO2 emission, and (v) embodied analysis.
2 Experimental Setup
The greenhouse dryer operating in natural convection mode
having dimension 1 m × 1.5 m × 0.5 m was designed and fabri-
cated. The effective areas of the drying have a dimension of
1.35 m × 0.85 m. The whole setup was covered with UV-treated
acrylic sheet having a thickness of 1 mm. Since the latitude and
longitude of Ranchi, Jharkhand, India, is 23.3441 ° N, 85.3096 ° E,
the roof of the proposed setup was tilted at an angle of 23.3441°
for absorbing maximum solar radiation. The fabrication of the
tray in the proposed setup was done with stainless steel. The
height of the tray from the ground was at 0.25 m. The two inlet
hole of the circular shape of diameter 0.15 m were placed below
the tray and one outlet hole was placed at the upper portion of
the setup. The circulation of air inside the drying chamber takes
place due to the thermosiphon effect. The northern wall of the pro-
posed setup was covered with a mirror which reflects solar radia-
tion for maximum performance. The back side of the northern wall
was painted with black color for proper insulation. The heat
storage concept was applied to the bed of the proposed setup as
shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The space between grounds to the tray
was 100 mm which provides proper circulation of air and appro-
priate heat transfer.
3 Instrumentation
To analyze the performance of the proposed setup, various
parameters were calculated. These parameters include wind
speed, solar radiation, temperature, and relative humidity. Solar
power meter with a wire sensor was used to measure solar radiation
on the roof of the proposed greenhouse dryer. The ground temper-
ature was measured by the use of a digital infrared thermometer.

Fig. 1 Schematic view of solar greenhouse dryer at concrete bed condition with an
insulated north wall

Fig. 2 (a) Real view of experimental setup operating in no-load condition with
gravel bed and (b) real view of experimental setup operating in no-load condition
with gravel bed

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 Table 1 Details of instruments The total uncertainty for the measurement of wind speed from
anemometer and reading error will be calculated as Eq. (3)
S. No. Instruments Rating Least count Uses































1 HTC infrared −50 °C to 0.1 °C Temperature wwind,total = [(wanemometer )2 + (wreadings )2 ] (3)
thermometer 550 °C measurement
(digital)





















2 HTC digital Wind speed 0.01 m/s Measurement of wwind,total = [(0.01)2 + (0.01)2 ] = 0.01414
anemometer 0.10–30 m/s (wind speed) mass flow rate,
Ambient 0.1 °C relative The total uncertainty for the evaluation of solar radiation from the
temperature (temperature) humidity, and digital solar power meter and reading error will be calculated as
−10 °C and 0.1% temperature Eq. (4)
to 60 °C (relative









































Relative humidity) wintensity,total = [(wdigital solar power meter )2 + (wreadings )2 ] (4)
humidity
20–80%




















3 Tenmars solar 2000 W/m2 0.1 W/m2 Measurement of wintensity,total = [(0.1)2 + (0.1)2 ] = 0.1414
power meter solar radiation
(global) The total uncertainty of the experiment will be calculated Eq. (5):


















































wexp ,total = [(wTemp,total )2 + (wwind,total )2 + (wintensity,total )2 ] (5)
A digital anemometer with a humidity test meter and temperature
sensor measures outside and inside temperature of the proposed









































drying chamber, mass flow rate of air, and relative humidity. The wexp ,total = [(0.1414)2 + (0.01414)2 + (0.1414)2 ] = ±0.2004%
specification of the entire measuring instrument is given in Table 1.
It has been found from the above experiment that all uncertainties
were in the acceptable range.
4 Testing
The experiments were accomplished from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 6 Performance Analysis
four consecutive days in open sun mode at the Solar Energy Lab
having longitude 85.43 ° E and latitude 23.41 ° N. In order to The experiments were performed between October 20 and 23,
obtain optimum solar radiation, the proposed dryer was fixed in 2017, under natural convection (at four different bed conditions)
the east to west direction as India lies in the eastern and northern and open modes at the Solar Energy Laboratory, BIT Mesra (Jhar-
hemisphere. The experiments of tomato flakes drying were adept khand), India (85.43 ° E longitude 23.41 ° N latitude). Figures 2(a)
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for proposed greenhouse dryer in black and 2(b) show the proposed experimental setup operating in no-load
painted gravel bed condition. To achieve steady drying characteris- and load condition in passive mode. The experiments were also per-
tics, 4 kg fresh tomato having identical dimension was taken. These formed for drying of tomato flakes with black painted gravel bed for
tomatoes were sliced into 8–10 mm thick flakes for the 2 days from October 24 to 25, 2017. The performance evaluation of
experimentation. the setup can be done as follows.

6.1 Net Heat Gains Percentage due to Bed Surface Inside

5 Error and Uncertainty Analysis the Proposed Setup. The net heat gain percentage due to bed
surface is defined as the ratio of two different variables. Variable
Error and uncertainty analysis were determined by many varia- 1 is the temperature difference between the floor (Tf) and ambient
tions such as environmental condition, instruments used for the air (Ta) and variable 2 is the floor temperature (Tf). This heat gain
experiment, test planning, observation, reading, and calibration absorbs the solar radiation to convert it into heat energy, which
[18]. In the present experiment, different parameters have been ana- enhances the room air temperature of the greenhouse dryer [20].
lyzed for which it is necessary to calculate the parameters like the Net heat gain can be evaluated as Eq. (6)
temperature at different bed conditions, wind velocity at outlet
and inlet of the dryer, and solar intensity [19]. Uncertainty is the (Tf − Ta )
Qf = × 100 (6)
strongest tool for designing and implementation of an experiment. Tf
For the independent parameter x1, x2, x3, …., xn, the result R will
be the given function. For the independent parameter w1, w2, w3,
6.2 Net Heat Gains a Percentage of Inside Room Air of
…., wn, the result wR will be the given function [6]. If the uncer-
GDINW. The net heat gain percentage of inside room air of the
tainty of the given parameter is in the same odds, then the resultant
proposed dryer is defined as the ratio of two different variables. Var-
uncertainty will be calculated as Eq. (1)
iable 1 is the temperature difference between room air (Tr) and
































































 
 ∂R 2  ∂R 2  ∂R 2  2 ambient air (Ta) and variable 2 is the room air temperature (Tr).
∂R
wR =
This heat gain absorbs solar radiation to convert it into heat
w1 + w2 + w3 + ·· · · + wn
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂x3 ∂xn energy which utilizes for the drying of the crop in the proposed
greenhouse dryer [20]. Net heat gain percentage of inside room
(1) air can be calculated as Eq. (7)
The total uncertainty for the measurement of temperature from (Tr − Ta )
infrared thermometer and reading error will be calculated as Eq. (2) Qgd = × 100 (7)
Tr

































wTemp,total = [(wthermometer )2 + (wreadings )2 ] (2)
6.3 Coefficient of Performance (COP). COP is the ratio of



















two different variables. Variable 1 is the temperature difference
between room air (Tr) and ambient air (Ta) and variable 2 is the tem-
wTemp,total = [(0.1)2 + (0.1)2 ] = 0.1414 perature difference between the floor (Tf) and ambient air (Ta) [21].

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 It can be evaluated according to Eq. (8) The mean temperature of the proposed dryer can be evaluated
according to Eq. (19)
Tr − Ta
COP = (8) Tt + Tr
Tf − Ta Tmean = (19)
2
6.4 Heat Loss Factor (Qloss). The loss of hot air takes place
from the vent provided inside the dryer comes under the category 6.7 Drying Efficiency. The drying efficiency of the proposed
heat loss factor [22]. HLF can be evaluated according to Eq. (9) dryer can be calculated as per Eq. (20) [17]
  Wt × hl
2△P 1/2 ηdr = (20)
Qloss = Cdif × Avent × × △P (9) At × Igr
ρ
where Wt is the total water content removed from the crop (tomato
6.5 Heat Utilization Factor. HUF is the ratio of two different flakes). Wt can be calculated by finding the initial moisture content
variables. Variable 1 is the temperature difference between the floor (Minitial) and final moisture content (Mfinal) of the crop on a wet basis
(Tf) and room air (Tr), while variable 2 is the temperature difference [15]. It can be calculated as per Eq. (21)
between the floor (Tf) and ambient air (Ta) during the drying process (Minitial − M final )
[21]. It can be evaluated according to Eq. (10) Wt = × Winitial (21)
(100 − M final )
Tf − Tr
HUF = (10) Initial moisture content (Minitial) can be determined as per
Tf − Ta Eq. (22)
Winitial − Whr
6.6 Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (Uh). The 1D Minitial = × 100 (22)
Winitial
steady-state heat transfer rate of the system is measured by the
overall heat transfer coefficient (Uh) [23,24]. It can be evaluated Latent heat of vaporization of water (hl) can be taken as 2.26 ×
according to Eq. (11) 106 J/kg, At is the area of a tray on which crop is being dried and
      Igr is the global solar radiation in W/m2.
1 1 lt 1
= + + (11)
Uh h KC hcn
6.8 Embodied Energy Analysis. The entire amount of energy
Here, Uh represents the overall heat transfer coefficient.
used to make any product or else to complete any service is called
Convective heat transfer coefficient of the proposed setup can be
embodied energy [25,26].
evaluated according to Eq. (12)
The generation of electricity from coal gives average CO2 equiv-
h = hgr + hra + hevp (12) alent intensity around 0.98 kg of CO2 kWh at the source. CO2 emis-
sions per year can be evaluated as Eq. (23)
Evaporative loss is determined by the percentage of moisture
content available in the crop, it can be evaluated according to Em × 0.98
CO2 emission per year = (23)
Eq. (13) LT
  This number can be increased from 0.98 to 1.58 for Indian con-
P(Ttr ) − γP(Tr )
hevp = 0.016hcan (13) dition as the supply losses in this condition are taken as 40%, addi-
Ttr − Tr tionally local losses are taken as 20%. Thus, the upgraded equation
where hevp is zero for no-load condition, hence it is neglected will be as Eq. (24)
[24]. Em × 1.58
Heat transfer coefficient of the proposed setup from the ground to CO2 emission per year = (24)
the room can be evaluated according to Eq. (14) LT
  Thus, the total amount of CO2 gas emission of the proposed solar
[P(Tf ) − γP(Tr )](Tf − 273) 1/3 dryer for the lifetime is evaluated as Eq. (25)
hgr = 0.884 Tf − Tr + (14)
268.9 × 103 − P(Tf )
Total CO2 gas emission = Em × 1.58 (25)
The greenhouse room air heat transfer coefficient can be evalu-
ated according to Eq. (15)
7 Result and Discussions
[(Tf + 273.15)4 − (Tf + 273.15)4 ]
hra = σ ∈ (15) 7.1 Percentage of Net Heat Gain of the Floor (Qf) at
(Tf − Tr )
Different Bed Conditions. The global solar radiation constrains
Thermal conductivity of the proposed system can be evaluated the transformation of solar radiation into heat. Good global solar
according to Eq. (16) radiation has been found in all the days of the experiment during
research, thus, in both the cases bed temperature was found to be
KC = 0.0244 + 0.7673 × 10−4 Tmean (16) satisfactory enough. However, heat storage concept present inside
the dryer facilitates higher bed temperature, the higher bed temper-
Heat transfer coefficient (canopy) of the dryer can be evaluated
ature results in higher chamber temperature. Figure 3(a) elucidates
according to Eq. (17)
the variation of the percentage of net heat gain in different bed con-
hcn = 7.2 + 3.8VW (17) ditions. Figure 3(a) shows that the heat gain for black painted gravel
bed was more than other bed conditions and also more even and
Vapour pressure of the proposed setup at temperature T can be smoother than other bed conditions due to the presence of heat
evaluated according to Eq. (18) [23] storage concept inside the proposed dryer. The maximum heat
  gain was 53% at 13 h for black painted gravel bed while for con-
5144.0
P(T) = exp 25.317 − (18) crete bed, gravel bed, and ground bed, it was 34%, 49%, and
Tmean + 273.15 29%, respectively.

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 Fig. 3 (a) Hourly variation of heat gain in the floor of the proposed greenhouse dryer and
(b) hourly variation of heat gain in the proposed greenhouse dryer

7.2 Percentage of Net Heat Gain in Greenhouse Dryer (Qgd)
at Different Bed Conditions. The inside room air temperature
plays a very crucial role in enhancing the drying rate. As per the
experimental observation, the heat gain was observed maximum
for black painted gravel bed, i.e., 50% at 13 h, while for a concrete
bed, gravel bed, and the ground bed, it was 33%, 46%, and 28%,
respectively. The uniformity and smoothness of the curve were
found in black painted gravel bed condition. This steady heat gen-
eration process is due to the presence of heat storage concept inside
the proposed dryer. The detailed variation of net heat gain percent-
age at different bed conditions is shown in Fig. 3(b).
maximum solar radiation at the canopy of the dryer was measured
as 1090 W/m2 on day 1, 1020 W/m2 on day 2, 1080 W/m2 on
day 3, and 1080 W/m2 on day 4 at 13 h. While minimum solar radi-
ation at the canopy of the dryer was measured as 260 W/m2 on day
1, 280 W/m2 on day 2, 340 W/m2 on day 3, and 370 W/m2 on day
4. Figure 4(a) shows the variation of ambient temperature with time.
The minimum and maximum ambient temperatures for all four con-
secutive days were 24.6 °C and 31.5 °C, 25.9 °C and 31.9 °C,
24.9 °C and 31.6 °C, and 24.7 °C and 32 °C, respectively. The
maximum and minimum ambient temperatures were observed at
13 h and 10 h on all four consecutive days.

7.3 Role of Solar Radiation and Ambient Temperature
During Experimentation. The heat transfer analysis can be done
by the help of parameters like ambient temperature and solar radia-
tion. These parameters are responsible for the variation of the tem-
perature inside the drying chamber. As shown in Fig. 4(b), the
7.4 Effect of Relative Humidity During Experimentation.
The relative humidity is a significant aspect for the drying process.
The variation of temperature depends on the variation of the relative
humidity. The moisture content of the air increases with the increase
in relative humidity which results in the decrease of air temperature.

Fig. 4 (a) Hourly variation of ambient temperature and (b) hourly variation of solar radiation

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 Fig. 5 (a) Hourly variation of relative humidity and (b) hourly variation of wind speed

The minimum and maximum relative humidity for four consecutive
days was 28.5% and 39.9%, 31.1% and 43%, 30.4% and 42%,
31.1% and 42.4% respectively. The detailed variation is shown in
Fig. 5(a).
7.5 Role of Wind Speed During Experimentation. The
higher amount of convective heat losses takes place from the green-
house dryer because of the high speed of wind flowing over the
system. This results in the poor performance of the greenhouse
dryer. Figure 5(b) illustrates the deviation of wind speed with
respect to time for four successive days of the experimentation.
The enormous variation in wind speed has been observed during
the experimentation. The wind velocity varies from 0.47 to 0.8 m/
s for all four successive days.
7.6 Comparison of Ground Temperature and Room Air
Temperature During Experimentation. It has been observed
that bed temperature is always greater than room temperature than
ambient temperature. The maximum and minimum room tempera-
tures for black painted gravel bed were 64.4 °C and 40.6 °C at 13 h
and 10 h. The concrete bed, gravel bed, and ground bed show 46 °C
and 33.6 °C, 58.5 °C and 36.8 °C, and 43.1 °C and 31 °C, respec-
tively. For ground temperature, the minimum and maximum
value were found to be 38.3 °C and 61.8 °C (gravel bed), 43.4 °C
and 68.2 °C (black painted gravel bed), 32.4 °C and 44.6 °C
(ground bed), and 34.6 °C and 47.8 °C (concrete bed). Thus, it
can be evaluated that the black painted gravel bed is best in absorb-
ing heat up to the maximum limit as compared with the other bed
conditions. The detailed variation of room air temperature and the
ground temperature is shown in Figs. 6(a) and 6(b).
7.7 Effect of Heat Loss Factor During Experimentation.
The heat loss factor has a high dependency on inside room temper-
ature hence, it is necessary to analyze heat loss factor. HLF depends
on wind speed and coefficient of diffusivity. Since the heat loss in
the drying chamber increases with the increase in wind velocity, the

Fig. 6 (a) Variation of room temperature in the proposed setup and (b) variation of bed temper-
ature in the proposed setup

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 Fig. 7 (a) Variation of OHTC in the proposed setup and (b) variation of HLF in the proposed setup
maximum heat loss occurs inside the dryer through the ventilation
provided on the uppermost portion of the dryer. The HLF was
observed maximum at 13 h and minimum at 10 h. As shown in
Fig. 7(b), the maximum HLF for gravel bed, ground bed, black
painted gravel bed, and concrete bed are 132.95 W and 22.51 W,
35.81 W and 11.29 W, 195.80 W and 30.76 W, and 48.21 W and
17.18 W, respectively. The solar radiation also affects heat loss
factor, which varies due to sky conditions. From the study, it was
found that the heat loss factor was maximum in the black painted
gravel bed condition, as the heat storage concept applied in this
bed condition is more efficient.
7.8 Analysis of Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient During
Experimentation. The heat loss of the inside air of the drying
chamber can be determined by overall heat transfer coefficient
(OHTC). The value of OHTC can be evaluated according to Eq.
(13). The SI unit of OHTC is W/m2 °C. In the present experiment,
OHTC has been evaluated for all bed conditions like gravel bed,
ground bed, black painted gravel bed, and concrete bed. It has
been observed that for black painted gravel bed, the maximum
OHTC was 3.88 W/m2 °C at 13 h and the minimum value was
3.45 W/m2 °C at 10 h while for gravel bed, concrete bed, and
ground bed, minimum to maximum value will be 3.37 W/m2 °C
—3.70 W/m2 °C, 3.16 W/m2 °C—3.47 W/m2 °C, and 3.11 W/
m2 °C—3.31 W/m2 °C, respectively. It has been also observed
that the maximum overall heat transfer coefficient was for black
painted gravel bed as shown in Fig. 7(a).
7.9 Drying Efficiency and Change of Moisture Content.
The drying efficiency of the dryer depends on solar radiation and
mass flow rate of air. It has been found that the drying efficiency
of the proposed setup was 23.49%, which was 0.20% larger than
Prakash and Kumar, i.e., 23.29% [17]. It shows that the proposed
system was more efficient due to heat storage concept applied to it.
Figures 8(a) and 8(b) show the rate of change of moisture content
of the crop (tomato flakes). In open mode of sun drying, the com-
plete procedure of drying takes 14 h after excluding off sunshine
hours. The drying at off sunshine hours takes place due to heat
storage condition applied on the bed of the dryer. Since the moisture
content of the crop is at a higher rate at the initial condition, the rate
of drying also takes place at a higher rate. This drying rate decreases
exponentially as the moisture content reduces. The drying rate takes
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place at a constant rate period during drying of the crop (tomato
flake). It was observed that the initial moisture content of the crop
in the proposed setup was similar to Prakash and Kumar [17]
96% w.b. while the final moisture content was 10.26% for
Prakash and Kumar and 9.10% in the proposed setup. It shows
that the absorption capacity of moisture in the proposed setup is
higher than that reported by Prakash and Kumar.
7.10 Embodied Energy and CO2 Emission Analysis of the
Proposed Setup. The embodied energy of the proposed system
was found to be 530.4976 kWh. While CO2 emission for per year
has been calculated as 14.85 kg by taking the production of electric-
ity from coal as 0.98 kg while including domestic losses and distri-
bution losses the consumption of coal was increased by 1.58 kg and
hence the CO2 emission, in that case, was calculated as 23.94 kg.
The embodied energy was found to be the same for all the bed con-
ditions as different bed conditions do not differentiate the material
required in the manufacture of the dryer. Hence, the CO2 emission
rate was also found the same for different bed conditions. The
embodied energy of the proposed setup was quite less than an indi-
rect mode of the solar dryer and active conventional dryer. The cal-
culated embodied energy has been shown in Table 2.
7.11 COP and HUF Variation in the Proposed Greenhouse
Dryer. The COP determined the performance of the setup. The
variation in performance takes place with respect to temperature.
The COP of the proposed setup was found maximum in the case
of the black painted gravel bed, i.e., 0.92, while the minimum at
ground bed condition, i.e., 0.26. The COP for gravel bed and the
concrete bed was observed as 0.78 and 0.48, respectively.
Figure 9(a) shows the hourly variation of COP at different bed
conditions.
Figure 9(b) illustrates the hourly variation of HUF at different
bed conditions with respect to time. It was observed that HUF is
inversely proportional to the heat absorption by the floor of the
system. Hence, lower the value of HUF higher the heat absorbed
by the floor of the system. From the present study, it has been
observed that maximum value of HUF at ground bed condition
was 0.18, while for gravel bed, concrete bed, and black painted
gravel bed condition, it was 0.15, 0.16, and 0.14, respectively.
Hence, it was clearly observed that ground bed condition shows
the maximum HUF in comparison with other bed conditions.
FEBRUARY 2020, Vol. 142 / 011006-7
 Fig. 8 (a) Comparison of wet and dry basis moisture content with another investigator and
(b) comparison of wet basis moisture content and drying time with another investigator

7.12 Comparison of Performance Analysis With Other
Invigilators. The comparison of performance analysis has been
done with the other investigator to find out the validation and
authenticity of the experiment. It has been observed that heat
storage concept applied on the present setup gives more accurate
performance compared with Chauhan and Kumar [20].
As per Fig. 10(a), results of the present setup have been com-
pared with other investigators for COP. The COP evaluated by
Chauhan and Kumar was lower in comparison with the COP eval-
uated in black painted gravel bed condition of the proposed setup.
The maximum value of COP in the present setup is 0.92 while
for Prashant et al. it is 0.90. The factors like inlet temperature,
room temperature, and outlet temperature are responsible for the
deviation in the value of COP. These factors are affected by the dif-
ference in the design and fabrication of the setup.
The observed HUF was compared with published research article
and the observed HUF is found lesser as compared with Prashant
et al. The HUF evaluated by Prashant et al. at 15 h was 0.10
while the HUF evaluated in the present experiment at 15 h was
0.09. Hence, this concludes that the present finding is similar to
the published literature.
Heat loss factor in the proposed greenhouse dryer for black
painted gravel bed is lower compared with another investigator. It
has been observed that heat loss for black painted gravel bed in
the proposed setup was 195 kW which was very lower than that
reported by Prashant et al., i.e., 420 kW. This shows that the pro-
posed system is quite more efficient compared with another
investigator.
The mean value of overall heat transfer coefficient for black
painted gravel bed was found to be 3.6 for the proposed greenhouse
dryer which is similar to another researcher Prakash and Kumar,
i.e., 3.7. This validates our observation [24].
The heat gain in the proposed setup for black painted gravel bed
has been compared with Chauhan and Kumar [20]. It has been

Table 2 Embodied energy analysis of the proposed dryer

Embodied energy
S. No. Substance Amount coefficient (kWh/kg) Gross Reference

1 Glass 5.40 kg 7.28 39.312 [26]

2 Polycarbonate sheet 15.60 kg 10.1974 159.0794 [26]
3 Silver coating 0.75 m2 0.278 0.2085 [26]
4 Stainless steel wire mesh steel tray 0.70 kg 9.67 6.769 [26]
5 Paint 2 kg 25.11 50.22 [26]
6 Aluminum section [26]
(i) 1ʺ × 1 mm (section) 3.59 kg 55.28 198.4552
(ii) 4ʺ × 1 mm (section) 0.82 kg 55.28 45.3296
(iii) 1ʺ × 3 mm (angle) 0.08 kg 55.28 4.4224
7 Fitting [26]
(i) Hinges used 0.20 kg 55.28 11.056
(ii) Door lock 0.025 kg 55.28 1.382
(iii) Handle used 0.10 kg 55.28 5.528
(iv) Screw (steel) 0.25 kg 9.67 2.4175
8 PVC sheet 0.325 kg 19.44 6.318 [26]
Grand total (kWh) 530.4976

011006-8 / Vol. 142, FEBRUARY 2020 Transactions of the ASME

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 Fig. 9 (a) Hourly variation of COP and (b) hourly variation of HUF

found that the maximum heat gain for the floor in black painted
gravel bed (i.e., 53%) was more than Prashant et al., which was
50%. While maximum heat gain for greenhouse in the proposed
setup was 47% which was 7% more than Prashant et al., i.e.,
40% as shown in Fig. 10(b).
Also, it has been found that the present study shows the same
pattern of the graph as per published research articles.
Conclusion
The thermal energy storage concept was applied to the bed of
greenhouse dryer. Further, the setup was tested at different bed
conditions operating in no-load and load condition. The purpose
of testing in no-load condition was to get a complete thermal
profile of the system without any hindrance by crop. Based on the
performance at no-load condition, best performing bed, i.e., black
painted gravel bed was being selected for drying in load condition.
On the basis of the experimentation, the conclusions were found to
be as follows:
• The heat storage capacity was maximum for black painted
gravel bed condition in comparison with other bed conditions
such as concrete bed, gravel bed, and ground bed.
• Maximum heat gain at floor takes place at black painted gravel
bed condition, i.e., 53% at 13 h.

Fig. 10 (a) Comparative analysis of COP with another investigator and (b) comparative analysis
of Net heat gain with another investigator

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering FEBRUARY 2020, Vol. 142 / 011006-9

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 • Maximum heat gain of greenhouse dryer takes place at black ρ = density of room air (kg/m3)
painted gravel bed condition, i.e., 50% at 13 h. σ = Stefan Boltzmann constant (W/m2K4)
• The maximum heat storage capacity was observed in black
painted gravel bed condition in comparison with the existing
greenhouse dryer. References
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