Solar Collector System Research Articles

Dynamic variation of bed parameters and time optimisation of solar adsorption refrigeration system based on CFD simulation

One major reason for the limited application of adsorption refrigeration systems is their lower refrigeration efficiency and performance compared to other alternatives. Additionally, there is limited research focused on optimizing the system performance over time. This paper presents a numerically validated thermodynamic model to analyse the effect of adsorption time on the performance efficiency enhancement of a solar adsorption refrigeration system. The adsorption rate model proposed by Sokoda and Suzuki has been used to evaluate the adsorption and desorption characteristics of water vapor on silica gel and the solar collector system has been fitted to a heat flow density equation based on measured concentrated solar heating. The water vapor adsorption capacity on silica gel as a function of temperature and pressure in the adsorption bed has been numerically evaluated during the four stages of the cooling cycle, namely adsorption, preheating, desorption, and cooling. The coefficient of performance and specific cooling power have been utilized as the major performance indicators, in the context of the influence of adsorption time on the refrigeration performance of the system. The simulation results revealed that, although increasing the adsorption time increased the system's cooling capacity, it also prolonged the cycle time and adversely affected the dynamics of preheating and desorption processes (due to increased solar input). As a result of the numerical simulation, an optimum value of adsorption time has been predicted to be 71 min corresponding to a coefficient of performance equal to 0.476 and a specific cooling power equal to 28.6 W/kg.

Sustainability design and analysis of a regional energy supply CHP system by integrating biomass and solar energy

A regional energy supply system integrating biomass and solar energy combined the heat and power system (RES-CHP) is developed. This hybrid energy power supply system retrofits the traditional regional energy supply (RES) system by coupling a solar-driven biomass gasification system, a gas turbine system, and a solar collecting system. In order to better utilize the high temperature sensible heat of syngas, a new integrated design is developed. The heat generated by the syngas is utilized to preheat the gasifying agent and feedstock. The effect of several key parameters on the composition of the syngas is investigated. At the optimal design point, the system is analyzed for energy, exergy, economy and emissions (4E). The results showed that the energy and exergy efficiencies of the RES-CHP system reach 42.57% and 39.52%, respectively. Economic analysis shows that over the projected 10 years, the proposed system has a positive NPV and better investment value. RES-CHP system provides low CO2 emissions about 4.146 kt/year, which is 32.3% less than the reference system.

Experimental Investigation of Pre-Heating Double Pass Flow Arrangement on Thermal Performance Enhancement of Evacuated Glass-Thermal Absorber Tube Collector (EGATC) for Air Heating Application

Thermal energy storage (TES) in solar thermal application assist in increasing the performance and efficiency of the solar thermal collector system. Various technique has been developed to enhance TES performance, such as using water and PCM as energy storage material. The type of material selection and design arrangement also contributes to the performance of solar thermal collector systems. This research aims to enhance the thermal performance of the outlet temperature of an Evacuated Glass-Thermal Absorber Tube Collector (EGATC) for air heating applications. The performance study has been conducted to measure the outlet temperature per indoor setup under the artificial solar radiation on the parameter effect of double pass flow arrangement with pre-heating inner absorber parameter. The comparison experiment at wind speed 0.9 m/s for stainless steel inner absorber showed better results on temperature outlet 47.7°C, energy store 4.46KJ and efficiency (collector + storage) 37.5% compared with insulation materials internal absorber with temperature outlet 44.7°C, energy store 4.40KJ and efficiency (collector + storage) 31.1%, respectively. This concluded that EGATC performance can be increased with those respective parameters.

Improvement of solar air heaters performance with PCM-filled baffles and storage bed

Solar air heaters (SAHs) are popular solar energy collection systems due to their simple design and construction. However, conventional SAHs face limitations, including a small heat transfer surface area, high thermal resistance between the airflow and the heater, and reduced performance during nights or cloudy days. This study proposes a solution by incorporating both a PCM storage bed and optimized PCM-filled baffles in the SAH. Initially, a 3D transient numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the SAH with a storage bed and PCM-filled baffles. The numerical modeling employs the TEDM approach to identify the optimal geometries for the PCM-filled baffles. Subsequently, experimental tests are conducted based on the identified optimal conditions. The results reveal that the height of the baffles is the most influential parameter in determining the daily effective efficiency. The proposed SAH exhibits a daily effective efficiency approximately 57.9% higher than that of a SAH without PCM and 52.6% higher than that of a SAH with a PCM storage bed at Re=5000. Moreover, the proposed SAH outperforms baffles-less SAHs by prolonging the duration during which the outlet air is at least 5° warmer than the inlet by approximately 54%.

Numerical and experimental investigations of an involute shaped solar compound parabolic collector with variable concentration ratio

Solar compound parabolic collector (CPC) systems are considered a viable solution for process and space heating applications in industrial and domestic sectors for low to intermediate temperature ranges. Many CPC profiles have been proposed with distinct optical and thermal characteristics. In this research, an involute-shaped CPC with a variable concentration ratio along its length is developed and analyzed in terms of its optical and thermal performance. The acceptance angle of the collector is linearly increased from 37.5° to 52.5° along its length with corresponding change in the concentration ratio from 4.58 to 5.87 respectively. Optical and thermal analyses are performed using TracePro and Ansys/Fluent software for stationary installation in both east-west (E-W) and north-south (N-S) orientations. The numerical results show about 16% enhancement in optical performance and 7.3% thermal performance of the collector installed in the E-W direction as compared to the N-S orientation. The experimental analysis also confirms that the performance of the developed collector is 4.75% better in E-W installation than in N-S orientation. The comparative analysis shows about a 3.7% deviation between theoretical and experimental results in E-W orientation. It is concluded that the optical and thermal performance of the collector with variable concentration ratio is better in E-W orientation compared to N-S.

Increasing melting and solidification performances of a phase change material-based flat plate solar collector equipped with metal foams, nanoparticles, and wavy wall-Y-shaped surface

This paper presents solutions to improve the thermal performances of paraffin as a Phase Change Material (PCM) in solar flat-plate collector systems for domestic and industrial solar applications. These solutions are regarded as an effective way to solve the problem of energy supply and demand time delay. To address this issue, three different methods were proposed together or separately, namely using 10 PPIs aluminum foams with 0.92 or 0.95 porosity, various types of 5%wt nanoparticles, and modifications to the geometry in three different configurations: straight (Case A), wavy wall (Case B), and wavy wall-Y-shaped fin combinations (Case C). Because of melting, thermal energy is stored within the PCM during sun exposition; once the sun source is not available, thanks to the PCM solidification, thermal energy is released. Numerical predictions of phase change and temperature evolution are done – and extensively validated - by means of well-established approaches like enthalpy-porosity method, porous media approach, and nanoparticles single-phase homogeneous model. If comparisons are done with pure paraffin, it has been found that nano-powders in Case B and Case C reduce melting time by 18.15% and 40.70%, respectively. A reduction of 86.19% and 87.21% can be found if only metal foams, or nanoparticles with foams, are included. Furthermore, solidification time for Case C with nanoparticles and 0.95 or 0.92 porosity foams, in comparison with Case B-Pure paraffin, becomes lower of 84.49% and 89.18%, respectively. This suggests that metal foams play the most important role in improving cycling times in such applications, even if nanoparticles and wavy walls are helpful too. The heat storage rate has been found to be higher of an order of magnitude if both metal foam and nanoparticles are added to the paraffin in Case C.

Optimal rule based double predictive control for the management of thermal energy in a distributed clean heating system

Solar energy coupled with electric heat storage is a kind of promising energy saving technology for distributed building heating. Precise and quick heat load prediction for the demand side of heating system and renewable energy prediction for the supply side are imperative in realizing the flexibility of building clean energy supply systems. A predictive control based on back propagation (BP) artificial neural network is built to predict the demand heat load of an office building and the heat supply quantity of solar collector (SC) system. The heat dissipation of the SC system is considered to improve the prediction accuracy of its heat supply quantity. A double predictive (DP) control is introduced and combined with dynamic adjustment to optimize the operation of renewable energy, phase change heat storage and valley electric heating system. The results indicate that predictive model is of high precision and the variation coefficient of root mean squared errors corresponding to each prediction parameter are all greater than 0.9. Furthermore, the optimization results indicate that the DP control would save, in March, about 59.3% of charge heat quantity of phase change material (PCM) tank and terms of cost (30.4%). Meanwhile, maintaining indoor temperature between 20 °C and 22 °C.

Investigation of energy, exergy, and economy of co-generation system of solar electricity and cooling using linear parabolic collector for a data center

At present, data centers serve as primary providers of information technology infrastructure, thereby consuming a significant quantity of electrical energy. Considering the growing trend of heightened electricity consumption and heat generation within data centers, leading to increased expenses, coupled with mounting attention to energy preservation and ecological preservation, the deployment of electricity generation systems and solar cooling technologies presents an alluring solution. The present study introduces an integrated system powered by a parabolic collector, an organic Rankine cycle, and a two-effect absorption chiller. A solar parabolic collector system was evaluated as a potential means of providing thermal energy to the power generation and cooling systems. The methodology employed in this study involved the utilization of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) to produce electricity while the cooling generation process was carried out using an absorption cycle. The optimization of both the absorption system and the ORC was performed utilizing the temperature data derived from the parabolic collector. Ultimately, a contrastive analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between cooling storage and electrical power depending on the degree of the parabolic collector. The collective expenditure for electricity and cooling system maintenance within the data center amounts to 1202392 USD. Based on an analysis of the associated expenses for electricity and cooling, the Payback Period (PBP) is determined to be 3.407 years, whereas the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) stands at 0.05815 $ per kilowatt hour. The proposed system underwent an annual assessment encompassing analysis of performance, as well as considerations of the pertinent factors of energy, economics, and the environment. The findings indicate that the utilization of this system can mitigate the release of 1421 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The suggested amalgamated framework that couples solar power generation and cooling system holds immense promise in the realm of sustainable development. This optimism stems from the notable advantages of energy conservation, prospective economic benefits, and eco-friendliness that the system embodies.

Numerical Studies on the Impact of Traffic Loading on Embedded Pipes in Solar Energy Harvesting Concrete Pavement

The urban heat island (UHI) effect occurs when cities and towns warm up more than the surrounding rural areas because they have more structures and less vegetation and soil. The issue can be lessened by implementing a pavement solar collector (PSC) system, which converts heat from the pavement’s surface into thermal energy. In this work, the authors analyze the effect of pipe depth (85 mm to 50 mm) and spacing (200 mm to 100 mm) on the efficiency of heat extraction from the surface while taking pavement structural performance into account using the ANSYS Fluent program. The modeling approach was validated against the previous studies. According to the findings, a concrete water harvesting system may achieve the maximum outlet temperature with the least impact on traffic loading by using a distance of 100 mm and a depth of 85 mm. The load’s impact is 51% less than that of the model that predicted the highest outlet temperature, and the outside temperature is reduced by 3.9%. The outcomes here demonstrated that concrete might be employed in the PSC system as an alternative to asphalt.

Impact of Stearic Acid as Heat Storage Material on Energy Efficiency and Economic Feasibility of a Vacuum Tube Solar Water Heater

The overheating of heat pipes, poor transfer of heat across the absorber and finned heat pipes, and inability to provide hot water in the late evening hours are major problems associated with conventional heat pipe vacuum collector systems. The amalgamation of highly conductive storage material between the absorber tube (heat collecting surface) and the heat pipe is an effective way to overcome these problems. In this study, a stearic acid amalgamated vacuum tube solar collector system was designed and fabricated and its thermal output compared with a conventional vacuum tube system without storage material under the same environmental conditions. The experimental results showed that the amalgamation of stearic acid as storage material enhanced the thermal output of the solar system compared to the conventional one. The desired heat gain of the solar system with storage material increased by 31.30, 23.34, and 18.78% for Test 1_40 °C, Test 2_45 °C, and Test 3_50 °C, respectively. The technoeconomic analysis showed that almost 118.80 USD in revenue could be earned by the proposed solar system at the end of 15 years. The total running cost of ELG and the developed solar system was observed to be 202.62 and 86.70 USD, respectively. On average, the cost of hot water production using the solar system and ELG was found to be 0.0016 and 0.004 USD/L, respectively. The value of LEC was found to be 0.062 USD/electricity unit, which was much lower than the LEC value of ELG (0.116 USD/electricity unit). The value of NPW (73.73 USD) indicated high acceptability of the proposed system. The payback time is lower than the life of the system, indicating its suitability for use in the commercial sector. Therefore, the proposed solar system is highly recommended over conventional water heating systems in urban and rural areas.

Investigation and optimization of solar collector and geothermal pump hybrid system for cogeneration of heat and power with exergy-economic approach

Abstract To use energy systems based on renewable sources, it is very important to consider backup and hybrid sources because renewable energies are not available all the time; therefore, in this system, a geothermal pump is used to preheat the fluid, then the heated fluid is sent to the vacuum tube collector to reach a higher temperature by absorbing solar-thermal energy, and after absorbing solar energy, it goes to the evaporator to produce superheated steam and finally the superheated fluid moves to the steam turbine to produce energy. After the simulation, thermodynamic analysis along with economic analysis has been done. In the base state, the energy efficiency and exergy of cogeneration were 0.566 and 0.156, respectively; the energy efficiency and electrical exergy were better than 0.057 and 0.065; and the overall output and immutable work values were 50 and 671.1 kW, respectively.

Improving the energy distribution uniformity of solar dish collector system under tracking error using a cavity receiver position adjustment method

The tracking error of solar dish collector (SDC) system will cause extremely non-uniform energy distribution and local high flux in circumference surface of the cavity receiver, which brings serious challenges to safe and efficient operation of SDC system. Improve tracking accuracy is a conventional but costly solution, while this paper proposes a receiver position adjustment method to improve or eliminate the adverse effects of tracking errors, including translational adjustment and rotation adjustment methods. Taking cylindrical and conical cavity receivers as examples, the improved effect of position adjustment methods on circumferential energy distribution of cavity receivers under the tracking error was studied in detail using ray-tracing method and outdoor experiment. The influence of concentrator size, tracking error, mirror slope error, cavity receiver shape and size are fully considered, the evaluation indexes such as peak LCR and energy distribution uniformity before and after the receiver position adjustment are comparative analysis. The results amply demonstrate that the translational adjustment method is very effective to improve the receiver's energy distribution uniformity and significantly reduce the peak LCR, but rotational adjustment method has not significantly. This work provides a new solution to eliminate the adverse effects of tracking errors in SDC system, which has the advantage of low-cost and easy to implement.

Emerging urchin-like core-shell mineral microspheres with efficient photothermal conversion and solar energy storage

Enormous challenges still seriously restrict the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in thermal energy storage and heat management systems, such as their leakage, low thermal conductivity, and low photothermal conversion efficiency. We reported an effective strategy for the morphology-controlled synthesis of the composite microsphere with an urchin-like core-shell structure for encapsulated paraffin, which synergistically enhanced efficient solar thermal conversion and heat energy storage. The SCGT was prepared by coating a layer of urchin-like TiO2 on the core composed of sepiolite, cellulose nanocrystals, and graphite (SCG). The synergistic effect of the core-shell structure makes paraffin-SCGT (P-SCGT) composites possess a high photothermal conversion efficiency of 94 % and outstanding heat energy storage capacity, with the melting and crystallization enthalpy of 137.4 J/g and 127.5 J/g. Furthermore, the mortar cylinder developed with the P-SCGT and mortar (P-SCGT-M) indicated exceptional thermal management abilities in attenuating the temperature fluctuations between diurnal and nocturnal periods, even multiple heating and cooling cycles. Therefore, the prepared materials with comprehensive properties would be perspective applied in solar collector systems and energy-saving buildings.

Advanced DC–DC converter topologies for solar energy harvesting applications: a review

Abstract In this study, the advanced topologies of a DC–DC converter for applications involving the harvesting of solar energy are discussed. This work’s primary contribution is a guide for choosing the most effective topology for a DC–DC converter when developing solar energy collection systems. Several topologies of a DC–DC converter for solar energy harvesting applications are compared in terms of the range of power levels they can oversee, the complexity of the underlying hardware, the cost of implementation, the tracking efficiency and the overall efficiency of the converter. This article explains five innovative approaches for adapting boost converters to function as standard DC–DC converters to capture solar energy, consisting of (i) voltage-multiplier cell, (2) coupled inductor, (3) coupled inductor and switch capacitor, (4) cascaded topology and (5) voltage-lift technique. Because of the boost converter’s restrictions, it is necessary to deliver high performance. The comparison findings demonstrate that the voltage-lift-based boost-converter topology performs more effectively than the alternatives. In conclusion, the information presented in this paper can be utilized when developing solar energy collection systems to determine the sort of direct current to direct current converter that will be most effective.

Performance investigation on soil disinfection with a compound parabolic concentrating solar collector system

Soil disinfection is a necessary step in solar greenhouses because of the soil borne diseases and pests caused by the continuous cultivation. However, the traditional physical soil disinfection methods lead to high energy consumption and high carbon emissions, chemical soil disinfection methods cause great soil pollution. Therefore, this study proposed a novel soil disinfection system that can avoid soil pollution and achieve solar-powered physical disinfection of planting soil. The proposed system collects solar energy with the trough compound parabolic concentrating solar collector system. The collected solar heat is continuously delivered by airflow to the heat exchange pipes buried in the soil. As a result, the soil temperature can be raised to the required level for a certain period to suppress the growth of weeds and kill pests and pathogenic bacteria. In this study, the variation trend of soil temperature in the actual greenhouse was measured in the field and compared with the calculation results. After 5 consecutive sunny days of continuous operation of the solar collector system, the maximum soil temperature on the surface, at the depth of 0.15 m and 0.3 m were 59 °C, 48.6 °C, and 43.4 °C, respectively. The duration of soil at a certain temperature can also reflect the disinfection effect, and the longest cumulative hours with the soil temperature at a depth of 0.15 m above 37 °C was 107.27 h. At the same time, the average microbial biomass carbon and the microbial biomass nitrogen decreased by 11.04 % and 8.56 %, respectively. Furthermore, the payback period of the system is 1.97 years and the greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by about 410.82 kg CO2, 1.33 kg SO2, and 1.16 kg NOx every year. The research results indicate that this novel method of soil disinfection is feasible, which can improve soil temperature and achieve the purpose of soil disinfection. This study can provide a reference for green and low-carbon soil disinfection in solar greenhouses.

9E analysis of a flat plate solar collector system implementation: A new approach based on digital twin model coupled with global sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization

Flat plate solar collectors are technology with the most solar thermal energy field applications, and different studies based on artificial intelligence have been used to model these systems. This research study presents a 9E analysis based on a digital twin model coupled with global sensitivity analysis and multi-objective optimization of a solar system integrated with an array of flat plate solar collectors to satisfy residential hot water demand that represents a case study with different applications. A model based on artificial neural networks was trained, and a global sensitivity analysis using the Sobol method and a multi-objective optimization study using a genetic algorithm were also implemented. The main outcomes revealed that the digital twin model presented a high correlation above 0.99, and the 9E analysis reported a maximum value of 25.18% for thermal efficiency and 0.266% for exergetic efficiency. Also, a value of 1798.5 kgCO2/year was obtained for the amount of CO2 mitigated, $1342.9 USD for net present value, $0.0104 USD/kWh for levelized cost of energy, and 92.62, 0.519 kgCO2/year, $3.43, $1.34, and $0.00752 USD/year for energoenvironmental, exergoenvironmental, enviroeconomic energoenviroeconomic, and exergoenviroeconomic indicators, respectively. The methodology and the 9E analysis results provide a comprehensive approach that determines the optimal choice by analyzing the system's viability with different assessments and goes beyond the conventional analyses currently presented in the literature as it shows an untapped market potential for the best decision-making.

Day-Ahead Scheduling Strategy Optimization of Electric–Thermal Integrated Energy System to Improve the Proportion of New Energy

The coordinated use of electricity and a heat energy system can effectively improve the energy structure during winter heating in the northern part of China and improve the environmental pollution problem. In this paper, an economic scheduling model of an electric–thermal integrated energy system, including a wind turbine, regenerative electric boiler, solar heat collection system, biomass boiler, ground source heat pump and battery is proposed, and a biomass boiler was selected as the auxiliary heat source of the solar heat collection system. A mixed integer linear programming model was established to take the operating cost of the whole system as the target. A day-ahead optimization scheduling strategy considering the demand side response and improving new energy consumption is proposed. In order to verify the influence of the coordinated utilization of the flexible load and energy storage equipment on the optimal scheduling in the model built, three scenarios were set up. Scenario 3 contains energy storage and a flexible load. Compared with scenario 1, the total cost of scenario 3 was reduced by 51.5%, and the abandonment cost of wind energy was reduced by 43.3%. The use of a flexible load and energy storage can effectively reduce the cost and improve new energy consumption. By increasing the capacity of the energy-storage device, the wind power is completely absorbed, but the operation and maintenance cost is increased, so the capacity of energy storage equipment is allocated reasonably according to the actual situation.

Reduced order 1 + 3D numerical model for evaluating the performance of solar borehole thermal energy storage systems

This study presents a computationally efficient numerical model for solving the fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena in co-axial boreholes heat exchangers arranged on a rectangular grid (N × N) drill hole pattern. Such systems of boreholes are an integral component of a Solar-Borehole Thermal Energy Storage System for seasonal thermal storage application. The numerical model couples a one-dimensional fluid flow and convective heat transfer model in the heat exchanger with a three-dimensional model of conductive heat transfer in the strata. In addition to solving mass and heat transfer in borehole systems, it integrates a solar thermal collector system and building dynamic thermal load to design a Solar- Borehole Thermal Energy Storage system for a 182-unit residential apartment building. Simulation also considers and evaluates the conductive, convective, and radiative thermal losses of the system. The model is validated using experimental data from a coaxial borehole heat exchanger and compared to the results of a commercial finite volume solver for multiple co-axial boreholes. The computational cost of developed numerical model is reduced by a factor of 194 compared to a commercial finite volume solver. Solar- Borehole Thermal Energy Storage system simulation is performed for a period of five years considering hourly fluctuations in solar irradiance and building dynamic thermal energy demand. Parametric study is performed on depth and spacing of boreholes, and mass flowrate in the solar thermal collectors. It is found that a system of 100 boreholes, each 100 m deep, linked to 674 solar thermal collectors can provide the heating for the building with a total thermal demand of 5600 GJ per year.

Modelling and analysis of a novel production process of high-pressure hydrogen with CO2 separation using electrochemical compressor and LFR solar collector

Hydrogen as an alternative fuel has a very promising future. Using renewable solar energy to produce green hydrogen is one of the most interesting approaches due to its environmental friendliness. In this study, a novel system configuration is designed and studied that includes electrochemical compressor (EHC), hybrid thermionic-thermoelectric converter (TIG-TEG), and a solar linear Fresnel collector system (LFR). The EHC can produce a hydrogen product at a high pressure with a high purity. Moreover, using a 50/50 H2–CO2 feed a pure CO2 byproduct can be separated from the process. A detailed mathematical modelling considering several key phenomena of the EHC and the TIG-TEG converter is presented with a full variable list that haven't been reported to such extent yet. Simulation is performed in MATLAB and a sensitivity analysis to assess the performance of each subsystem and the overall system is conducted. Results show that several operating conditions and state performances have the same end-results in terms of hydrogen production rate. Further, it is found that the LFR thermal efficiency of 61.67% and a solar fraction of 73.03% can be achieved. Also, maximum output power and efficiency of the hybrid converter as 19.85 kW and 44.76% is realized. As such, 93 units of EHC at a current density of 1 A/cm2 could be operated to produce hydrogen of 50 atm pressure at a rate of 2.17 kg/h.

Performance of Polymer Composite Constituted Cabinet Dryer Integrated within a Solar Flat Plate Collector

Generally, solar dryer cabinets are made up of sheet metals that are heavy, costly, tend to rust over time, and possess the high heat rate to the outer atmosphere. In order to overcome these drawbacks, this research urges to develop a natural fiber reinforced polymer-based cabinet dryer, specially designed and fabricated for the purpose of solar drying. Nylon is used as the matrix material and Prosopis juliflora in particulate form is used as the natural fiber reinforcement. The dryer cabinet was designed at industrial scale to dry 5 kg of ginger at a single setting. This work also studies the efficiency of the polymer composite cabinet integrated with a flat plate solar collector system that is coated with copper and black chrome attached to corrugated fins in between the absorber plate and storage medium. The FRP chamber was compartmented in its interior with aluminium perforated sheets and experimentation was performed to determine the efficiency of the composite cabinet based on reduction of heat loss from the system. The performance of the coating, storage medium materials, and overall storage efficiency were also studied. The FRP cabinet resulted in a moisture level less than 8.5% within 4–7 days. Exergy studies showed 75% efficiency and energy studies gave 25.5 kJ/kg peak readings of drying efficiency for a period ranging between 11 and 12 hours. This was a 75% increment in energy efficiency. Thermal degradation of the FRP material was found to be stable up to 300°C. The overall weight of the constructed polymer cabinet was 25% lesser than the conventional systems.