"To dry the nuts, I need air that’s 110F, so if ambient is 80F, then I need a 30 degree heat gain. I’ve got 600,000 cu. ft./min. of air to heat, so at night, when things cool down here, I use a lot of natural gas! I looked for ways to reduce my energy costs and found SolarWall. Now there are times when I don’t need to run natural gas at all because I’m getting enough heat from the SolarWall panels on the roof to shut off the burners... What I like about it [SolarWall], it’s simple. There’s no maintenance, no moving parts. Once you set it up it’s real simple."
-Ron Keyawa, Keyawa Orchards

SolarWall for Agricultural Applications

SolarWall systems have been used on hundreds of agricultural and animal buildings.  Cattle, hog, and chicken barns not only need to maintain a very warm indoor air temperature (up to 85 F is common), but they also require continual ventilation air.  This typically produces spectacular heating bills, especially considering that many farms and nurseries use propane to heat the incoming air.  

In agricultural applications, SolarWall systems has been credited with decreasing the use of traditional fuel by up to 30%, which is why the technology is widely used in the farming community.

The SolarWall system is also helpful for eliminating humidity and for drying nurseries after thorough cleanings.

Solar Drying
The SolarWall panels can also be used to displace expensive fossil fuels in crop and process drying.  They can function as the primary heater, or in a preheating capacity.  Using solar heat for drying has become popular because it is especially well suited for delicate crops, and will not burn or harm produce, which may happen with steam heated or fossil-fuel heated air.

Drying chambers can incorporate solar heating in either new construction or in retrofit applications by covering the entire roof and walls of the chambers and productions buildings with the SolarWall metal cladding.  Each square meter of the paneling is roughly equivalent to a 500-watt heater.

Crop and Process Drying Applications

• dries all types of produce
• excellent for tea, coffee, fruit, spices, rubber, cocoa
• beans, rice, timber, nuts, manure
• wall or roof mount
• works with tunnel, trough, conveyor and other types of driers

For more information on solar drying and commercial drying operations visit our SolarWall process drying section.

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