Fuller, RJ; Lu Aye & Zahnd, A 2007, 'Evaluation of solar dryer in a high altitude area of Nepal', Solar 07: Is Solar Our Only Nuclear Option?, Proceedings of the 45th Annual conference of Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society, 3-5 October 2007, Alice Springs. pp. 1-10.

Abstract

Nepal is a poor country and is ranked 143 out of 177 countries in terms of standard of living, with approximately 38% of the population earning less than US$1 per day. Of the 75 provinces in Nepal, Humla has been judged to be one of the poorest (UNDP, 1998). Using a ranking of 1 (best) to 75 (worst), Humla was ranked 69th in terms of poverty and deprivation, and 73rd in terms of socio-economic and infrastructure development. Humla is also a food deficient area and to improve general food security, a small number of solar dryers have been produced for increased and improved crop preservation.
This paper describes the evaluation of one of the solar dryers located at the High Altitude Research Station (HARS) in Simikot, the main town of the Humla Province. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the effectiveness of the current design and suggest possible design improvements. The paper first presents a description of the solar dryer and its location. This is followed by an outline of the methodology used to evaluate the dryer in technical, financial, practical and social terms. The results of the evaluation are then presented and discussed, followed by some possible design improvements and the impact that these may have. Some general comments about the prospects for solar drying in remote areas of Nepal are made in the conclusions of the paper.

Keywords: Solar dryer; evaluation; high altitute area.