Development of cost effective IoT based solar cabinet dryer

This study was inspired by the idea of increasing the efficiency of solar drying and also the quality and productivity of solar-dried products. In this study, a low-cost solar cabinet dryer was fabricated by using the design of an existing solar cabinet dryer. The cost of fabrication was lowered by using locally available and economically viable materials. Then, an IoT-based system was developed using an ESP32-based controller board, to constantly monitor the temperature, humidity, and mass of the food product. The DHT11 sensor was used for measurement of the temperature and humidity and the mass of the food product was measured by a load cell. “Blynk”, a cloud-based IoT platform was used to develop remote monitoring system that enables constant monitoring of the temperature, humidity, and mass of products in the solar dryer. Then, a controlled forced circulation system, wherein the axial fan of the solar cabinet dryer is turned OFF or ON based on the humidity in the dryer, was developed by using a relay module. It turns the blower ON or OFF when the humidity in the dryer exceeds or regresses a predefined value of humidity, respectively.