Technical and Economic Characteristics of Two Solar Kiln Designs

Lumber drying is a necessary part of lumber manufacture, yet it is becoming increasingly more expensive due to rising fuel prices. To alleviate some of the fuel price pressure, wood could be dried with solar energy. A small prototype solar hardwood kiln was built and drying experiments indicate promising results. Lumber can be dried with minimal degrade three times faster with the solar kiln than by air- drying. A new solar collector configuration that may have several advantages over the present state of the art has been developed. The new “box-type” collector can be easily integrated into the structure of a solar kiln, minimizes the area of expensive solar glazing, and appears to be well suited to use in all seasons. A proposed design for a 25,000-fbm solar kiln utilizing the box collectors is presented. This design appears to be economically practical at present fuel prices, and should be competitive with existing hardwood kilns.

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