ets the sun shine in irch (fr R WARP EE YOUR tl-BUILDEI I DETAILS! i.B Annville, Pa 1 quipped as shown* i Survey of Agn Builders iry With Each Agn Builder eight and Weight Available YEARLY PROGRAM NC. FOUR COUNTIES HASCHEN TRI-COUNTY sßoad CONTRACTOR AGRICULTURAL AGRI-SYSTEMS 21X54 RD. Box 249 SYSTEMS R.D.#1,80x55 2-5350 Coalport, Pa. 16627 P-O Box 505 Swedesboro, NJ 08085 PH 814-672-5751 Chestertown, Md 21620 PH 609-467-3174 PH; 301-778-5800 ON STEEL TRI-STATE MARINE )- 9 I&ILDERS DIST. INC. re 19933 301 N Broad Street Route 256 1211 Grove City, Pa. 16127 Deale, Md. 20751 PH 412-458-7243 PH.301-867-1447 Heated water from collectors in stored in a 10,000-gallon tank on this USDA research dairy farm. The tank is the base and cover of a standard farm silo, 10 feet of which is buried to aid in heat retention. A USDA researcher checks the duct used to distribute solar-heated air in the poultry house. IDEAL FOR GRAIN OR MACHINERY STORAGE LEASE IT See Your Agri Builder For Details These Buildings Engineered for Self Erection (Butler will furnish Erection and Foundation Drawings) IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY 1818 GRAIN BIN -4173 Bushel Capa LESSTHAN *22oo°° F. 0.8. Cash and Carry IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY 2718 GRAIN BIN - 9872 Bushel Copai LESS THAN s 4ooo°° F. 0.8. Cash and Carry IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY WALTER J. CONSTRUCTION RDI Box 403 J RD 1 Box 203 P.O Box 6269 I Stracburg, Pa 17579 Lewisburg, PA 17837 Harrisburg. Pa 17112 I Pt- 717-687-8681 PH 717-524-0568 PH 717-545-7521 I LANCASTER Solar energy has been applied directly in agriculture for many years. The sun and the wind dry mature crops standing in the fields, in the stack or windrow, or m a ventilated shed orcnb. Efforts to collect and con centrate solar energy directly extend back 2,000 years or more. However, considerable investment in equipment is required to collect solar energy m amounts sufficient to replace significant quantities of fossil fuel. The seasonal variation in solar energy must be considered m determining the amount of solar energy available for grain drying. Solar energy available on a horizontal surface peaks in June and July, but most of the drying requirements are for fall maturing crops harvested in September through November. The solar radiation falling on a horizontal surface on October 21 is just about half that falling on the same surface on June 21. However, by tilting the solar collector to the south so that it is normal to the noonday sun, this difference is smaller. For the most part, this difference in available solar energy is due to the change in day length from October to June. Solar energy available on an annual average basis varies by geographical location, by time of the year, and by orientation of the collector. Also, there is the matter of the intermittent nature of the availability of solar energy. In the first place, it is only available for 8 to 14 hours each day. The daily fluctuations in solar WEETER CONCRETE RIGGS ENTERPRISES | CONSTRUCTION Box 98 I P.O Drawer V Boswell, PA 15531 j Knox, PA 16232 PH 814-629-5621 | PH 814-797-5122 I KELLER BUILDING SYSTEMS INC. Does solar grain drying hold promise? energy availability is perhaps easier to accommodate than the situation where sun energy may not be available at all, or is available at low levels, during cloudy or rainy weather. A con stant source of energy is not available unless there is some means of storing excess energy during sunny weather. Solar energy is considered more applicable to low-temperature, in storage drying systems than to high-temperature, high-speed systems. In-storage drying systems require low levels of heat input over extended periods. Such drying methods tolerate in termittent or variable levels of heat input. In some areas, the relative humidity of the outdoor air during sunny weather is low enough to dry com to the desired moisture level without added heat. When solar heat is added in the daytime, continued fan operation during the night when the relative humidity is high helps offset daytime over drying and provides more uniform drying through the total grain depth. The overdried grain picks up moisture from the high humidity night air. This reduces overdrying and lowers the air humidity so the grain above the overdried layer will continue to dry. However, there is insufficient energy stored in the overdried grain to permit drying to proceed during long periods of inclement weather. Low-temperature drying is weather dependent and many be least successful during the years when it is needed most years QUILL | CONSTRUCTION CO. I Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 2,1981—A21 P.E. HESS, BUTLER MFG. CO. Box 337, Oxford. PA 19363 I'm interested in more information on Butler products □ Buildings □ Bins □ Dryers □ Bulk-O-Matics Name Address County when the crops mature late or when field drying conditions are poor. Insolation levels (the amount of incoming solar radiation) are usually low when field drying conditions are poor. In some areas backup heat systems are necessary. This limits the at tractiveness of solar energy because the cost of collecting solar energy must be offset entirely by savings in fuel cost. Where the solar heating system replaces other heating systems, the cost of the solar collector is partially offset by the cost of the heating equipment replaced. The feasibility of applying solar energy to high-speed batch and continuous flow drying systems has not been established. Where the amount of moisture to be removed is relatively low, as in the case with wheat or soybeans, higher speed solar drying systems employing batch-in-bin drying methods are feasible. Successful application of solar energy to high-temperature, high speed, batch or continuous flow drying systems presents several problems. Costs of collector systems to provide high tem peratures (120* to 180*F. or 49* to 82*C) are considerably greater than for lower temperature systems. Collection efficiencies are reduced in high-temperature collectors unless expensive measures are taken to limit heat losses. To supply the quantity of heat normally used in high-speed, high temperature dryers, extensive areas for deploying the solar collectors are needed. BUTLER AGRI-BUILDER
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