This research is to develop and experiment the hybrid solar dryer by using cultivated banana as the ingredient in the experiment. The objective is to design create and test the hybrid solar dryer that using heat energy with infrared heater. The result from the experiment of drying cultivated banana at night-time by using heat energy from infrared heater is found that at night-time experiment cultivated bananas moisture is decrease more than at day-times experiment for 61.25 %. The temperature inside the hybrid solar dryer at night when using heat energy from infrared heater is at 49.1-55.0°C. Using heat from sunlight together with infrared heater cause the cultivated bananas moisture to decrease better approximately 27 % when compare to drying with heat energy by only sunlight.

This research aims to study the effect of drying temperature on the changes in the moisture content of charcoal briquettes undergoing drying of solar energy and far-infrared radiation (Solar+FIR) and far-infrared radiation (FIR). The electricity consumption and the specific energy consumption were also investigated. The coconut shell charcoal briquettes with the initial moisture content of about 41-43% MW were dried at 55 60 and 65oC until the final moisture content of 8% MW was obtained. Based on the experimental results it was found that the drying temperatures and the drying methods had effects on the changes in the moisture content of charcoal briquettes. Drying at high temperature could reduce the moisture content of charcoal briquettes faster than that at low temperature. Drying using FIR could reduce the moisture content of charcoal briquettes faster than that using Solar+FIR. Moreover the electricity consumption and the specific energy consumption decreased with an increase in the drying temperature. Drying using Solar+FIR had lower electricity consumption but had higher specific energy consumption than drying using FIR. In this study the charcoal briquettes had the average heating value of about 6667.05 cal/g.