Abstract:
The sun's energy is the finest option for thermal energy generation because it is available
all over the world and is free to use. Poultry egg incubation is requiring a continuous
supply of energy for efficient performance and operation. On-grid power does not reach
Ethiopia's rural areas, and even in those areas where it is available, electricity might be
irregular or switched off at any time, causing incubators to malfunction, limited
production, and expensive costs. The Use of generators increases the running cost of
incubators and the Natural incubation process by hen produces a very small number of
chickens. A solar-powered egg incubator with a thermal energy storage system was built,
modeled, and tested in this study to assess its performance. A solar egg incubator was
developed utilizing a solar collector with built-in sensible solid heat storage (placed below
the absorber plate), a 50 eggs capacity incubation chamber, and a control unit. During the
incubating period, there is sufficient sunlight that is converted into the energy required for
a solar-powered egg incubator by a flat plate solar collector in the study area. The result
showed that on the highest solar radiation days (629.3w/m2
) the average outlet collector
temperature was 53
oC and 37oC was obtained on the lowest solar radiation days
(397.5w/m2). The maximum collector thermal efficiency was found to be 44.33 %. A total
of 20 eggs were tested for both fertility and hatchability over 21-days in a solar-powered
egg incubator. The incubating chamber was maintained by using a temperature controller
(thermostat STC 1000) throughout the incubating period within a temperature range of
36.5 to 39.5 o C and a relative humidity range of 40 to 75 %. The percentage fertility and
hatchability of eggs were 61.11% and 27.27 % respectively. In addition, the finite element
(FE) model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 software to study the
temperature distribution inside the solar collector. The lower extent of observable errors
suggest a close match between the test and estimated interior solar collector temperature.
