Commercial Solar Dryers
Grekkon Limited is the largest supplier of commercial solar dryers for agricultural products in east Africa. These are drying units that work on solar strength. Our commercial low cost solar dryers design is according to the product, location, and drying volume per session. This passive or active solar dryers for fruits and vegetables is fixed or portable as the user needs it
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Solar dried mango slices
Types of Solar Dehydrators in Kenya
Grekkon limited designs both passive/ natural circulation, and active/ forced circulation solar dryers. The passive solar dryers have no additional mechanical input, while the active dryers do. Additional mechanical inputs are;Â a biomass heating unit, or solar powered exhaust and extraction fans, and synchronizers. These enhance drying time by 30% to 100% compared to passive drying. Attached biomass heating units allow for night time drying, or on cloudy/ rainy days.
Components of our Solar Dryers
- Light UV treated translucent polythene paper
- Heavy UV treated geomembrane
- Steel bars galvanized with food-grade aluminum or zinc
- UV treated heavy gauge netting
Below are 2 videos: The first one is of a farmer in Homa-bay county, western Kenya using a community passive/ natural circulation solar dryer to add value to banana produce. The second one is of a mango processor in Taita Taveta county at the county’s coast with an active/ forced circulation dryer. Both solar dryers are by Grekkon Limited.
Video 1.
Video 2.
Our solar dryers for fruits and vegetables have shelves at different levels depending on the volume or weight of food crops to dry per session.
Solar Dryer Working Principle
What is the working principle of a solar dryer?
1. Passive/ Natural Circulation Commercial Solar Dryer
Grekkon Limited solar dryers work in the following steps;
i. Capture & collect the sun’s heat
ii. Create a ‘greenhouse effect’ which causes moisture loss from the produce
iii. Air coming into the dryer exits with this moisture from the vent
2 Active/ Forced Circulation Commercial Solar Dryer
In addition to what takes place in the passive solar drying unit, the fans force in hot air from outside, and force out hotter air combined with moisture from inside the dryer. At night or on cloudy/ rainy days, the biomass unit supplies the drying heat.
Pros and cons of a solar dryer
- Speed of drying. Food dries four to five times faster.
- Quality. As the sun’s UV rays do not get into direct contact with the drying food, its, color, taste, scent, and nutritional value is unaffected
- Cleanliness. The food is free from dust, sand, or other external contaminants
- No pests. Insect, bird, or mammalian pests have no access to food in the dryer, so no attack occurs
- It is more expensive to build and maintain than open-air drying

Solar dried chilli peppers
Commercial solar dryers FAQs
I. What are solar dryer prices in Kenya by Grekkon Limited?
We price according to size & type. The table below illustrates some sample design pricing for passive solar dryers
Solar Dryer Size | Drying Capacity | Price of Solar Dryer |
1.5m x 1.5m x 1.5m | 40-50kgs | KES 70,000 |
2m x 2m x 2m | 50-90kgs | KES 75,000 |
2m x 3m x 2m | 80-100kgs | KES 95,000 |
2m x 4m x 2m | 90-110kgs | KES 100,000 |
2m x 5m x 2m | 100-130kgs | KES 120,000 |
L X W x H |
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II. How does a vegetable dryer work?
- Heat
They allow in diffused heat from the top and the sides, which heats up the air coming in from the air inlet. This hot air will exit with moisture in the air outlet.
- Anti-drip management
Our UV treated polythene cover has anti-drip properties so water droplets do not form on it. It prevents dripping on the drying food which is a precursor for fungal development.
III. What does a solar dryer do?
Grekkon Limited’s solar dryers reduce the moisture content to less than 12% in these products;
- Plantation crops; coffee, rice, cassava
- Vegetables; tomato, onion, garlic, brassicas, hot peppers
- Cereals; sorghum, and millet
- Herbs; moringa, mint, rosemary
- Oil crops; groundnuts, sunflower, macadamia, cashew nuts
- Others; mushrooms, fish, beef, mutton
IV. How do you dry vegetables with solar?
- Wash the vegetables to remove all dirt
- Ensure there are no insect pests present
- Remove any diseased parts or produce
- Cut or grind them into smaller pieces to increase the drying surface area
Place them in the solar dryer holding trays

Dry cassava chips
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V. What is the most popular use of solar dryers?
To dry fruits and vegetables
VI. What are the main applications of a solar dryer?
Besides vegetables and fruits, commercial solar dryers in Kenya are for fish, root crops and mushroom drying. Commonly dried foods in Kenya through our solar dryers are:
i. Banana, cassava, pumpkin, millet, and sorgum to make food flour. Dried cassava is also processed for industrial starch manufacture
ii. Moringa as a medicinal herb
iii. Tomato, capsicum, traditional vegetbles, kales, and spinach as vegetable nutrients
iv. Mango, papaya, as dried fruits for snacking
v. Omena which is the silver cyprinid fish for both human consumption, and as additive to animal feed
vi. Coffee so that it’s suitable for milling. Coffee solar dryers are the largest, each holding over 5 tons of berries per drying session
We are a group of mushroom farmers and would like to find out whether your solar driers can be used to dry mushrooms…….🤔🤔
Dear Anthony,
Thank you for your inquiry. Yes our solar dryers will dry mushrooms. How many kilos do you want to dry per session?
Best regards,
Customer Service
Interested in learning more about the dryers. Banana and tea farmer
Good evening Mary,
Our solar dryers are customized to your need. All you need to give us is; the crop to dry, and target drying volume per session. From this, we generate a quote for you. Reach us on 0777 157 132 or inbox your number for us to call you back.
Best regards,
Customer Service
Kindly need a quote for a solar dryer 2tons capacity
Dear Japheth,
Good afternoon and thank you for your inquiry. A wet weight of 2-ton per session fruit solar dryer is Kes 1,500,000. This is all material and installation labor. When and where do you need it installed?
Best regards,
Customer Service
HI I would like a dryer that can dry chilies and Garlic thanks
Dear Juma,
Thank you for your inquiry. We do have design and construct solar dryers for chilli and garlic. To give you a cost estimate, share with us the wet weight you’ll dry per session.
Best regards,
Customer servie
Hello, are your driers portable structures or permanent ones? Can I use one drier for drying different products such as cassava, tomato chillie etc?
What are the TAT times for a complete drying process?
Regards,
George
Dear George,
We design both prtable and fixed solar dryers according to your need. And yes, this solar dryer dries everything. The TAT is by product and the prevailing weather. For instance, cassava will take 2-2.5 hours to dry when the skies are clear. Moringa leaves will take less than half the time to dry.
What do you intend to dry, where?
Best regards,
Customer Service
I’d like to venture into fruits Drying mostly Mangoes, Jackfruit and Pineapples. What’s the conversion rate of wet to dry? How long does it take for each of these to dry? What’s the cost of a 200kgs, 500kgs and 750kgs drier? Is it viable in Kericho region?
Thank you for your quick response. I am based in Nakuru town. Interested in cassava, pimpin, sweet potatoes and yams
Dear Sir
Iwant informations about solar dryer for onions,howe it takes to be fried?
Dear Ally
Onion will take 2 hours to dry to 10% moisture level
Best regards,
Customer Service
Hi,
How many hours are needed to dry 300kg of fresh chilies to less than 10% moisture content?
Does it work on cloudy and rainy days when there is completely no sun?
KR
Boni
hi
How long can it take to dry 300kg of fresh chili to less than 10% moisture content?
Does it still work on cold cloudy and rainy weather (with no sun at all)?
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Do you have an outlet in Kampala or how can I get a solar drier to Kampala?
Dear Judy,
Our solar dryers are constructed on site. So, for Kampala, we’ll transport the material to site, then construct it there. What size do you need, or what quantity in kgs are you drying per session, and when do you need it?
Best regards,
Customer Service
2x4x2 would be sufficient. Is it possible this side of Christmas?
Dear Judy,
Please share you number to discuss the planning in detail.
Best regards,
Customer Service
Please update your price list. It’s very misleading
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Just the kind of equipment I need for our co-op to solar dry sweet potatoes, cassava and fruits as well as vegetables. For potatoes we are looking to dry 500 kg per load. Please give a quote.
Good morning Silas and thank in you for your complement.
For 500kgs of sweet potato, your solar dryer cost is Kes 520,000.
Best regards,
Customer Service
Is there any drier installed around Migori area?
Good morning Peter,
We have installed solar dryers in Homa-bay; Lambwe valley, Ndhiwa, Oyugis & Rusinga island. The other is in Nyamira town.
Please share your contact and we’ll connect you to these farmers and farmer groups, or reach us in Kisumu on 0759 000 911
Best regards,
Customer Service
Hi I would like to know if your solar dehydrators can dry pumpkins and how much it would cost
Good morning Grace,
Yes. Our commercial solar dryers price in Kenya for pumpkins will depend on the quantity you ntent to dry per session. Please advice us on this for pricing
Best regards,
Customer Service