CHAPTER 4

4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

4.1 Discussion
The objective of the project was to design a solar poultry egg incubator, using materials
that were readily available in the local market with the aim to increase the rate of chicks’
production among small scale farmers in developing countries.

From the design results, the radiation that reached the solar collector was found to be
830.15w/m2 . This was compared with the standard flux of incident radiation for flat plate solar
collection which was about 1100w/m2 and hence the design fell within a reasonable range. The
thermal efficiency at the solar collector was found to be 10%. This was an acceptable efficiency
for a solar collector as the efficiency of most solar appliances lies between 10% and 30%.

The transport medium in the solar poultry egg incubator was taken to be air, since it is free and
it can circulate heat by natural convection and unlike water, air did not require pumping.

The solar collector plate was inclined at an angle of 170 to facilitate the natural convection. This
angle was almost flat and hence there was no need to keep on tracking the sun. The inclination
also ensured that incase of water droplets forming on the collector surface, it did not flow into
the incubating unit.

The ambient air entered the solar collector at a temperature of 23.250C. The total amount of heat
required to raise the temperature of the 100 eggs from 300C to 38.50C was 162.18kJ. A suitable
egg warming rate of 0.0488kJ/minute was used for analysis and it was found out that it would
take 2.3 days to provide the 162.18kJ. The total heat requirement of the incubator was the sum of
the heat required to raise the temperature of the air (Qa), the total amount of heat to raise the
temperature of the eggs (Qe), the heat loss through the walls of the structure (Qs) and heat loss
by ventilation (Qv) was found to be 38.725W which was comparable to the energy gained by the
air leaving the solar collector (Qg) of 54.89W.

The heat gained by the ballast pebbles ( ) in the thermal storage unit was found to be 198.05W.
The heat available to the thermal storage unit from the absorber was found to be 219.525W. This
 meant that the thermal storage unit could supply the required energy to the incubating unit and
hence the ballast pebbles were a right choice for use as a thermal storage material.

The design results revealed a few facts that would form a good guideline in rating the
performance of a solar poultry egg incubator. From the results, further designs and
improvements could be made to arrive at a solar poultry egg incubator, that is not only very
efficient but can be made locally using locally available materials and be economically viable.

4.2 Cost Analysis

Table 4.1 shows the materials/instruments, its brief description, its size/capacity and its cost and
the total price to access the economic feasibility of the solar powered poultry egg incubator.

Table 4.1: Bill of Quantities

Number Item Description Size\Capacity Price(Ksh.)

1. Hygrometer Instrument to 1 2500
monitor humidity
levels in the
incubating unit
2. Thermostat Instrument to detect 1 3000
& control
temperature in the
incubating unit
3. Paint Black & Silver- 1 litre each 1200
white oil based paint
for the solar plate
collector &
incubator inner-
walls respectively
4. Turpentine For thinning the 3 litres 1000
paint
5. Galvanized sheet metal For constructing the 5 metre (30 1500
incubator walls & gauge)
chimney
6. Aluminum sheet metal For constructing the 2 mm thick and 700
solar collector plate 1.2 metre length
7. Transparent Glass For the solar 4 mm and 10 700
collector top glazing square feet
8. Fibre Glass For insulation in the 14 square feet 5000
incubating unit &
storage unit
9. Nails & Rivets For joining the soft 2" ¼ kg each 100
pine to make the
wooden boxes of the
storage unit &
 joining the sheet metal for
the incubating unit
10. Fine Ballast Which acts as the thermal 10kgs 1000
storage
11. Wire net Used to prevent entrance of 0.5 square feet 200
rodents & insects through
the chimney & air ducts to
the incubating unit
12. Egg trays For holding the eggs in the 4 trays 100
incubating unit
Total 1700

The solar powered poultry egg incubator’s main competition in the local market is the electric
powered poultry egg incubator. Appendix 3 gives a summary of the electric powered poultry
egg incubators, their capacity and cost.

4.3 Conclusion
Now that the design of the solar poultry egg incubator was completed, it’s imperative to look at
the level of success this project reached and then recommend accordingly as to its application.
The design was from easily available, cheap and readily available, weather resistant materials.
The design also makes the construction simple which also makes the question of assembly and
maintenance a matter to be solved without resort to any highly specialized skills or technology.
The solar egg incubator is ideal for Kenya due to its geographical location. Kenya lies at the
equator and so has year round sunny weather.

The solar poultry egg incubator can compete economically compared with other conventional
poultry egg incubators i.e. electric egg incubators and the running cost is minimal once the initial
cost of purchase has been settled. Although it may have a disadvantage of low efficiency
compared to electrical powered egg incubators, it will certainly find application in areas where
incomes are low and the population is not accessible to electricity, particularly rural areas and
slums in cities. It will also save the poultry farmers in these areas from having to travel long
distances to get chicks from the large established firms which are very few in Kenya.
4.4 Recommendations

 Raising the thermal efficiency of the solar collector from 10%.

 Fabrication and testing of the design.

 A turning mechanism for the eggs which can run on solar power without interfering with
the prevailing conditions in the incubating unit.
 A more suitable means of raising the humidity in the incubating unit rather than the
evaporative moisture pan.

 The effect of the black paint layer on the solar collector plate when calculating the overall
heat transfer coefficient (Ul).