A commercial scale solar timber drying kiln, thought to be the first of its type in the UK, has been constructed in Cornwall.
It has been built by woodworker Tino Rawnsley who, with the help of a South West Agriculture and Rural Development bursary, and assistance from Woodland Heritage and the South West Forest, travelled to the US to see how solar wood drying kilns were built and operated there.
Mr Rawnsley said finding wood dry enough to produce high quality work had long been a problem for woodworkers.
“This has led to a virtual monopoly of the big timber importers who bring in wood from around the world where labour costs are less, and dry it in large-scale but energy expensive electric or gas kilns. This has not helped the small-scale wood processor who cannot compete and has led to the neglect of our own woodland resources and its consequent impact on the rural economy.”
The kiln building has been built on a south-facing site. Solar heat is collected in the roof and pulled down by fans into one of three kiln chambers beneath where 500ft3 of wood to be dried is stacked. Mr Rawnsley expects this to take about eight weeks during the summer, depending on the species and size of stock.
The facility, which received part funding from Working Woodlands and cost around £8,000 to construct, is already performing beyond expectations and Mr Rawnsley said: “It is relatively new technology, so we thought we would start simply at first. We want to get our customer base up and working so that everything we get is sold. If it is a roaring success, we would like to build another one.”
