Ogunyemi, J., Abdulhamid, I. G., Taiwo, M. T., Adeniyan, B.o.

Sun drying of farm produce, clothing, and other materials often proved difficult during the rainy season. Materials may easily get soaked due to unexpected rainfall and the unavailability of human interventions. The objective of this paper therefore is to design and construct an automatic rain-shielded drying system as a solution to this problem. The system consists of a rain sensor, light-dependent resistor (LDR), digital humidity and temperature sensor (DHT), and Arduino microcontroller as the main components. The rain sensor which senses the rain and dryness sends the appropriate signal to the microcontroller to open or close the system accordingly. Similarly, the LDR takes care of day and night. The actuator for opening and closing of the system is 12 V, 80 rpm, 18 W worm gear DC motor. The system is powered by a solar power supply which makes it function as a stand-alone system as well as from the mains. There is also a provision for charging appliances as a 1000 VA inverter is incorporated into the system as an enhanced feature. The implementation of the system was carried out, tested, and functioned as expected. The system can be useful at home especially for nursing mothers and farmers to dry materials at any time. Keywords: Solar power, Rain-shield, Microcontroller 0150