PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying device which recovers a part of waste heat exhausted to the outside of a drying chamber together with an atmosphere that contains moisture in the drying chamber to use as a heat source for preheating drying air, can reduce the consumption of a fuel for heating the drying air to a necessary temperature, and can decrease the discharge of a greenhouse gas to contribute to the suppress of global warming.SOLUTION: The drying device includes: the drying chamber (1)； a natural lighting part (11) for letting a solar light in； a drying bed (4) for accommodating a material to be dried； an exhaust fan (13) for exhausting the atmosphere in the drying chamber (1) to the outside of the drying chamber (1)； an outside air introduction device (2) for introducing the air in the outside of the drying chamber (1) to the inside of the drying chamber (1)； an exhaust heat recovery pipe (21) for preheating air by the heat exchange between the air introduced by the outside air introduction device (2) and the waste heat in the atmosphere in the drying chamber (1)； and an air heating device (3) for heating the preheated air to the temperature necessary to dry the material to be dried and sending it to the drying bed (4).【課題】乾燥室内部の水分を取り込んだ雰囲気と共に乾燥室外部へ排出される廃熱を一部回収して、乾燥用空気を予熱するための熱源として利用し、乾燥用空気を所要の温度まで加熱するための燃料の消費量を削減することができ、温室効果ガスの排出を低減し地球温暖化の抑制に寄与できる乾燥装置を提供する。【解決手段】乾燥装置は、乾燥室(1)と、太陽光を採り入れる採光部(11)と、被乾燥物を収容する乾燥床部(4)と、乾燥室(1)内部の雰囲気を乾燥室(1)外部へ排出する排気ファン(13)と、乾燥室(1)外部の空気を乾燥室(1)内部に導入する外気導入装置(2)と、外気導入装置(2)で導入した空気と乾燥室(1)内部の雰囲気中の廃熱との熱交換を行うことにより空気を予熱する廃熱回収管(21)と、予熱された空気を被乾燥物を乾燥させるための所要の温度に加熱し乾燥床部(4)へ送る空気加熱装置(3)を備えている。【選択図】図１
