Life cycle assessment of a Photovoltaic-Assisted Daylight simulated dryer

[Display omitted] •Effects of energy source, light source/intensity on LCA and performance were set.•Energy and exergy efficiencies declined as the light intensity rose in GE and GE + PV.•Agricultural production caused more than 60% of environmental impact when using PV.•Environmental loads in all categories declined by the increase in light intensity.•Negative correlations were obtained for efficiencies-impact categories except LO. Food drying involves intense energy consumption; therefore, using solar energy instead of conventional ovens is an important alternative owing to sustainability and environmental impact. In this study, the effects of energy sources (grid electricity-GE, PV system, and grid + PV), light sources (Daylight-DL, LED, and DL + LED), and light intensities (2500, 7500, and 10,000 Lux) on energy/exergy efficiency, specific water removal ratio, improvement potential and impact categories were investigated for the developed Photovoltaic-Assisted Daylight Simulated Dryer (PVDD) system. In addition, the relation between the efficiencies and environmental effects was evaluated by correlation analysis. In the GE scenario, ƞenergy and ƞexergy values ranged from 10.7 to 24.4 % and 1.55–4.48 %. In the GE + PV scenario these values ranged from 17.2 to 68.6 % and 3.67–33.3 %. Significant effects of energy source, light intensity and light source were determined (p