Our pilot project in Taiwan began through a research partnership with Aiheng in Hsinchu. The opportunity drove our team to collaborate with staff and participants and implement improvements to the service environment.
What actually is Ai-Heng?
Aiheng (財團法人新竹市私立愛恆啟能中心) is a Hsinchu non-profit that supports adults with intellectual and multiple disabilities. Founded in 2000, it focuses on lifelong care, independent-living skills, and community participation, offering structured programs that emphasize dignity, routine, and safety.
Their works include weekday day programs, a 24-hour residential home “安之園,” and a sheltered workshop that combines a second-hand shop, café, and small gallery to provide vocational training and paid work. Aiheng also operates “愛恆樂活園,” a pesticide-free farm used for agro-therapy and community events. The organization engages the public through volunteering, in-kind and monetary donations, and guided visits.
Where Care Meets Cultivation
Their Farm grows 100+ herb varieties plus vegetables and fruits, using friendly, pesticide-free practices. It also keeps about 100 laying hens for eggs, with work including seedling, planting, packing, and chicken care.
Harvested herbs are dried and blended into in-house teas and gift sets such as “慢行花語,” including a rose-grass blend and a roselle + wild ginger tea. Media report the ingredients are grown and picked on site and have passed 400+ pesticide tests; participants handle steps from planting and picking to drying and packaging.
The Sun-Powered Solution
Aiheng’s baseline drying used greenhouse table drying that took about three days and a purchased electric dryer that still needed about two days per batch with uneven results and high energy use.
RenaiSun addressed this by introducing a solar-thermal, AIoT-controlled dryer. A roof-mounted collector supplies clean hot air, a small PV system powers controls and fans, and sensors regulate temperature and airflow. The system supports gentle, uniform, low-temperature dehydration with remote monitoring and data logging, preserving aroma and color while cutting cycle time from days to hours.
Pilot Results at Aiheng
RenaiSun delivered a solar-thermal drying line with PV and AIoT control, supplying clean hot air and autonomous operation. On September 11, 2025, the “Solar-Thermal Low-Carbon Sustainable Drying Demonstration Base” at “愛恆樂活園” in Hsinchu was officially opened; press reports note herb cycles cut to about three hours, R&D team led by NTHU’s Prof. Huang Neng-Fu, and inclusive operation where Aiheng participants engage via simple, AI-assisted interfaces in line with SDGs and CRPD principles.
Reported results shows that two times the energy efficiency of standard PV and lemongrass cycle time cut from 2 days to 3 hours. The team added AI quality control, remote monitoring, and data logging for repeatable low-temperature drying that preserves aroma and color; field trials on lemongrass and mint improved stability and engagement.
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