The article describes design of a solar dryer with a heat pump, which is used to increase heat output of the unit twice to solve the problem of using environmentally clean sources of thermal energy for fruit drying. The authors of the research have developed methodology of substantiation of the solar dryer parameters, which is applied to design and justify the optimal technological modes and parameters of the heat carrier in the unit, to describe the heat transfer characteristics of the unit operation, to assess the impact of physical environmental parameters on technological indicators of the process. The novelty described in the article is developed design of a solar dryer with a heat pump and to substantiate its constructive and technological structure. The work supplies scientifically substantiated methodic recommendations on composing and forecasting a parametric series of solar dryers for the conditions of private households and farms, and grounds their design parameters. Designed solar dryer with a heat pump affects solving environmental problems of power engineering due to substitution of the electric and thermal energy by the one obtained from solar energy, and mitigation of social problems by creating new job places needed when producing, installing and exploiting such units. The obtained results can be used for designing and improving technical aspects of fruit drying, to increase technological and energy efficiency of the process.