Solar air heater technology is one of the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for applications such as space heating, drying, heating, and ventilation. Although the system offers several benefits, its performance is hindered by certain limitations, such as the inherently low thermal conductivity of air and the development of a laminar sublayer along the heated surface, which restricts efficient heat transfer. To address these limitations, various artificial roughness configurations and enhancement techniques have been explored. Among these, the present study explores the synergistic impact of V-ribs with cylindrical vortex generators underside the absorber plate has emerged as an effective method to significantly enhance the thermal performance of solar air heaters. The system parameters including, relative rib roughness ratio of 0.094–0.251, relative cylindrical diameter ratio of 0.125–0.251, relative rib width ratio of 6, relative pitch roughness ratio of 12, angle of attack of 60˚ and Reynolds number of 3200–19200 as the operating parameter. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations were conducted in ANSYS Fluent to analyze the thermal and flow friction characteristics of the system, with results subsequently validated through experimental testing. The maximum thermo-hydraulic performance parameter of 2.35 is obtained for relative rib roughness ratio of 0.188, relative cylindrical diameter ratio of 0.220, angle of attack = 60˚ at a Reynolds number of 3200.