For ages solar cookers were made use of in 3rd world countries where electricity and gas was not readily available. Nowadays various solar oven designs are not only used in these regions to make food, but also to boil water for purification.
With energy supplies coming under threat, first world countries should get more involved in using solar cooking in households. The nice thing about a solar cooker is that is uses an abundant fuel source - the sun - so it helps to conserve the non-renewable sources of energy. Though it takes about 4 times longer than conventional ovens, it is worth the wait if you think how much it is benefiting the environment.
There have been a variety of unique solar oven designs thought up, but they can be categorized in three shapes: parabolic, panel, and box cookers.
Parabolic Design:
A parabolic solar cooker, as the name implies, is made from any reflective material in a parabolic (bowl like) shape that focuses sunlight to a single point. It is the most effective at cooking food quickly and efficiently, however, it tends to be more expensive and hard to make by hand. Furthermore, its fixed shape makes it less portable and raises some safety concerns.
Panel Shape:
This shape usually is in a bowl-like shape, and direct the sun's energy to one area. But it differs to a parabolic cooker in that it is put together with a number of reflective, flat panels and is less rounded.
The advantage of the panel shape is that it cheap to build, it can be folded away when not used, and therefore it is great for traveling. It may not be as effective as a parabolic design, but you can simply make one by shaping one of those foldaway windscreen blinds into parabolic shape.
Box Design:
Very different to the other two designs, the box cooker works by trapping the sun's heat, instead of simply focusing it on a central point. It is designed in such a way that it let's light in, but stops that heat from escaping. As more sunlight comes in, the hotter it gets.
Essentially the entire box heats up, allowing larger quantities of food to be made at once. The box cooker is easiest of the three to make, since it can literally be made from a cardboard box, tin foil, and sheet of glass or perspex.
In fact most of these solar oven designs can be made from household materials in a short space of time. And what you can cook in them is really limited to your imagination - you can bake bread, steam vegetables, make stir-fries and even a roast chicken in them. Another advantage is the amount of power you'll save - unlike a conventional oven, your cooker needs to be outside to operate, so it put less strain on your kitchen's air conditioning system.
And if you think that over 75% of American households use their oven or stove on a daily basis - a tremendous amount of energy could be conserved if more of us used solar oven designs during summer.
There really is no excuse for not looking more into solar cooking. With a number of affordable solar cookers and free instructions available on the internet, you owe it to yourself, your kids and the environment to try one out for yourself.
With energy supplies coming under threat, first world countries should get more involved in using solar cooking in households. The nice thing about a solar cooker is that is uses an abundant fuel source - the sun - so it helps to conserve the non-renewable sources of energy. Though it takes about 4 times longer than conventional ovens, it is worth the wait if you think how much it is benefiting the environment.
There have been a variety of unique solar oven designs thought up, but they can be categorized in three shapes: parabolic, panel, and box cookers.
Parabolic Design:
A parabolic solar cooker, as the name implies, is made from any reflective material in a parabolic (bowl like) shape that focuses sunlight to a single point. It is the most effective at cooking food quickly and efficiently, however, it tends to be more expensive and hard to make by hand. Furthermore, its fixed shape makes it less portable and raises some safety concerns.
Panel Shape:
This shape usually is in a bowl-like shape, and direct the sun's energy to one area. But it differs to a parabolic cooker in that it is put together with a number of reflective, flat panels and is less rounded.
The advantage of the panel shape is that it cheap to build, it can be folded away when not used, and therefore it is great for traveling. It may not be as effective as a parabolic design, but you can simply make one by shaping one of those foldaway windscreen blinds into parabolic shape.
Box Design:
Very different to the other two designs, the box cooker works by trapping the sun's heat, instead of simply focusing it on a central point. It is designed in such a way that it let's light in, but stops that heat from escaping. As more sunlight comes in, the hotter it gets.
Essentially the entire box heats up, allowing larger quantities of food to be made at once. The box cooker is easiest of the three to make, since it can literally be made from a cardboard box, tin foil, and sheet of glass or perspex.
In fact most of these solar oven designs can be made from household materials in a short space of time. And what you can cook in them is really limited to your imagination - you can bake bread, steam vegetables, make stir-fries and even a roast chicken in them. Another advantage is the amount of power you'll save - unlike a conventional oven, your cooker needs to be outside to operate, so it put less strain on your kitchen's air conditioning system.
And if you think that over 75% of American households use their oven or stove on a daily basis - a tremendous amount of energy could be conserved if more of us used solar oven designs during summer.
There really is no excuse for not looking more into solar cooking. With a number of affordable solar cookers and free instructions available on the internet, you owe it to yourself, your kids and the environment to try one out for yourself.
About the Author:
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