Solar Ovens

“Does black construction paper or aluminum foil better reflect heat and light into a solar
oven?”

Linda Ho

Jacqueline Dy

Biology

Period 3, 7

December 6, 2011

Mr. Caudill
 Solar ovens absorb the sun’s rays and use them to cook and heat food. These

ovens are made from recycled scraps found around the home such as aluminum foil and

black construction paper. The solar cooker is a good way of putting the greenhouse effect

into use. The sun’s rays pass though the crystal clear covering without difficulty, usually

glass or plastic. The tiny reflective mirrors will direct the energy to the black paper to be

absorbed into the food. The black paper, along with insulated walls, keep the heat inside

the oven and blocks cool air from penetrating in (Aalfs). The captured sunlight converts

into thermal energy, similar to the effect of glass windows retaining heat in a car

(Anderson and Palkovic xiii). Cooking foods in a solar oven preserves the flavor of the

food and will not dry it out. It works just like a crock pot, slowly steaming everything,

but with no charge. It is fun and useful when cooking for many people (Phypers). They

make use of renewable energy and save money because oil is not needed in large

amounts. This is especially helpful because oil is no longer abundant and inexpensive.

Some countries which do not have electricity or power rely heavily on the sun to heat

their foods and homes. As the earth’s consumption of energy increases every year, the

possibility of a massive electric shortage increases (Jones 34). Besides cooking purposes,

solar ovens can help defrost meats and vegetables. When heating meals or defrosting,

solar ovens are a better choice because it uses only half the energy a conventional oven

would. They also do not have the problem of metal erosion that regular ovens have

(MacEachern 336). Although solar ovens might take longer to cook than an electric

burner, it is worth the wait because the food will not have been exposed to harmful gases.

It also reduces the risk of kitchen fires in the home.

 Captains on long sailing journeys found solar ovens to be exceptionally useful.

Back then, portable electric ovens were not available so solar ovens were essential to

cooking and sanitizing food. By the time portable electric ovens were invented, sailors

still preferred the solar version because it was lighter and more proficient than the metal

electric oven, which also required one to carry the weight of fuel (Radabaugh 63).

Solar ovens originated from Germany when they used the sun to dry hay and

trees. Drying these materials will evaporate all the moisture that is stored in them so that

they will not mold. Tschirnhousen, a German physician, decided to put his food outside

in the sun, hoping that the sun would preserve the food and prevent it from spoiling

quickly. A couple decades later, a Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure, was the first

known man to build a solar oven (Halacy 3). His oven reached a maximum temperature

of 200° F and discovered the earth’s atmosphere traps the heat from the sun.

When America had first started to build as a country, they were very short on fuel.

Many families used solar ovens to heat and cook their food. By 1955, the maximum

temperature that a solar oven could reach increased to 350° F. The United States had

exported many solar ovens to Indian reservations, Mexico, China, and other foreign

countries (Halacy 4). However, some foreign countries have rejected these solar ovens

because of the fact that they were not comfortable with the fact that it originated in a

foreign country. Canada and the United States organized programs to raise awareness of

solar ovens to people around the world. The United Kingdom also tested many solar

ovens and reflectors to raise money for the production of the ovens. Early models were

large and cumbersome, but after the large amounts of donations, modern solar ovens are

much lighter and very portable (Anderson and Palkovic xvi).

 In the present day, solar energy is very commonly used in homes, businesses, and

airports. Solar ovens are great for outdoor camps and picnics. Instead of buying propane

fuels to cook food, solar ovens are eco-friendly and safe for children to use. This

alternative allows people to use the natural resources that God has provided. Ditlev

Engel, the president of Vestas, has built enough solar energy systems to cover the entire

population of Spain. The United Kingdom is the world’s most advanced country in the

realm of reusing energy. The United States has also built solar energy generating systems

using over one million mirrors covering two thousand acres of land (Spiegel and

McArthur 137). America invests greatly in energy machinery to supply for her high

demand on electricity so she wouldn’t be so reliant on imported oil. The Concentrating

Solar Power was established to reuse the free heat given off by the sun usually very

efficient in the West because of the plentiful sunny rays there. Many countries are

offering programs and decathlons to encourage university students to start their own

energy resources. This gives the new generation inspirational ideas to invent and explore,

at the same time saving the planet ("EERE: Solar Energy Technologies Program Home

Page").

As solar ovens become more common, they are sent to third world countries such

as refugee camps in Kenya, Afghanistan, and Indonesia. This prevents them from cutting

millions of trees only in exchange for very little cooking fuel time. In just half an hour, an

oven is able to bake fifty loaves of bread with the help of the blazing hot sun. The ovens

are also a good and easy way to purify the drinking water in their country. These ovens

prevent starvation and dehydration in many countries as well as saving the planet

(Phypers).
 Because of the many oil embargoes by the Middle Eastern countries against the

United States, solar ovens are very useful to the country. America has built one of the

largest solar cookers in the world so Americans do not need as much electricity for their

stoves and ovens, especially during the summertime (Anderson and Palkovic xx).

Currently, over six billion people in the world are contributing to saving the planet and

using solar energy. Although the main energy source today is still fossil fuel, solar energy

use is vastly spreading and quickly gaining popularity. The sun’s rays reach the earth at

an extremely fast, almost instantaneous speed, and provide more energy than all other

sources combined. (Murck 204-210). As the earth’s fuel supply is vastly decreasing, the

demand for more efficient energy sources is increasing.

Solar energy can also help with one’s financial status. As they generate and obtain

heat from the sun, the excess electricity that is not used is turned into financial credit,

meaning it is sold. If fuel is being used excessively and simultaneously, fuel rods that

carry it will start to overheat and have a meltdown. An example of this happening was in

Ukraine in 1986. To prevent this, the United States, along with the United Kingdom, are

encouraging all countries of the world, along with third world countries to use the natural,

free sun as an energy source instead of fossil fuels which are costly to obtain and harmful

to the environment (Murck 204-210).

We decided to do this project on solar ovens because we saw that water on black

pavement dries quickly when on the sun. Since solar ovens are usually made with

aluminum foil, we wondered if black paper would prove a better material for cooking.

We then began our research and came upon Tshirnhousen, a German physician who

experimented with the sun’s ability to prevent food from spoiling quickly. Soon after, a
Swiss scientist Horace de Sassure built the first known solar oven, which reached 200°F.

The solar oven is a good way to put the sun’s energy to good use. The insulated walls

help keep the heat in to cook the food, while blocking out the cool air. Solar ovens have

become more practical recently, especially with the financial crisis.

Solar ovens contribute greatly to today’s community. If it is improved to a

industrial extent with convenient and usable devices it can be very useful to the world.

God has made the sun for us to make the best use of the sun’s energy and warmth. Solar

ovens not only help to lock the nutrients in the food, but also help save electricity. As our

economy is plunging downhill, several families can not afford to pay a high electricity

bill. The sun is a constant, free, renewable resource.

Our question was, “Does black construction paper or aluminum foil better reflect

heat and light into a solar oven?” Our hypothesis was, “We think black construction

paper will better reflect heat and light into a solar oven because the color black absorbs

and retains heat, keeping it inside the oven.”

To make these types of solar ovens, you will need to acquire two 17.5"x 11.5"x

8.5" cardboard boxes. Cover one box completely, both inside and outside with aluminum

foil. Do the same with black paper on the other box. On the shorter flaps of the boxes,

measure 1.5" on each flap. Tape the long flaps according to the markings you have just

made. Doing so guides sunlight into the oven, therefore heating up the subject. Pour 180

mL of water into two small metal cups. Place one cup in the center of each oven, placing

both ovens outside in the direct sunlight.

To test our solar ovens, we placed our ovens with cups of water outside in the sun

between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., when the sun is hottest. We then measured how much
 water has evaporated every thirty minutes. Our instrument of measuring had small

increments for precision. We record at least 20 trials each and add up the amount of water

that has evaporated for each variable.

10/28/11  30  1 hr  2  2.5  3  3.5  4 10/22/11  30  1 hr  2  2.5  3  3.5  4

mins  1.5 hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs mins  1.5 hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs
hrs hrs

 Black  132  132  131  131  130  130  130  129  Black  155  152  150  145  145  144  142  142
Paper Paper
(mL) (mL)

 Aluminu  135  132  125  122  120  120  118  116  Aluminum  157  151  145  140  138  135  132  132
m Foil Foil (mL)
(mL)

   10/10/11  30  1 hr  2  2.5  3  3.5  4

mins  1.5 hrs hrs hrs hrs hrs
hrs

 Black  152  145  135  134  133  132  130  130

Paper (mL)

 Aluminum  160  146  143  131  128  125  124  123

Foil (mL)
 From our experiment, we find that black paper covered solar ovens is good at

attracting heat, but does not do a good job with retaining it. On the other hand, aluminum

foil covered solar ovens are much more constant and does and equal job of attaining and

retaining the heat. To answer the question, we believe that aluminum foil covered solar

ovens are a better material. Knowing that this material is very constant derives us to

believe that it will cook food to a better degree, retaining its heat and moisture. Although

both materials work to a certain extent, black paper covered solar ovens might not fully

cook the food.

If we were to do this experiment again, we would secure the shorter flaps 3

inches, instead of 1.5 inches from the outer edge of the longer flap. The reason for this is

because we feel that the large opening allows heat to escape instead of being retained.

After we tried this method and performed a few trials, we found that the water

evaporated much faster and more consistently than our original ovens. It is true that with

a larger opening heat is able to escape from the oven.

In future designs, we think that that attaching a leg to prop up a side of the oven

so that the opening can face direct sunlight will be helpful. This way, the user can use the

oven more efficiently. This leg can be detachable on all four sides of the oven, making it
convenient to follow the sun as it moves across the horizon. There will be no worry of

spoilage because the food would be done cooking in a much faster time.

Works Cited

Aalfs, Mark. "Principles of Solar Cooker Design." Solar Cookers International. Web. 01

Oct. 2011. <http://solarcooking.org/sbcdes.htm>.

Anderson, Lorraine, and Rick Palkovic. Cooking with Sunshine. 2nd ed. New York, NY:

Marlowe, 2006. Print.

"EERE: Solar Energy Technologies Program Home Page." EERE: EERE Server

Maintenance. 16 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 Sept. 2011.

<http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/>.

Halacy, Beth, and Dan Halacy. Cooking with the Sun. Lafayette, California: Morning

Sun, 1992. Print.

Jones, Susan. Solar Power of the Future. 1st ed. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2003.

Print.

MacEachern, Diane. Big Green Purse. New York: Avery, 2008. Print.

Murck, Barbara Winifred. Environmental Science: A Self-Teaching Guide. Hoboken, NJ:

John Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print.

Phypers, Mindy. "Sun Ovens Are Wonderful." Solar Haven. Web. 03 Oct. 2011.

<http://www.solarhaven.org/SolarCooking.htm>.
Radabaugh, Joseph. Heaven's Flame: a Guidebook to Solar Cookers. Ashland, Or., U.S.:

Home Power, 1991. Print.

Spiegel, Eric, Neil McArthur, and Rob Norton. Energy Shift. New York (N.Y.):

McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.