The Problem

Half the worlds people must burn wood or

dried dung to cook their food.
Nearly 1.2 billion people, a fifth of the worlds
population, do not have access to clean
drinking water.
Over 1 million children die yearly because of
un-boiled drinking water.
Wood cut for cooking purposes contributes to
the 16 million hectares of forest destroyed
annually.
Half the worlds population is exposed to
indoor air pollution, mainly the result of
burning solid fuels for cooking and heating.

Id put my money on the sun and solar

energy. What a source of power! I hope
we dont have to wait til oil and coal
run out before we tackle that.

Overview
Types of cookers
Principles of solar cooker design
Retained heat cooking
Cooking guidelines
Teaching ideas
Examples
Additional information and resources

Types of solar ovens

Box Cooker
Panel Cooker
Solar Funnel Cooker
Parabolic Cooker - not
recommended

Box cooker

Among easiest and most popular to build and use

Lid of a cardboard box reflects light onto pots
under glass
Advantage of slow, even cooking of large
quantities of food

Panel Cooker

Sunlight is reflected off of multiple panels

onto a pot under a glass lid or in a bag
Can be built quickly and at low cost
Many different varieties

Solar Funnel Cooker

Safe, inexpensive and easy to use

Concentrates sunlight into a dark pot in a plastic
bag
Combines best of parabolic and box cookers
Anyone can make one

Parabolic Cooker

Highly focused light and high temperatures

Cooks nearly as fast as a conventional oven
Costly and complicated to make and use
have to turn frequently to follow the sun
Potentially hazardous-not recommended

The basic principles C.A.R.E.S.

Collect the light
Absorb the light
Retain the heat
Ease and Efficiency

Safety

C: Collect the Light

Collect the sunlight using reflectors with
an approximately 400 square inch opening
(20x20)
Easy way to measure: the minimum
opening of the cooker needs to be the
diameter of an adults arm
Reflective surface materials include:
aluminum, Mylar, aluminized Mylar of any
thickness, aluminum or chromium paint
(Note: mirror like reflectors can lead to
eye damage)

A: Absorb the light

Absorb the light paint the pot
matte black or another dark color to
absorb the heat
Pots can also be elevated by a wire
base or posts, allowing the bottom of
the pots to collect sunlight

R: Retain the Heat

Retain the heat hot vessels lose
their heat to the air quickly so they
need to be covered
Cover with plastic, glass, Plexiglas,
or tempered glass
A tight lid will trap steam and speed
up cooking Ex: Canning jars work
like inexpensive pressure cookers

R: Retain the Heat

A note on plastics
Oven bags are the best way to retain heat.
They are sold in most large U.S. grocery
stores, although they may be hard to find in
other places (Reynolds bags work well)
If you cant find oven bags, an alternate
solution is transparent High Density
Polyethylene bags (HDPE)
Prevent the HDPE bags from touching the
pots or jars, as they may melt
Avoid polyethylene it melts too easily
Good plastic may be the most difficult material
to find, and may require extra planning,
possibly including importing the oven bags

E: Ease and Efficiency

Ease simplicity of everyday use
Funnel and box cookers are the easiest to use
they dont have to be turned to follow the sun

Efficiency - how fast the cooker heats food

Parabolic cookers focus light to a point (most
efficient) causing dangerous conditions
Funnel cookers focus light across a broader
area down the center of the cooker (efficient
but not dangerous)

S: Safety
Safety Avoid highly focused light

such as that in the parabolic cooker.

It can damage eyes and start fires
Always exercise caution with
cookers. Sunglasses are useful when
looking into a cooker
Cooking pots are hot and should be
treated as though they were on a
stove-top

Remember - C.A.R.E.S.
Collect the light
Absorb the light
Retain the heat
Ease and

Efficiency

Safety

Retained Heat Cooking

If sunlight is lost or multiple items need
to be cooked, there is a solution
Once the food is heated, quickly transfer
to either:
- an insulated box or set of towels,
- or an insulated hole in the ground
covered
with more insulation
The food will continue to cook for hours

Temperatures
Sunny Day: heats from 130-145C (265300F)
Cloudy Day: heats from 95-105C (200220F)
Hot enough to pasteurize water (at least
65-70C for 20 minutes)
Hot enough to fully cook meats, breads,
grains, vegetables, etc.
Kills disease-causing bacteria

Impact
Expect solar ovens to replace 60% of
fuel needs in most places
The other 40% of the time, due to
inclement weather or special types
of food, traditional methods can still
be used
Doesnt replace fire as a way to heat
homes

Approximate Cooking
Times

Vegetables: 1.5 hrs

Rice/wheat: 1.5-2 hrs
Beans: 2-3 hrs
Meats: 1-3 hrs
Bread: 1-1.5 hrs

See Recipe File for

more details and
cooking ideas

Costs and benefits

Cost: approximately $2/cooker depending
on location and availability of materials
Materials include cardboard, aluminum
foil, plastic bag, etc. See Building
Instructions for more details and be
creative
Benefits

Saves cost of fuel or time spent gathering wood

Prevents diseases from impure water
Ecologically friendly

**Teaching Ideas**
Give construction seminar
Can accompany current educational
programs such as hygiene, gardening,
or English/literacy
Takes as little as half a day training
Train a group to teach others--little
efforts can achieve large impacts
Remember: Focus on training and
sustainability rather than handouts

Real World Examples

Summer 2003
Fernando
successfully taught
solar cooking classes
in northeast Brazil
with Help
International
Four solar ovens
transform a Chilean
village (see packet)
Microenterprise case
study in packet

Food for Thought

Solar cookers can be a used for
micro-enterprise and other business
ventures:
Build and sell cookers
Cook and sell bread or other foods
See packet for examples and
suggestions

Adapt to local cultures and customs

BE CREATIVE and
HAVE FUN!
You can improvise with most of the
techniques and materials
Remember the basic principles
(CARES) and you can adjust for the
skills and resources of those who
will make and use the ovens

Step-by-Step
Instructions
Funnel Cooker Instructions included on
this CD
Box Cooker are at
http://solarcooking.org/ in both the box
cooker section and with pictures in the
slide show
For more construction ideas see
Alternative Cookers PowerPoint also on
this CD

Additional Resources
Recipe File on this CD
Packet of articles also on this CD
including
Background information
Case-studies
Ideas for micro-enterprise
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact list of NGOs using solar
technology

Additional Resources
Comprehensive Internet Site
www.solarcooking.org
For questions or feedback contact
Dr. Steven Jones at Brigham Young
University
Email: stevejones@byu.edu
Phone: (801) 422-2749