Solar Box Cooker

Continuing with the previous post Let us Talk About the Solar Box Cookers.

Going ahead about Solar Box cooker we will first look at the advantages and disadvantages of solar cookers.

Solar cookers are devices that use solar energy to cook food.

Advantages

1)No requirement of cooking gas or kerosene, electricity, coal or wood.
2)No need to spend on fuel, as solar energy is available free.
3)Food cooked in solar cooker is nutritious. About 10-20% of protein retention is more as compared to that in conventional cooking .Vitamin thiamine retention is about 20 to 30% more whereas vitamin A is retained 5 to 10% more when food is cooked in solar cooker.
4)Solar cooking is pollution free and safe
5)Solar cookers come in various sizes. Based on the number of family members, the size of the cooker can be chosen
6)All cooking activities (like boiling, roasting) can be done using a solar cooker

Disadvantages

1) The First And the Most Condition Is Adequate sunshine is required for cooking
2) Takes longer time to cook food than the conventional cooking methods.

Let Us First Discuss about the Box Type Solar Cookers

It is like a hot box, in which food can be cooked. It is the most commonly used model for household cooking.

Parts Of Solar Box Cookers:

Outer Box: The outer box of a solar cooker is generally made of G.I. or aluminum sheet or fibre reinforced plastic.

Inner Cooking Box (Tray) : This is made from aluminum sheet. The inner cooking box is slightly smaller than the outer box. It is coated with black paint so as to easily absorb solar radiation and transfer the heat to the cooking pots.

Double Glass Lid: A double glass lid covers the inner box or tray. This cover is slightly larger than the inner box. The two glass sheets are fixed in an aluminum frame with a spacing of 2 centimeters between the two glasses. This space contains air which insulates and prevents heat escaping from inside. A rubber strip is affixed on the edges of the frame to prevent any heat leakage.

Thermal Insulator: The space between the outer box and inner tray including bottom of the tray is packed with insulating material such as glass wool pads to reduce heat losses from the cooker. This insulating material should be free from volatile materials.

Mirror: Mirror is used in a solar cooker to increase the radiation input on the absorbing space and is fixed on the inner side of the main cover of the box. Sunlight falling on the mirror gets reflected from it and enters into the tray through the double glass lid. This radiation is in addition to the radiation entering the box directly and helps to quicken the cooking process by raising the inside temperature of the cooker.

Containers: The cooking containers (with cover) are generally made of aluminum or stainless steel. These vessels are also painted black on the outer surface so that they also absorb solar radiation directly.

Box type cookers with electrical back up are also available in the market.

How To Cook Food In Solar Cookers??

>>Keep the solar cooker in the sun in open space free from any shadow.
>>Keep the cooker in the sun at least for 45 minutes before loading it with cooking pots.
>>This will keep the cooker ready for cooking and reduce the cooking time.
>>Adjust the cooker in such a way that the reflecting mirror faces the sun and the reflected rays fall on the transparent glass lid.
>>Tighten the position fixing hinges of the mirror in this position.
>>Open the glass lid of the solar cooker, place the cooking pots inside it and close the lid properly.
>>Once the cooking vessels have been placed inside the cooker the lid should not be opened.
>>Open the lid fully once the food is cooked.
>>Please Take Care While removing the cooking vessels after the food has been cooked, use cloth napkins as the vessels are very hot.

What Does It Cost??
Cost ranges between Rs 2500 to 4,000. It varies based on the size and model.

Devang joshi
Rudra Solar Energy