A solar oven is a kitchen appliance that cooks food with sunlight. Collecting energy from the sun heats the oven’s air, so you don’t need gas or electricity to cook. Green cooking like this is fun for kids and a great way to teach them about green energy and how heat moves through matter. In the blog, we will discuss how to make a simple solar oven out of things you probably already have at home.
Materials Needed
These things are what you will need to build your solar oven:
- Box made of cardboard: It doesn’t matter what kind of cardboard box you use.
- Aluminum Foil: This aluminum foil will be used to bounce the sun’s rays into the oven.
- Plastic wrap: Using clear plastic wrap will help keep the oven warm.
- Black Paper: This black building paper will soak up heat.
- Tape: Masking tape or duct tape can be used to hold things in place.
- Scissors or a Knife: To cut the cardboard, you’ll need scissors or a box knife (an adult must be present).
- Poke or stick: To hold the reflecting flap open.
- Tray or Pan: A cooking tray is a small, dark-colored pan or tray used for cooking.
How to Make Solar Oven? Complete Guide
Step 1: Prepare the Box
- First, get your wooden box ready:. If you use a pizza box, you will need to cut a hole in the top of it.
- Cut the Flap: Cut the top of the box into a square or rectangle with three sides, leaving one side connected to make a flap. You can use scissors or a box cutter to do this. This flap will let light into the box.
- Cover with foil: Alum foil should be put inside the flap with the shiny side facing out. This will make the oven get more light. Use tape to hold it down.
Step 2: Create the Window
- To keep the heat inside, you need to use plastic wrap to make a window.
- Cover the hole you just made with two pieces of plastic wrap, one on the inside and one on the outside. Tape them together. Make sure the lid is on tight so that the heat doesn’t escape.
Step 3: Insulate the Oven
- Insulate the inside of the box to keep as much heat in as possible.
- Put black craft paper around the bottom of the box. The food will cook faster on black surfaces because they soak up more heat.
Step 4: Put the reflector in place
- Now you need to tilt the flap so that it lets light into the oven.
- Use a stick or pin to hold the flap open. Make the necessary changes to the angle so that sunshine can reach the box.
Step 5: Get the solar oven hot
- To cook up your solar oven, put it in straight sunlight.
- Place the oven outside on a warm day when it’s at least 29°C (85°F) hot. It needs about 30 minutes to heat up.
Step 6: Cooking with Your Solar Oven
It’s time to cook once your solar oven is hot.
- Get your food ready: Put your food on a cooking sheet that is dark. You can eat things like s’mores, nachos, or even baked potatoes.
- Keep an eye on the cooking time: Cooking times can change depending on how bright the sun is. In a sun cooker, food usually cooks in thirty minutes to an hour.
Tips for Effective Solar Cooking
- Pick the Right Day: Days with no clouds and lots of sun are best for cooking outside.
- Setting up: Make sure the solar oven is pointing straight into the sun. Since the sun moves, you might need to move it.
- Use dark pots and pans: Choose trays or pans that are dark because they absorb heat better.
- Close the lid: Cut down on the time the oven is open to keep the heat inside.
How Many Panels Do You Need for a Solar Oven?
How many panels you need for a solar oven depends on what kind of oven you want to make and how big it is. To guide sunlight into the cooking area of a simple box solar oven, there is usually one mirrored panel. This panel can be made from aluminum foil or shiny mylar. Most of the time, this one panel is enough for small-scale cooking jobs.
If you choose a more advanced design, like a parabola solar cooker, Pellet Stoves, you may need to use more than one panel to keep the sun’s rays focused. A typical parabola cooker has a single curved mirrored surface that directs light onto the cooking pot, which is placed in the middle. With this system, temperatures can be raised, which means food cooks faster.
For bigger solar stoves that can cook more than one dish at once or for bigger families, you might want to add more panels to make the surface area that receives sunshine bigger. In the end, how well your solar oven works will rest on not only how many panels you have, but also where they are placed, what angle they are at, and how the oven is built as a whole. If you want to find the best setting for your cooking needs, try out different combinations.
Conclusion
Solar oven building is a simple yet rewarding project that teaches solar energy and cooking. It provides hands-on instruction and sustainable food preparation. Using common materials, you can build a solar oven that cooks food well. Try new recipes and enjoy cooking in the sun. Contact us if you’re interested in solar energy and its uses. Enjoy solar cooking and harness the sun’s power!