MotivationSolar Cooking
The energy of the sun can be harnessed in a simple way to cook food, without complex lenses and mirrors to accomplish this task. When sunlight falls on a black surface it is absorbed and transformed into heat. Glass has the property of letting in light but not heat. If a shallow glass covered chamber coated black inside and insulated all around is exposed to sunlight the temperature inside exceeds 100 degree Celsius, sufficient to cook food. More heat can be achieved by having an exterior reflector. The solar box cooker incorporates these features.
Specifications
The cooker resembles a square suitcase with two hinged lids - an inner lid consisting of a glass pane (typically a double-glass pane enclosing air for better insulation) and an outer lid holding the reflector, which is simply a plane glass mirror. There are arms to rest the lids at any desired position. There is heat resistant rubber beading all round for a good seal at the seating of the inner lid. The lower half of the box is insulated on all four sides and the bottom and has four cooking pots. All the pots are coated black outside with matt finish paint. The cooker has four castor wheels for easy movement. The outer case of the cooker is made of aluminium or fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) which is a light and tough material. The cooker weighs about 8 kg.
Such box cookers are available in India at a cost of Rs.1500 - Rs.2500 depending on the finish. The solar box cooker takes 2-3 hours to cook food. The cooker has to be moved occasionally, say, at hourly intervals, to face the sun as it moves across the sky. It can cook food only when the sun is shining - not at night, or when it is cloudy or raining. Passing clouds do not matter.
Features
The solar cooker is a lifetime asset. Handled with care it can last 15 years or more. There is no moving part in it to go wrong. The only maintenance required is an occasional coat of black paint on the inside of the cooker and on the outer surfaces of the cooking pots. The solar cooker can be used both in the rural and urban sector.
Manufacturer
- Fair Fabricators,
142, Tilak Nagar, Indore 452001.
Tel: 0731-491488, 421472
- FRP Point,
G- 3, Sarojini Nagar, Industrial Area, Lucknow 226008.
Tel: 0522-437761, 440299
- Rohitas Industries,
115/260, Civil Lines, Kanpur 208001.
Tel: 0512-311223, 314546
- Geetanjali Solar Eneterprises,
P-14, Kasba Industrial Estate,
Phase I, EM Bypass, Kolkata 700078.
Tel: 033-4420773,2483724
- Piniball Mfg. Ltd.,
147, GIDC Makarpura, Vadodara 390 010.
Tel: 0265-642747, 325469.
Contact Information
S.Narayanaswamy, 68, is a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service, and the author of Making the Most of Sunshine - A Handbook of Solar Energy for the Common Man, published by Vikas Publishing House Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi
More Information