Experimental Analysis of Box Type Solar Cooker for Performance Improvements and Off-Sunshine Cooking

Abstract

The energy for cooking accounts for 50% of the total primary energy consumption, and it is the most important energy consuming
operation in the domestic sector. Among the thermal applications of solar energy, solar cooking is one of the simplest, most viable
and attractive options in terms of utilizing solar energy. A solar cooker is a device which uses solar energy to cook food. Box type
solar cooker is a simple device to collect the incoming solar radiation and convert it into heat energy, with a low efficiency. Also,
the box type solar cookers are not used for off-sunshine cooking. In this paper, an experimental analysis is done in order to
estimate the performance of a box type solar cooker and then to compare the same when using a finned absorber plate. Also, an
experimental analysis is made by using sand and water as thermal energy storage materials, which helps in off-sunshine time
cooking. While using finned absorber plate, the efficiency can be increased and cooking time can be reduced. Also, sand performs
well as a TES when compared with water.