Solar Cookers: An Alternative for Cooking with Solar Energy

By TreeLiving If you want to reduce the use of gas in your house or travel somewhere in green style; or if you just like to try new things all the time, a solar box cooker may be the answer. A solar box cooker – also known as solar oven – is a device that uses the sunlight to cook food. As simple as that! They use no fuel to operate and are zero-cost; they help to reduce pollution, thus they offer not only ec onomical but also environmental benefits as well. To give you a brief introduction about solar cookers, you must first know that there are more than 50 different variations of solar ovens out there. However, there are three basic principles for solar cookers: – First: A solar cooker must be able to concentrate sunlight by the use of some type of reflective metal or a mirror. The heat and energy from the sun then becomes concentrated and much more intense. – Second: A solar cooker must convert light to heat by the use of heat-absorbing elements, for example, the coat the inside of the cooker painted in black to collect the sunlight and convert it into heat. – Third: The solar cooker traps heat by using a clear device, like a lid, to keep the heat inside and thus use it to maximize cooking. If you want to make a solar box cooker at home you’ll need a few things. First you need two cardboard boxes,one box larger than the other. The bigger the boxes, the better. Why? To be able to cook as much as you can at once. You will also need a sheet of cardboard for the lid, larger than the top of the largest box.A roll of aluminum foil and flat-black, non-toxic spray paint. Finally, non-toxic glue to put it all together.That’s it. Solar cooking can be also a fun way to teach your children the amazing powers of the sun and to learn a bit about environmental action and nature. You can also use this great device outdoors while you’re camping somewhere.Cooking with the sun is an eco-friendly way to have fun, save money and save the planet at the same time.