Solar Ovens: How Solar Ovens Work and How to Make One
By Arlie Krigel
All about Solar Ovens
Solar ovens are an inexpensive, easy, and fun alternative to conventional cooking. Also known as solar cookers, solar ovens require no electricity and are used around the world by citizens in developed and developing countries alike.
A good solar oven can cook just about anything on a sunny day, from a sizzling hot stir-fry to a slow-cooked stew. But even a simple solar oven can bake brownies or bread. All it takes is some recycled cardboard, old pieces of foil, and a healthy dose of patience and sunlight.
How solar ovens work
Solar ovens use shiny reflectors to direct sunlight into dark boxes and pots. There, the light is trapped and transformed into heat. Although several hundred different versions use these principles, three main types of solar cookers exist.
- Solar Box Cookers: The simplest, most common solar ovens. Often made out of cardboard boxes and foil-lined reflectors, these solar cookers reach low to medium temperatures of around 200 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. They’re the most similar to real ovens, since they heat up slowly and have room for multiple pots and pans.
- Parabolic Solar Ovens: The hottest, most dangerous solar ovens. More like stoves than ovens, these complex solar cookers use a parabolic shape to reflect all sunlight onto a single point, creating an intense heat of over 600 degrees Fahrenheit. They heat up quickly, but require frequent readjustment and are difficult to construct.
- Solar Panel Cookers: A combination of box and parabolic cookers. Lightweight and portable, these solar ovens are ideal for backpacking and small spaces. They use foil-lined cardboard walls to reflect sunlight into dark pots, which are then enclosed in inflated oven bags to build up heat.
Ready to start cooking? Make or buy your own solar oven
In just a few hours, you can build your own powerful solar oven out of recycled household materials like cardboard, foil, plastic bags, and glue. But if building makes you wary, there are also many great commercial solar ovens available for purchase too.
Happy cooking!
