How To Build and Use A Solar Oven

Image by BreadnBadger via FlickrSolar ovens are cheap and easy to make and operate. I have been using solar ovens for two decades now, constructed from not much more than cardboard boxes and aluminum foil.

Cardboard ovens don't last forever, but they're so easy to make that I don't mind have to replace my old one every couple years.

I have even made a solar oven from an old pizza box, aluminum foil and saran wrap in a pinch. These are definitely not durable, but great to use in the short-term such as during a picnic or when you're camping. Just think, no stinky charcoal or lighter fluid to lug along!

For those who are looking for something that will last a long time (or if you simply don't have the time or temperment to make your own solar cooker, there are many commercial models available for purchase.

Want to learn more? Read the rest here

Related articles

• How to Build a Solar Oven (Slideshow) (treehugger.com)
• Build Your Own Solar Oven With Automatic Sun Tracking (treehugger.com)
• Bluesun 2600: Solar Grill Stores Latent Heat for 25-Hour Cook Time at 450F : TreeHugger (treehugger.com)
• Another 36 Uses for Tin Foil (wisebread.com)
• Practical Reasons To Use Solar Energy (mydecorarticles.com)

Why Consider Solar Power?

 

 

Certain materials have a property known as the photoelectric effects. This property allows them to absorbs photos of sunlight and release electrons. Capture of these free electrons results in an electric current. Through photovoltaics, light is converted directly into electricity.

Solar power can be produced by heat engines or photovoltaics. Some applications for solar technologies include heating and cooling, potable water through distillation and disinfection, hot water, thermal energy for cooking and process heat for industrial purposes.

Solar energy can be scaled to individual use (such as solar cookers or rooftop panels used to heat a home), to communities, or to industry in the deployment of solar concentrating power arrays.

Solar technologies are characterized as either passive or active. Active uses photovoltaic panels or solar thermal collectors to convert solar energy to electrical energy.

Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the sun, selecting materials with thermal properties and designing buildings that take advantage of natural properties of insolation.

Deriving energy from solar power is 85 times more efficient than growing corn for ethanol. On a single plot of land, enough ethanol can be produced to drive a car 30,000 miles per year. If the same acreage was covered with photos cells, the car could be driven 2,500,000 miles per year.

Solar power has been developed since the 1950s. This technology has advanced due to its use in the space industry. The energy crisis in the 1970s brought the idea of using solar power to provide electricity for individuals and industries on Earth to the forefront.

Want to learn more? Read the rest here

Related articles

• Solar Power "Going Mainstream" (energyrefuge.com)
• Build A SOLAR POWERED LIGHT For UNDER $3! (futuretwit.com)
• Solar panel technology Positive aspects - Functional Approaches for Producing your Change (thediamondringreview.com)
• Solar power is beginning to go mainstream (sfgate.com)
• Coldest Parts of Earth Have the Best Solar (PV) Potential (leggotunglei808.wordpress.com)
• learning to make solar panels for your own home (thediamondringreview.com)