The advantages of solar cooking
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“A solar cooker or BBQ is, simply put, a heat trap for sunlight. It is designed with reflectors to concentrate light energy from the sun into an enclosed space with a glass door .This space contains your food and cooking vessel. As long as the sun is shining brightly enough so that you can see your shadow it will cook. Foods are always more enjoyable if cooked naturally in their own juices using only the power of the SUN! “ C.S.
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Using a solar cooking device has some advantages and some disadvantages however if other sources of fuel disappear or become too costly or scarce most of us will be using this technology whether we like it or not! One of the greatest advantages is that for the lifetime of the cooker the fuel is absolutely FREE.
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Let us compare the lifecycle cost of a solar cooker compared to a conventional gas BBQ. A solar cooker
pre built by our manufacturer requires a capital investment of $369.00 A gas BBQ for the sake of comparison can require about the same amount of capital to purchase. Let us assume we will use these cooking devices for all of our cooking. The cost to operate the solar cooker over the next 25 years will be zero (0) The cost to operate the gas BBQ based on current energy prices will cost $2,150.00. That means that a solar oven will produce a return on your investment of 5% over 25 years in the form of energy savings.
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A solar oven is a lot more versatile in what it can cook with no mess and no fumes. If we took all the gas BBQs out of production and replaced them with solar BBQ's we would displace hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases. By design the solar cooker produces better tasting and more nutritious food. The reason is that a solar cooker keeps the moisture in the food as it cooks and the temperatures are more moderate allowing the nutrients to stay in and of course nutritious food is better tasting!
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If you have ever tried to cook a large meal on a hot day in the summer on an electric or gas range or in a wood stove in your home you know the result will be a very warm night of unrest. A solar cooker is the perfect solution to keeping the house or living space cool when it is hot. I have cooked a meal for 6 to 10 people in my solar cooker on a very hot day and enjoyed a cool nights sleep in my solar air conditioned home in the evening. Read more on how to cool your home using the sun on a future webpage.
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Some of you may have has the experience of camping during a fire ban. If you are an outdoors person you will never be caught without a cooking utensil again. I remember a story about a very clever fellow who when caught in a fire ban without a way to cook his food used the engine block in his truck for roasting potatoes and corn. I would not recommend this environmentally unsound practice but instead keep a solar cooker handy for the job of cooking without the mess, potential hazard and fumes of other fuels.
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One of the questions I get most often is how do I keep my solar cooker so clean inside. I smile and explain that my oven is self cleaning. All I do when I have a spill in the oven is point it at the sun and when the spill turns to charcoal or ash I sweep the oven out.
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Whenever you cook in public with a solar cooker you are bound to get plenty of questions and interest from the young people. My own children have been cooking brownies and cookies with a solar cooker since they were 5 or 6. In fact whenever they decided to earn a few dollars with a lemonade stand on a hot day they would often see the marketing advantage of selling solar baked goods at the same time. The solar oven always draws a crowd. I can attest to this; compared to other young people with lemonade stands, my children always made more money and attracted more people to their stand as a direct result of the solar cooker.
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The solar cooker is safe for young people and fun to use. The cooker weighs 24lbs about 12 kg and the reflectors detach for ease of transport. If you are walking it may be a bit too much unless you can balance a load on your head but it can and has been transported by camel, burro, horse, bike, car, airplane, baby carriage, snow machine, boat, kayak, wagon, and canoe.
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This is a serious appliance for people serious about change it is great for: Baking. Roasting. Boiling. Cooking. Melting. Separating Pasteurizing. Sterilizing. Heating. Canning. Dehydrating.
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Over the years the people we have worked with have taught us a lot about ingenuity. We have witnessed people using solar ovens for all sorts of things. In Nepal and Northern India people heat stones during the day wrap them in towels or rags and put them in their children's beds on cold nights. In Ladakh in Northern India a woman I worked with in an organization called Aptibet used the solar cooker for pasteurizing water for drinking. Some have used the boiling water to dye wool. It has been used to separate honey from bees wax. In some parts of the world people have heated antique hand irons for ironing clothes. On more than one occasion and in many countries it is used as a sterilizer for medical equipment. In Costa Rica people used the cooker as a dehydrator to dry fruits and vegetables. My own children have baked a moldable colored material into its hard state in a solar cooker. Anywhere you need a heat source and you have a solar cooker and some sun you can do just about anything you can dream of.
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We have made a point in our design parameters to create a very robust cooking unit. One that can withstand the rigors of use in salty, sunny, wet, snowy and cold conditions It will withstand rugged use and the hooves of domestic animals if they happen to be present. You may not find your cardboard cooker will withstand these conditions and that of course is reflected in the price of our unit. Remember this “Freedom Cooker” was designed for use in the North American and European Market in order to influence others in the world by modeling and leading more sustainable cooking practice. That doesn’t mean people with fewer resources don’t like and want our oven it just means we may have to look at other ways to get it to them. We have considered a buy one donate one approach.
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On a clear pollution free low humidity day our solar cooker will get as hot as 420 F. Not bad for a sun only cooker. However ideal environmental conditions are becoming more rare and we have to settle for averages of 375 F.
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The advantages of plugging into the sun with a solar BBQ are:
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A life time of free fuel
More nutritious food
Keeps house cool
Pays for itself in fuel savings
Can be used during fire bans
Environmentally friendly
Self cleaning
Safe for all ages
Portable
Built to last
Temperatures of 375 f 190 c
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Here are some good reasons to use a solar oven:
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1)We can use first hand energy and reduce our individual contribution to the depletion of the world's energy resources.
2)We can realize a saving in our energy costs by reducing the use of conventional ovens and/or our air-conditioners. The sun's energy is free for all!
3)We can create an enjoyable social event around cooking that friends, neighbors and family or even passers‑by will be interested in sharing.
4)We can live by example and provide an opportunity to educate our children and grandchildren that we do have choices, we can make a difference and there are alternative ways of doing things. 5)Food is tastier when cooked in a solar oven!
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Who uses a solar BBQ?
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Environmentalists
Serious outdoor chefs
Remote work crews
Home owners Cottage owners
Ice fishers
Trappers
Hunters
Environmental educators
Medical aid workers
Campers
Yacht owners
International aid workers
Children
Parents
Grandparents