http://www.solaribex.com/
Here's a group that is developing an advanced solar powered cooker. It uses a parabolic disc to concentrate the sun's energy. The cooker can produce temperatures above 500 degrees, but also can be adjusted to provide lower temperatures for baking. Only the pot at the focus of the parabola gets hot, the rest of the apparatus remains at the ambient temperature.
The box on the right side of the disc in the photo is a solar powered controller that keeps the disc oriented to the sun throughout the day, maximizing the energy captured.
A solar cooker makes sense for a mountaineering base camp, where snow has to be melted continuously to provide drinking water. The 40 inch parabolic disc is foldable for transport, and weighs about 18 lbs. That's a lot less than the weight of the container and fuel needed to power a conventional propane gas cooker or an alcohol burner.
A solar cooker could be a lifesaver in disaster areas, when large quantities of water have to be boiled for drinking purposes. The floods in Pakistan this summer have displaced upwards of four million people, and poor sanitation has resulted in local cholera and typhoid outbreaks. A solar cooker could provide hundreds of people with safe drinking water each day.
No word on the price of the Solar Ibex, or when it will be commercially available.
Here's a group that is developing an advanced solar powered cooker. It uses a parabolic disc to concentrate the sun's energy. The cooker can produce temperatures above 500 degrees, but also can be adjusted to provide lower temperatures for baking. Only the pot at the focus of the parabola gets hot, the rest of the apparatus remains at the ambient temperature.
The box on the right side of the disc in the photo is a solar powered controller that keeps the disc oriented to the sun throughout the day, maximizing the energy captured.
A solar cooker makes sense for a mountaineering base camp, where snow has to be melted continuously to provide drinking water. The 40 inch parabolic disc is foldable for transport, and weighs about 18 lbs. That's a lot less than the weight of the container and fuel needed to power a conventional propane gas cooker or an alcohol burner.
A solar cooker could be a lifesaver in disaster areas, when large quantities of water have to be boiled for drinking purposes. The floods in Pakistan this summer have displaced upwards of four million people, and poor sanitation has resulted in local cholera and typhoid outbreaks. A solar cooker could provide hundreds of people with safe drinking water each day.
No word on the price of the Solar Ibex, or when it will be commercially available.