The performance of a solar cooker in Egypt

A simple, efficient solar cooker was designed and its performance in the Egyptian climate was evaluated. The cooker is of the hot box type with a plane booster mirror reflector. The performance of the cooker was measured experimentally for over two years under different working conditions. The test conditions included experiments with and without adjusting the cooker's position for maximum solar radiation and the tilt angle of the booster reflector for maximum concentration. Formulas for calculating the orientation angle of the oven and tilt angle of the reflector were deduced. The shadow effect caused by the sides of the oven was also calculated. The solar cooker proved to be reliable, trouble free and efficient. All kinds of food were cooked including meat, chicken, rice, peas, beans, potatoes, soup, eggs and cakes. A good meal for a family of four was cooked in 3–4 h. It was established that better heat transfer occurred when the cooking pot was covered with an airtight plastic transparent cover rather than using an ordinary metallic cover. The energy balance of the cooker from heat transfer considerations enabled estimates of both over and food temperature to be made. Calculated values agreed well with the experimental measurements.