Solar Oven
I had this project in school in which I had to build a super simple, low cost solar oven. The solar oven had to heat up or pasteurise water. I looked at a lot of websites and found out that there are many ways to make a simple solar oven. I wanted to know more about each type. I first looked at the materials needed and chose the one which had the least amount of materials. I finally found this youtube video where the person makes a solar oven out of just one cardboard box. This seemed like the simplest choice and the easiest to make.
Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DG9g3oZuEo
Materials
- One cardboard box
- Aluminium Foil
- Clear tape/Glue
- Scissors
- Insulated container
- Something to support the reflector
Steps
- Flatten out the cardboard box.
- Stick aluminium foil all over one side of the box so it can act as a reflector, which reflects sunlight.
- Bend the box into a semi-circle and place it towards the sun, facing south.
- Place the insulated container, with something in it, at the converging point of all the reflected sun rays.
Important Directions
- The reflector needs to be in a semi-circle so it can reflect different angles of sunlight.
- It needs to be facing south so it can get the most amount of sunlight without moving it throughout the day. (Remember, it cooks very slowly).
- The food needs to be insulated so the heat inside will not dissipate.
- If it is windy, keep an object to support it from behind. Tape them together if needed.
Photo Log
Scientific Learning
- Semi- circle shape helps reflect sunlight to one converging point.
- Container needs to have an air cushion to keep it insulated.
- Keep the container at the converging point to get the reflected sunlight.
Application
The goal for building this is to make a low cost solar cooker or oven to make water safer so it can reduce diseases.
I am going to make the real one at school. This was just a trial to see how it will work.
