Solar cooking system with or without heat storage for families and institutions

A solar cooking system, with or without temporary heat storage, has been developed and installed in different countries of the world. The two basic system components are the solar collectors with reflectors and a cooking unit. When thermal storage is needed, a tank filled with pebbles is added to the system. The working fluid, usually a vegetable oil, circulates in natural, thermo-siphon flow through a copper piping that connects the components. The system presents interesting features such as the possibility of indoor and night cooking, heat flow control in the pots, modularity, and the possibility of further adjustment to incorporate a baking oven. The first prototype of this collector-cooker system was built and installed in the city of Juelich, Germany. Further development and adjustment were performed for the next versions, which were brought to India and Mali. Other systems were installed in Africa (Burkina Faso and South Africa) and in South and Central America. About 250 systems have been built in different sizes to be used by single families or by government institutions. The excellent experimental results are presented in this article. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.