Solar Cooker Mechanics

Solar Panel Cooker

A solar panel cooker works much in the same way that a greenhouse does. 

Here is the process of how the food can be cooked:

• UV rays from the Sun hit the pot directly or are reflected onto the pot by the aluminum foil therefore increasing the amount of rays the pot absorbs
• The pot then gives off infrared heat energy which becomes trapped by the plastic covering
• Since there is less heat escaping, the pot heats up much more quickly, and food can be cooked

One of the most important details of the solar cooker is the pot itself. We were unsure what type of pot to use and so we put both containers in the sun to see which would heat up quicker

Type of Container	Black Matte	Shiny Aluminum
Amount of Water	280mL	280mL
Time in Sun	5 minutes	5 minutes
Temperature Increase	2 degrees C	1.4 degrees C

Even though this is without the use of the solar cooker, it is clear that the black matte container absorbs more heat than the aluminum foil did.