The HotPot is perfect for appetizers such as Sunbeam Chicken Wings (see: Appetizers )
After years of research the HotPot design was completed in 2004. It evolved from the CooKit solar cooker invented by Dr. Roger Bernard and refined by Solar Cookers International. The science and engineering were accomplished by the Florida Solar Energy Center. The reflector was designed by Glen Newman of Energy Laboratories, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida. In 2006 tests to re-evaluate the capacity of the HotPot to effectively heat water and food were performed in Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Senegal and confirm again that the HotPot is an effective and efficient solar cooker.
Currently, the HotPot is manufactured only in Mexico by a private business, in cooperation with the Mexican Nature Conservation Fund, a non-profit. The manufacturer sells the “fully loaded” HotPot package for standard commercial distribution in the U.S. and Mexico, and on a more economical basis for bulk developing world sales, via Solar Household Energy, Inc. Both organizations are actively developing a variety of strategies to make the HotPot available to developing world consumers at a price they can afford.
News and recent developments
- July 2007: In Senegal and Burkina Faso, people are finding many ways that the HotPot can improve their daily lives. Currently 220 men and women in Senegal and Burkina Faso are cooking with the HotPot; they are excited about the variety of meals they've cooked and the fuel they’ve saved doing so. Read more about Solar Household Energy's West Africa programs at http://www.she-inc.org/projects-3.php.
- April 2007: Solar Household Energy, Inc.'s partners in El Salvador and Guatemala are currently implementing HotPot solar cooking pilot programs. One partner organization was so excited about the project that they initiated a technology exchange between local communities to spread the word about solar cooking! To read more go to http://www.she-inc.org/projects-2.php
- January 2007: The International Relations Center, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide information and analysis that increase social and economic justice throughout the world, recently cited the HotPot as an example of an effective solar cooker that is both produced and sold in Mexican communities. Mexico is currently working to structure a national training program to help individuals understand the utility of solar and wind power in cost effectiveness for health and the environment. Read more here.
- January 2007: The HotPot was featured on the Earth Focus TV program in late January. This program highlights the October 2006 Green Festival in Washington, D.C. that promotes a sustainable economy, ecological balance, and social justice. Over 300 exhibitors attended the festival and Solar Household Energy was one of a few organizations highlighted in this program. Please here to see local program times and channels for Earth Focus: Green Festival.
- November 2006: World Bank president hails HotPot solar oven
- The activities conducted and the reports provided by the Florida Solar Energy Center for Solar Household Energy, Inc. while developing the HotPot
- Fall 2006: Currently, arrangements for shipment of HotPots to Guatemala are in the final stages. In early 2007, SHE’s formal training and follow-up programs will begin in four communities throughout rural areas in Guatemala. After the initial trainings, the in-country NGOs will continue training sessions and begin HotPot solar oven use monitoring. The initial pilot phase will last one year and will include 300 women.
- Fall 2006: HotPot Performance Testing Results - Tests to re-evaluate the capacity of the HotPot to effectively heat water and food were performed this past year in Burkina Faso, The Gambia, and Senegal. The results confirm again that the HotPot is an effective and efficient solar cooker.
- Summer 2006: Solar Household Energy's first bulk delivery of HotPots arrived this summer in Mali, West Africa. The container of 1,000 cookers was purchased by a Malian energy services company which has promoted solar cooking in Mali for a number of years and will be a regional distributor of HotPots. To learn more about our West Africa programs, go here.
Using A HotPot
The HotPot cooking vessel consists of a dark pot suspended inside a clear pot with a clear lid. The stainless steel reflector folds flat.
Cooks who love their slow cookers will love the HotPot. Slow cooker recipes for capacities up to five quarts can move right into the HotPot when the sun is shining, and the results will be even more flavorful and tender in the HotPot, without costing a cent for power or fuel. On a good day, foods can simmer gently for hours in the HotPot, with outstanding results, and the HotPot can also bake some kinds of simple breads and cakes. Its beauty, gentle efficiency, and convenience make it an excellent choice for anyone wishing to purchase a durable solar cooker. An inexpensive plant caddy with locking wheels can make it easier to turn the HotPot to keep ahead of the sun.
General Tips and tricks for solar cooking and solar panel cookers apply, especially getting food out early. To keep the Morning Glory reflector as shiny as possible, follow the directions for care that come with the cooker. The Morning Glory will also work with other dark pots in oven bags (or in the case of smaller pots, inside the glass enclosure that is part of the HotPot system), especially if you elevate them on a rack to let light get underneath. Since the reflector folds compactly and is light in weight, it travels well and can go along with a lighter-weight pot and oven bag if you are ever flying somewhere and would like to solar cook when you get there.
In full capacity, the HotPot is not a winter cooker for the north, but it did cook smaller amounts of simple-to-cook foods such as custard or vegetables in the dead of winter at 47 degrees north latitude, using a smaller dark, lidded pot inside the glass HotPot enclosure. It also helped to clip on a lightweight car windshield cover in a way that extended the height a few inches at the back. During the good part of the year, it works very well that far north and can handle full capacity loads as long as you get them out early.
See also
Buying a HotPot
USA
- If you purchase a HotPot here. Sales of HotPots indirectly benefit Solar Household Energy, Inc.'s international work.
- HotPot User Guide
- Solar Cookers International also sells HotPots online.
Mexico
- Oaxaca, Lorena Harp (95) 1515-5976
- Saltillo, Enrique Cisneros (84) 4410-2241
- Puebla, Jesús Antonio Cuellar (22) 2286-0335
- México, DF The Green corner (55) 1054-7699, 3093-8290, 5554-4514, 2163-3892
- Guadalajara, Ana Paola Ortiz (36) 3123-3045/46
- Sierra Gorda, Querétaro Paty Ruiz Corso (44) 1296-0242
Recipes
- Sunshine Party Beans in Grains and Beans
- Sunbeam Chicken Wings in Appetizers
- Sunny Fiesta Pork Stew in Meat Dishes
Audio and video
External links
- The Terra Foundation's data sheet on this cooker
- A Market-Based Strategy for Introducing Passive Solar Ovens in Kenya
- HotPot User Guide
- Greenhouse Enclosures Comparison - Teong Tan
- How to tie a sling for the HotPot (html, ~500 KB)
- How to tie a sling for the HotPot (pdf, ~675 KB)