Solar Cooking
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Last edited: 9 June 2015      

Depending on where you live and how you cook, solar cooking can save you time, work, and fuel. It is also environmentally friendly, and a fun way to prepare your meals. All foods can be cooked in some type of solar cooker.

Solar cooking is often associated with crockpot, or slow cooking. Cooking times for most solar cookers are typically twice that for conventional cooking methods. Slower cooking has its advantages however. Less water is used than with conventional cooking and foods retain more flavor and nutrients, rather than being steamed or boiled off.

Basic solar cookers do not require stirring the food while cooking. By leading the sun orientation a little and adding a bit more cooking time, panel and box solar cookers can be set and left to cook unattended.

For areas in the world experiencing deforestation and access to clean water, solar cooking is proving to be a valuable part of the solution, by providing a safe smoke-free alternative to cooking and boiling water over open fires.

Buy or build a solar cooker

KoZon Iridimi May 2007 1

Tens of thousands of solar cookers are in use in refugee camps in Chad where traditional fuel supplies are limited, as well as the many other solar cookers used daily in developed and developing countries around the world.

If you are interested in trying solar cooking for the first time yourself, you may be wondering whether it is best to build your own solar cooker, or to buy a finished solar cooker commercially. Building your own solar cooker can be fairly easy and inexpensive way to go. Various types of solar cookers that are available to build are listed at build a solar cooker. You will find information there comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each style of cooker. There are also many solar cookers available commercially. Commercial cookers are typically well made, and waterproof. The location of the retailer will be important to consider to avoid high shipping costs. See possibilities at buy a solar cooker.

How do solar cookers work?

Most solar cookers work on the basic principle: Sunlight is converted to heat energy that is retained for cooking.

The captured sunlight passes through a greenhouse enclosure enclosing a dark colored cook pot. As it hits the dark surface, the sunlight is converted to heat, which can not escape the enclosure, and cooking temperatures are achieved. Most basic solar panel cookers and solar box cookers can easily reach 120°C (250°F). This principle is often experienced by drivers returning to a closed car that has been left in the sun. Parabolic solar cookers use a bowl shaped reflector to focus the light more directly onto the cook pot, usually from below, and typically do not require a greenhouse enclosure to retain the heat.

Solar Cooking basics, SCI 2004, pg. 1, 12-9-14
Solar Cooking basics, SCI 2004, pg. 2, 12-19-14

Solar cooker types

The three most common types of solar cookers are box cookers, panel cookers, and parabolic solar cookers. Hundreds — if not thousands — of variations on these basic types exist. Additionally, several large-scale solar cooking systems have been developed to meet the needs of institutions worldwide.

Box cookers

girl with box cooker

Box cookers cook food at moderate to high temperatures and often accommodate multiple pots, typically taking between one and three hours to cook various foods. Worldwide, they are the most widespread. There are several hundred thousand in India alone.


Panel cookers

woman with panel cooker

Panel cookers incorporate elements of box and parabolic concentrator cookers. They are simple and relatively inexpensive to buy or produce. Solar Cookers International's "CooKit" is the most widely used combination cooker.


Parabolic cookers

AlSol 1

An AlSol 1.4 parabolic cooker demonstrates where the cook pot is supported to receive the focussed light from below from the reflector.

Parabolic solar cookers use a bowl shaped reflector to focus the light more directly onto the cook pot, usually from below, and typically do not require a greenhouse enclosure to retain the heat. The parabolic name refers to the shape of the curve of the reflector cross-section.

They will require more frequent reorientation to the sun, possibly every 10 minutes, but they cook food more quickly at higher temperatures compared to other solar cookers, often reaching over 200°C (400°F). They also have the ability to fry foods. Generally parabolic solar cookers will need to be attended to more than box or panel cookers to avoid possibly burning the food at the bottom of the cook pot. They are especially useful for large-scale institutional cooking.

More information on pots, glazing enclosures, and reflective material, used to gather additional sunlight.

Cooking with your solar cooker

The golden rule for solar cooking is get your food on early, and do not worry about overcooking. Most people starting to solar cook will be using a solar panel cooker or solar box cooker. These cookers are oriented to the sun and typically don't need to be turned to follow the sun during a 3-4 hour cooking period. Add much less water to the recipe than you would use cooking with more conventional stoves and ovens.

Once you have decided on a cooker, you will need to find appropriate cookware. Thin-walled dark enameled metal cook pots work well. They are good at heating up quickly. Cast iron pots also work, and are typically preheated in the solar cooker before cooking. The advantage of the heavier pots is that they will help maintain an even cooking temperature if the sun is occasionally blocked by clouds, but most solar cooks seem to use the enamel pots. Because dark cooking pots work the best in solar cookers, it is important to remember to use a nontoxic paint for the exterior cook pot surface if you choose to darken your own pots.

Introductory articles

Learn more

Introductory manuals


Solar cookers international handbook
Solar orientation, Construction of solar cookers and driers, Souriau & Amelin, 6-9-15

Solar orientation, Construction of solar cookers and driers, Souriau & Amelin

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