The SolSource 3-in-1 is a combination solar cooker, heater, and electricity generator developed by One Earth Designs (OED), a nonprofit organization with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and Xining and Hong Kong, China.
The device enables rural communities to harness the sun’s energy for portable solar cooking and supports the use of heating and electricity generation modules as well. High-temperature parabolic solar cookers are currently available and used in Himalayan communities, however, they are often made out of mirror-lined concrete shells that are extremely heavy, fragile, and do not stand up to the harsh weather and climate of western China. Many nomadic villagers shared with OED a desire for parabolic solar cookers that are portable enough to be taken into the fields while working or tending livestock, but sturdy enough to withstand the harsh winds of the Tibetan Plateau. Along with student teams from Wellesley College, Harvard, MIT, and Qinghai Normal University, OED worked with rural communities in the Himalayan region to design the SolSource 3-in-1 according to local needs and with local materials when feasible.
The reflective component of the SolSource 3-in-1 is a lightweight, foldable parabolic shell comprised of several triangular panels stretched across a curved frame and lined with aluminized polyester film (Mylar®). This shell is supported by a detachable tripod which can be staked to the ground to prevent the cooker from blowing over. Cooking, heating, and electricity generation is possible by placing different modules on the potstand (and therefore at the reflector's focal point).
The first module, based on standard pots, cooks food and pasteurizes water. The cooker's high focal temperature enables traditional cooking that relies primarily on stir-frying and boiling water for tea and tsampa. A second module, still in development, will generate up to 20 watts of thermo-electricity. A third module, also in development, collects and stores heat for later use in the home.
Recent news and developments
- February 2011: A photo of a recent version of the SolSource 3-in-1 parabolic cooker.
- February 2011: A team led by inventor Scot Frank has landed a spot in an entrepreneurial boot camp hosted by a group called the Unreasonable Institute. With the help of sixty world-class investors and entrepreneurs at this summer’s institute in Boulder, Colo., Frank hopes to bring the Sol-Source 3-in-1 stove to a mass market. Worldwide, pollution from combustion stoves used indoors sickens and kills more than 1 million every year. Many victims are children. More Information...
- June 2009: Wellesley College senior wins $75,000 environmental prize - Wicked Local Welsley
- May 2009: SolSource 3-in-1: An Alternative Energy Solution - WorldChanging
- October 2008: Five to Watch - The Boston Globe
- July 2008: Utah native utilizing sun's rays in Asia - Deseret News
- June 2008: Wellesley College student helps Tibetans - Wellesley Townsman blog
- June 2008: How MIT made harnessing sun easier in Tibet - Mangalorean
See also
- One Earth Designs
- Catlin Powers
- Scot Frank
External links
Contact
Catlin Powers
Executive Vice President/Science Advisor
catlin@oneearthdesigns.org