Wikia

Build a solar cooker

There is a wide variety of solar cooker designs, many of them very simple to build from inexpensive, easy-to-obtain materials. Some can be built in as little as an hour for less than US$5. Start by choosing a cooker design type based on your requirements. The table below lists strengths and weaknesses of the most common types, and shows some popular cookers of each type. Below each table are all cooker plans of that cooker type. You can also buy a solar cooker from a variety of companies.

Selected designs

Panel-style cookers (see all panel designs or available panel plans)

	Advantages	Disadvantages
General characteristics	Easy and cheap to make Can be collapsed for storage or transport	Lower temperatures. Can't fry foods. Cooks only 1-2 pots of food.
Fun-Panel	Built in about an hour from one large cardboard box or from two medium-size sheets of cardboard Doesn't require a large flat sheet of cardboard like the CooKit does Easy to adjust for different sun angles Great cooking power Very good for winter cooking in temperate regions	Not waterproof Might be difficult to use in equatorial climates where sun rises to straight overhead.
Windshield Shade	Fastest cooker to make. Waterproof	Only feasible where windshield shades are sold
Cookit	Folds to the size of a large notebook for storage or transport	Not waterproof Cooks best when the sun is high in the sky.
Sunny Cooker	Uses less cardboard than other panel cookers	Not waterproof Might be more difficult to use at mid-day in equatorial climates where sun rises to straight overhead.

See all Panel cooker plans.

Box-style cookers

	Advantages	Disadvantages
General characteristics	Can cook in multiple pots simultaneously Can be built from many different materials Can be built any size to cook large quantities of food Don't have to be turned to follow the sun while cooking	Construction time longer than panel. Can't fry foods.
The "Minimum"	Simple to build from two cardboard boxes	Not waterproof
Easy Lid	Same as "Minimum" Cooker but there is no need to construct a lid since the top of larger box becomes the lid	Not waterproof
Heaven's Flame	Extra power due to multiple reflectors Can heat multiple pots simultaneously	Must be turned a bit more often to follow the sun Bottom of oven not level as cooker tilts toward sun Not waterproof

See all Box cooker plans.

Parabolic cookers

	Advantages	Disadvantages
General characteristics	Cook as fast as a conventional electric burner. Can fry foods.	More expensive than other models Tricky to make without imported materials. Requires periodic realignment to the sun. Can't bake bread Can damage eyes.
DATS	Can be made out of cardboard Doesn't require the pot to be in a heat resistant plastic bag	Must be realigned to the sun every 45 minutes