PROJECT 34

SOLAR AUTO SHADE REFLECTOR OVEN

I have made several solar ovens, some being overly complex, others being ineffective, but when I saw this simple solar reflector oven made from an auto shade I found it to be perfect for introduction the concept.

It is simple, cheap, and it works.

While it is flimsy, and you may need to use sticks to hold it in place in windy weather, the material allows for it to be tilted toward the sun, or be folded up and stored easily.

Temperatures of 350 degrees F can easily be reached.

Material:

•   Reflective accordion-folding car sunshade

•   Bucket or cardboard box

•   Cake rack, wire frame, or grill grate (optional)

•   Black Pot

•   Oven cooking bag

Tools:

•   Scissors

•   Tape

Procedure:

1.     Place a black pot on top of a square cake rack.

2.     Put the pot and rack inside a plastic baking bag.

3.     Place the rack on the tope of the bucket.

4.     Lay the sunshade out.

5.     Bring the edges together and tape into a funnel shape around the pot.

5.1.   Since the shade is flexible it needs to sit on the wire rack.

5.2.   It also allows the sun’s rays to reflect on all sides of the pot.

Lessons Learned:

This project is a great way to learn that solar energy is more useful that just using solar panels to make electricity. It is actually a much more efficient use of the sun to make heat rather than convert to electricity, then convert the electricity to chemical energy (batteries), back to electricity, then to work (causing heat).