Lecuona-Neumann, A.; Nogueira-Goriba, J.I.; Famiglietti, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, M.C.; Boubour, J. Solar Photovoltaic Cooker with No Electronics or Battery. Energies2024, 17, 1192.
Lecuona-Neumann, A.; Nogueira-Goriba, J.I.; Famiglietti, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, M.C.; Boubour, J. Solar Photovoltaic Cooker with No Electronics or Battery. Energies 2024, 17, 1192.
Lecuona-Neumann, A.; Nogueira-Goriba, J.I.; Famiglietti, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, M.C.; Boubour, J. Solar Photovoltaic Cooker with No Electronics or Battery. Energies2024, 17, 1192.
Lecuona-Neumann, A.; Nogueira-Goriba, J.I.; Famiglietti, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, M.C.; Boubour, J. Solar Photovoltaic Cooker with No Electronics or Battery. Energies 2024, 17, 1192.
Abstract
he paper offers an innovative cooking utensil design for remote, isolated, and even peri-urban communities at a low price, with high reliability and simple construction. It can alleviate energy poverty and improve food security. This utensil uses only local solar energy directly and allows comfortable indoor cooking. This paper provides the design principles of a solar cooker/frying pan or generic heater, based on a PV panel or a plurality of them, which are directly connected to a plurality of Positive Thermal Coefficient (PTC) resistors to match the power. PTCs are nowadays produced in massive quantities and are widely available at low cost. The proposed device does not require an electronic controller or a battery for its operation. The aim is for family use, although the design can be easily scaled to a larger size or power, maintaining its simplicity. Electric heating inside or attached to the cooking pot, plus the temperature self-limiting effect of PTCs, allows for thermally insulating the cooking pot from its outside using ordinary materials. Insulation en-hances energy efficiency during cooking and keeps cooked food warm for a long time. Clean development would receive a significant impulse with its application. A simple mathematical model describes its functioning and states guidelines for adequate design. The results indicate a successful proof of concept and high efficiency both for water and oil as representatives of cooking.
Keywords
solar e-cooking; photovoltaics; ptc heater; sustainable development; appropriate technology; energy poverty; clean cooking
Subject
Engineering, Energy and Fuel Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
