Solar Cookers
A solar cooker can cook anything that can be cooked in a conventional oven; they can roast meat, steam vegetables and even bake bread. If you plan to use your solar cooker on a regular basis to ensure healthier cooking and energy savings, or only intend to use your cooker on lovely sunny days to replace your weekly braai, Sustainable.co.za has the solar cooker for you. If you have any questions regarding the Solar Cookers below, please do not hesitate to Contact Us
The choices are growing
There are over 65 different types of solar cookers and infinite variations of each type, but solar cookers can be roughly divided into 5 distinct types.
- Box solar cookers: box solar cookers withstand temperatures of up to 150°C and can be used to warm food and drinks and can even purify water and pasteurise milk. They consist of an inside insulator and a transparent top with dark bottomed pots or cooking trays. Box solar cookers can be made from locally sourced materials such as cardboard, wood and glass.
- Panel solar cookers: these cookers use reflective panels to direct solar heat to a cooking pot enclosed in a clear plastic bag, and can be made from local materials such as aluminium foil and cardboard. They can be folded for easy storage. Temperatures generated range from low to moderate, although they can get hot enough to purify water and cook rice.
- Solar kettles: aside from the obvious task of heating water, solar kettles can also serve as solar cookers, delivering dry heat of up to 220°C. They use evacuated solar glass tubes to catch and store solar energy, and don’t rely on direct sunlight for heat. An added advantage of solar kettles is that the stored heat is enough to keep water hot overnight.
- Parabolic solar cookers: the most difficult to construct of all solar cookers, parabolic cookers are able to reach high temperatures but unlike other solar cookers they require supervision.
- Hybrid cookers: use solar energy and electric energy to generate heat. While they are capable of operating come rain or shine, they lack many of the advantages of cookers that use only solar energy, such no carbon emissions and no running costs.
Solar cooker advantages
- A solar cooker can cook anything that can be cooked in a conventional oven; they can roast meat, steam vegetables and even bake bread
- Solar cookers don’t require any raw materials, such as wood or paper, to generate heat, which helps to preserve the natural flora and prevents deforestation
- With no wood or oil, no poisonous gases are released into the atmosphere
- Solar cookers don’t require any flames, so they are safe around children and pets and don’t lead to accidental fires
- As solar cookers don’t need to be monitored, time that would have been spent supervising the cooking process can be better spent doing something else
- Massive energy and financial savings
- Food is healthier because there is no need to use oil or fat to cook food
Reap the benefits of purchasing a solar cooker
Sustainable.co.za carries a range of solar cookers to meet your unique needs. If you plan to use your solar cooker on a regular basis to ensure healthier cooking and energy savings, or only intend to use your cooker on lovely sunny days to replace your weekly braai, Sustainable.co.za has the solar cooker for you.
And if you’re wondering how to use a solar cooker, don’t worry, we have the expert advice and guidance that you need to get your cooker up and running in no time.
Start benefitting from clean, energy efficient solar cooking and place your order for a solar cooker from Sustainable.co.za now.
