Construction of an efficient parabolic solar cooker at low cost

Abstract

Parabolic solar cookers have been used in the world for many years. However, they are not popular in Sri Lanka, mainly due to the high cost and the low efficiency. These cookers are not produced commercially in Sri Lanka, which is the reason for higher price. We have designed and constructed a parabolic solar cooker using locally available materials, which could be produced as a commercial product in Sri Lanka. In particular, mirror pieces which are collected free of charge have been used as the reflecting material. A comparison of the new cooker has been made with an imported cooker of the same size. Preliminary studies indicate that the cooker constructed using locally available material at low cost is more efficient, especially on clear sunny days, than the imported cooker. Depending on the day and the time of the day, the efficiency of the new cooker could be 5- 25% higher than that of the imported cooker.