在大多数家庭和公寓里,烹饪是在炉子上进行的,在烤箱里,或者在那些你累得不想思考的晚上,在微波炉里进行。但这些并不是做饭的唯一方法,它们当然也不是最节能的方法。
You know those hot summer days when you can see heat waves rising from the sidewalk, and people say things like “that sun’s hot enough to fry an egg”? Well, there’s more wisdom to that statement than you might think.
Solar ovens are simple devices that capture heat from the sun with a reflective surface that’s angled or curved towards a cooking pot. Because they can be easily made from cheap materials like scrap cardboard and tinfoil, they are widely used in areas of the world where trees and fossil fuel are scarce or expensive. Once made, they can be used to cook food and boil water in a reasonable amount of time for absolutely no cost.
When you think ofsolar, you probably think of solar PV panels, butsolar energycomes to Earth in both heat and light.Solar panel pricesarecost-competitive with other electricity generation optionsbecausesolar panels have become very efficient at turning light into electricityandthe savings are often much greater than the cost.
In the end, solar panels are a great way toreduce your electricity bill, but you don’t have to cook with electricity.Solar cookerscapturesolar energy’s heatand use that heat to cook your food. You don’t really have to consider “thecost of solar panels” versus “the cost of solar cookers” — you can get both … or make them! Many of theadvantages of solar energyare the samefor both types of solar.
Cooking with solar energy is just one of the many topics featured in Eric Smith’s new book,DIY Solar Projects: How to Put the Sun to Work in Your Home.
Smith was nice enough to let us publish a few excerpts from this book so that we can learn more about how to cook with the clean energy of the sun instead of coal-fired electricity or natural gas.
On the next few pages, you’ll find easy to follow directions for building your own solar oven. Then later this week, we’ll feature some of Smith’s favorite tips for cooking on a solar powered stove!
Tools and Materials Needed
- Straightedge
- Circular saw
- Jigsaw or plunge router
- Tape measure
- Drill/driver with bits
- Speed square
- Stapler
- Eye and ear protection
- #8 countersink bit
- ¾” × 4 × 8-ft. BC or better plywood
- 2 × 12 × 8-ft. SPF SolaRefle× foil or heavy-duty aluminum foil
- 1⅝ and 2½” deck screws
- Clear silicone caulk
- Contact cement, or white glue and brush, optional
- Mid-size black metal pot with glass top
- Wire rack
- ¼ × 17¼ × 17¼” tempered glass
- No-bore glass lid pulls (Rockler item no. 29132)
- ¼ × 2″ hanger bolts with large fender washers and wingnuts
Cutting List
Key Number Dimension Part Material
A 2 1½ × 11¼ × 19″ Base SPF
B 2 1½ × 11¼ × 16″ Base SPF
C 1 ¾ × 19 × 19″ Bottom Plywood
D 1 ¾ × 10 × 17″ Adjustable leg Plywood
E 1 ¾ × 20 × 33¾” Back Plywood
F 1 ¾ × 10 × 25¼” Front Plywood
G 2 ¾ × 20 × 31¼” Sides Plywood
H 1 ¼ × 17¼ × 17¼” Cover Tempered glass
>>UP NEXT: How To Build A Solar Oven – Steps 1 – 7
How To Build A Solar Oven: Steps 1 -7
1.Cut the four 2 × 12 base pieces to length according to the cutting list. Arrange the base parts on a flat work surface and clamp them together in the correct orientation. Check with a carpenter’s square and adjust the parts as needed. Then drill pilot holes and fasten the pieces together with 2½” deck screws.
2.Lay a 4 × 8-ft. sheet of plywood on the worksurface with the better side facing up. Select a good grade of ¾” plywood (we used BC) or you’re likely to have issues with parts warping, and you’ll find it difficult to drive screws into the edge grain of the plywood. Mark and cut the 19 × 19″ bottom piece first. Rest the full sheet of plywood on a couple of old 2 × 4s—you can cut through them as you make your cuts without any need to move them out of the way.
3.To create the panels that form the reflector you’ll need to make beveled cuts on the bottom and sides so the panels fit together squarely. With the best side of the plywood facing up, mark two 20″ x 76″ long pieces, measuring from the two factory edges so the waste will be in the middle. Set your circular saw base to 22½°, then cut along the line you drew at 20″ (20″ is the long side of the bevel). Cut the other piece starting from the opposite end of the plywood. You should end up with two mirror image pieces.
4.重新设置你的锯座,使它是平的,然后把每个20″宽的面板切成两半,这样你就有了4个20 x 38″面板,每个有一个斜角38″边缘。斜边朝上,离你最近,在每个面板上画一条中心线18″,然后在中心线两边的斜边8″做标记。定位速度广场,使其旋转在8″标记,然后旋转速度广场远离中心线,直到22.5°标记在速度广场上满足斜边的顶部。如图所示,沿着速度方块画一条线,然后用直边将线延伸到胶合板的另一边(工厂边缘)。重复其他8″标记,翻转速度正方形并旋转它远离中心线,这样这些线就形成了一个平顶三角形。将圆锯的底部设置为40°,然后沿着有角度的线切割(虽然这看起来不正确,40°是组成一个正方形角时需要的角度)。以同样的方式标记并切割剩下的三个面板。
5.完成反射器零件的切割,使其达到最终尺寸和形状。提示:在切割时夹紧或握住较小的零件可能会很棘手。这里有一个有用的技巧:在你布置好你的切割线之后,把工件放在一对旧的2 × 4s上。用精钉将工件钉在2 × 4的木板上,理想情况下,钉入板材的废料区。让指甲距离任何剪线至少几英寸。设置你的锯子,使切割深度约¼”超过工件的厚度,然后进行切割。
6.组装反射器。支撑两个反光镜的一面对着一块方形的废胶合板夹紧到工作表面,然后加入边缘螺丝打入沉导孔。对另外两件重复同样的步骤,然后在每个角上用四个螺钉将两部分连接在一起,完成反射器。底部边缘应该对齐。上面的边缘不能完美匹配,所以把它们打磨光滑。
7.Make the adjustable leg, which contains parallel slots so the leg can move up and down over a pair of hanger bolts, raising and lowering the angle of the cooker so you can take full advantage of the direction of the sun’s rays. Outline the slots in the adjustable leg of the oven so they are ⅜” wide (or slightly wider than your hanger bolt shafts). Locate a slot 2″ from each edge of the adjustable leg. The slots should stop and start 2″ from the top and bottom edges. Cut the slots with a jigsaw or a plunge router.
>>UP NEXT: How To Build A Solar Oven, Steps 7 -13
How To Build A Solar Oven: Steps 7 – 13
7.Make the adjustable leg, which contains parallel slots so the leg can move up and down over a pair of hanger bolts, raising and lowering the angle of the cooker so you can take full advantage of the direction of the sun’s rays. Outline the slots in the adjustable leg of the oven so they are ⅜” wide (or slightly wider than your hanger bolt shafts). Locate a slot 2″ from each edge of the adjustable leg. The slots should stop and start 2″ from the top and bottom edges. Cut the slots with a jigsaw or a plunge router.
8.Screw the base and the plywood bottom together. Set the adjustable leg against one side of the base, then drill guide holes and install the hanger bolts so they will align with the slots. The centers of the bolts should be at the same height: roughly 2½” up from the bottom of the box. Use large fender washers and wingnuts to lock the adjustable leg in position.
9.用沉头2½”螺钉将反射器固定在底座上。钻孔时要稍微倾斜一下钻头的角度,以免撞坏胶合板边缘。每边使用两个螺钉。
10.剪一些反光片来贴合反射器的侧面和底座。你可以使用耐用的铝箔,但要更坚固一些,可以试试太阳能箔。这里看到的产品基本上是聚乙烯防水材料与反光铝表面。一定要把蛋糕切得足够大,这样它们的边缘就能重叠起来,很容易粘在一起。
11.Glue the reflective sheeting inside the base and reflector, overlapping the corners so all bare wood is covered. Use contact cement or silicone caulk to adhere solar foil, and staple the edges to reinforce the glue; use diluted white glue with a paint brush instead of contact cement if you’re using aluminum foil. Pull or smooth out the reflective material as much as possible; the smoother the surface is, the better it will reflect light.
12.Take measurements to double-check the glass lid size. Ideally, the lid will fit in so it comes to rest about 1″ above the top opening of the box. As shown here, a ¼ × 17 × 17″ piece of tempered glass fits just right. Be sure to order glass with polished edges. You can also just use a clear plastic oven bag instead of the glass. Either will trap heat and speed up the cooking.
13.Caulk the joint between the angled top and the base with clear, 100% silicone caulk. Set a wire rack inside the oven to keep the cooking pot slightly elevated and allow airflow beneath it.
To see more of the beautiful illustrations that go along with this project, check out Eric Smith’s new book,DIY Solar Projects: How to Put the Sun to Work in Your Home.
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