The outside world is a place filled with a range of different power sources. In the contemporary age, people might be inclined to think that all important power sources are created by man, like electricity or heating in major urban centers. They might also be certain that all of these are produced by complex systems of machines, even when they might come from renewable sources like wind or water. However, at the same time, there is the ultimate power source that is both free and practically endless – the Sun.
Best of all, its energy can be harnessed with nothing more than a couple of household items combined together. The object that can do this is called a solar oven
Basic Principle
A solar oven is a heating object that uses the power of the sun to heat up a small and confined space. Essentially, it is an isolated box that has its upper lid made out of a transparent material. It is placed in sunlight, where the rays heat up the inside of the same box to a temperature that can be used to slow-cook food. Interestingly enough, the temperature will never go past a certain point where it becomes a fire hazard, as long as the oven is correctly made. Thanks to this setup, a solar oven can be used to prepare food anywhere and over the entire year, as long as that place has access to sunlight.
Needed Materials
To make this type of heating device, only a selection of readily available materials is needed. The list includes two large cardboard boxes, one smaller than the other, a stack of old newspapers, aluminum foil, a clear Plexiglas panel the size of the bigger box, silicone glue, a wooden frame (also the size of the bigger box) and two small hinges accompanied with adequate metal screws.
Making the Oven
The first step of how to make a homemade solar oven is to insulate the interior of the larger box with crumpled and crushed newspapers. With the use of silicone, the newspaper should line the enter interior of the box while its top remains open. The thickness of this isolation layer should fill up all the space that is left when the smaller box is put inside of the larger one. Once this is finished, the smaller box interior should be covered with aluminum foil. Again, silicone glue should be used for this and at the end, the smaller box should have all aluminum-covered sides apart from its open top. With both boxes completed, the smaller one should be glued to the insulation layer of the bigger one, making the body of the solar oven.
Finally, the wooden frame should be glued on top of the oven and hinges screwed into it, while their other side should be connected to the Plexiglas panel. This finalizes the over’s door that can be easily opened or closed. With this, the oven is completed – light will go through the oven’s door and heat up the air in the interior thanks to the reflective tin foil. At the same time, the isolation layer will keep the same heat inside of the oven.
Using this guide on how to make a homemade solar oven, anyone can build one of these and make sure they can cook with nothing more than the sun.
