Solar-powered cooking may not be the first choice for modern kitchens but for those who rely on wood or charcoal, it may be the best choi-ce because if used properly, it can be used to cook vegetables, fish and meat.
This was the finding of a mini project carried out by 76 UMS students who designed 10 solar cookers in the shape of boxes and panels to determine the effectiveness of the method.
“The solar cooker is designed in such a way that it should be placed on the ground and facing the sun.
Creative: UMS students showing off their solar cooker. He said the solar cookers were cheap as they were made from re-cycled materials such as paper, aluminium foil and cardboard.
The students only spent between RM5 and RM20 for their design, he said, adding that most of the designs were drawn up on paper.
“One particular design is a heat-trap box, build from plywood and a glass panel. Some old newspapers are placed inside the container which helps act as an insulator to trap the heat.
“As the solar radiation penetrates the glass panel, the heat will be trapped inside the container and in about four to five minutes, the fish would be cooked,” said Chong.
He added, however, that the time taken to cook would depend on the weather.
“We experimented with other kinds of food. While prawns and cuttlefish take only two to three minutes, it takes about 10 minutes to cook an egg,” he said.
Because of the simplicity of its design, Chong said the solar cooker could be used in rural areas as well as used on camping trips.
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