Easy Cooking with a Parabolic Solar Oven

We have all heard about solar power. This is an alternative source of energy that uses solar panels. With the diminishing sources of energy, people today are looking for ways to reduce the usage of non-renewable sources of energy. The sun is one of the abundant sources of energy. It is renewable and available to us everyday.

There are different ways to use solar energy. It can be used to generate electricity with the use of solar panels. It can also be used to cook food in the form of a solar oven. It can replace the use of firewood or LPG in producing heat energy for cooking. A parabolic solar oven is one of the preferred types of solar oven. This solar oven comes in a curve shape or parabola which is used to collect sunlight. Cooking rate with the use of a parabolic solar oven is just the same with the conventional oven. Also, using a parabolic solar oven can save time and money. It skips the part where you have to look for or buy firewood and set it up for cooking. It also heats up faster than a conventional oven rather than using firewood.

You can build your own parabolic solar oven with just the use of a discarded satellite dish. It is perfect because of its parabolic shape. You just need to coat the insides with a mirror finish reflective aluminum sheet or something similar to this. To allow the food to cook faster and better, you can look for a satellite dish that is more bowl-shaped. It can also act as a wind breaker.

After making the parabolic solar oven, you now have to look for the perfect cooking pot. It must be dark-colored and should be placed in the right position on a small stand sitting in the point of focus of the oven for better cooking. Imagine the concept of a magnifying glass used to heat a target. This should be the basis of where the pot should be positioned. The food should be cooked after 60 to 90 minutes. If not yet cooked by then, change the position for better orientation of the sun.

Safety precautions should be observed when using a solar oven. Always wear dark-tinted ultraviolet protective sunglasses. This is to prevent damaging your retina from the reflection of the aluminum. Although the reflection helps the food to cook faster, it also burns the retina quite easily. Also make sure to cover the solar oven when it is not used. This is to prevent accidentally blinding people from the reflective flashes. It also prevents it to heat up that may accidentally burn people or start a fire. Just follow these precautions and utilize your parabolic solar oven properly to make your cooking lifestyle much easier and environment friendly.