How to Create a Solar Oven

Capture the sun's rays for energy-efficient cooking.

Solar ovens, or solar cookers, are used around the world to cook food when fuel and electricity are unreliable or in short supply. You may not need a solar oven to prepare your food, but building a solar oven is a great science project and a fun way to make an unusual, energy-efficient meal with friends or family. There are many varieties of solar ovens, but a pizza box oven requires only inexpensive and readily available materials.

Things You'll Need

• Pizza or similar cardboard box
• Box cutter
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic wrap or oven bag
• Black spray or tempera paint
• Stick

Instructions

1. Cut a flap out of the top of the cardboard box. Cut three sides of a square, leaving about an inch of cardboard around each side. With the lid shut, fold the flap to the outside so that it stands up, forming a reflector.

2. Seal the inside of the hole you cut with clear plastic wrap or a plastic oven bag. Use a double layer of plastic (or one bag with the end taped shut) and tape it to the inside of the lid to make it airtight.

3. Line the inside of the flap and the inside of the cardboard box with aluminum foil.

4. Paint the foil on the bottom of the box black.

5. Place your solar oven in a sunny spot and prop the reflector flap up with a stick, adjusting the flap and oven placement so the flap reflects as much sunlight as possible into the plastic oven window.

6. Place the food to be cooked into the box and shut the lid. Tape it closed if it isn't a very tight fit. Expect to cook the food about twice as long as you would in a traditional oven. It should reach around 200 degrees Fahrenheit on a sunny day.

References

• Home Science Tools: Build a Solar Oven

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish