Even today, most of the population in India lives in villages who use wood, coal, sawdust and farm waste as a source of energy for their daily energy. As a result of which the haphazard deforestation is taking place, as a result the amount of forests has decreased. Trees are an important link between humans and the environment. There is an urgent need to increase the use of pollution free and totally free solar energy to save the trees.
The use of lumber, an alternative source of domestic fuel such as coal and kerosene, is also limited to rural and inaccessible areas. Solar energy is also useful for cooking, which requires the most basic daily energy needs. A solar cooker is a solar powered device for cooking.
We are all familiar with the box-shaped solar cooker used in everyday household use (4-5 people). In this type of solar cooker 100 - 125 C. Can get the temperature. Food is cooked in 2 to 2.5 hours, this solar cooker cannot be used for frying and for dishes made at high temperatures like roti and dal - vegetable garnish. Thus, a parabolic concentrated solar cooker is designed to accommodate lower temperatures and longer time limits for cooking.
What is parabolic concentrated solar cooker ?
The parabolic solar cooker is a solar energy source that works primarily on the principle of concentration of sunlight. In this solar cooker the direct rays of the sun falling on a parabolic shape like a saucer / dish are reflected and centered at the focal point and for this concentration the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of the sun rays, these reflecting sun rays receive the cooking utensils.
Heating temperature averages 250 to 350 degrees Celsius. Is equal to. This solar cooker is manually operated. A parabolic concentrated solar cooker can boil 4 to 5 liters of water at 95-98 degrees in just half an hour.
Method of using Parabolic solar cooker
This solar cooker can be used very easily. It is also very easy to maintain. This type of plant is arranged in such a way that the semicircular part of the parabola is facing southwards in the attic or bean or in the open field. A central cooking utensil such as a frying pan or a pressure cooker can also be placed on top of a parabola dish. This solar cooker should rotate towards the sun every fifteen minutes so that more direct rays of the sun can be obtained on the parabola. This solar cooker is fitted with a thin metal rod to rotate towards the sun. Arrange the solar cooker in such a way that the shadow of the metal rod falls exactly under the same rod. Doing so results in more reflective sunlight and less time for cooking.
Various materials for parabolic concentrated solar cooker
This solar cooker is as simple as you can make it at home. Satellite dishes of ready or unneeded televisions with a diameter of 1.5 or 2.3 meters are used to make parabolic reflectors. The front round side of the dish is covered with mirrors or glossy aluminum foil with a reflection of 75% or more to serve as a reflective part. This parabola-shaped dish is supported by a steel or aluminum frame to strengthen it. The cooking utensils are supported in a dish position where the sun's rays are concentrated by a tripod made of mild steel or a single rod frame. The cooking utensils are painted a dull black on the outside. So that the vessel can absorb more heat and the food can be cooked in less time. A ready-made parabolic concentrated solar cooker is also available in the market now. Which can only be purchased at a nominal price of Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000. The use of parabolic concentrated solar cookers has resulted in about a dozen expensive LPG pumps during the year. Gas cylinders can be saved as well as the environment is preserved.
USE
(1) This solar cooker is useful for most cooking processes such as frying, steaming, baking and drying food. Bread, roti can also be easily made on a griddle.
(2) This solar cooker can not only cook lentils or vegetables in less time, but also increase them.
(3) In this solar cooker water can also be heated in less time instead of food.
(4) This solar cooker is very useful for rural as well as urban areas at home, small hotels on the roads, tea shops as well as small establishments by farmers on the farm.
Advantages
(1) This solar cooker is very useful for small and low income families as it is less expensive.
(2) This solar cooker is capable of cooking for 10 to 15 people every day.
(3) This solar cooker does not require any repairs other than keeping the reflective surface clean.
(4) The biggest advantage of a parabolic concentrated solar cooker is that it is environmentally friendly and does not cause any kind of pollution. That is why this cooker keeps the atmosphere, kitchen and cooking utensils away from clean and black mess.
(5) There is no risk of the cooking going out, the water burning or getting worse.
(6) The solar cooker is full of natural flavors, colors and qualities as well as being delicious.
(7) Using it we can reduce or eliminate our dependence on gas and electricity. As well as getting rid of fuel bills like cooking gas.
Limitations
(1) cooking can not be done during the night
(2) Limited use as cooking gas takes longer than cooking gas.
(3) During the monsoon season we cannot cook food in solar cooker.
(4) Poor people cannot afford it due to more initial expenses.
(5) The housewife has to go out in the sun every fifteen minutes to turn this solar cooker towards the sun.
