Internet Resources

The World Wide Web has numerous sites devoted to solar cooking. I investigated the following sites and added my own comments as a starting point for your search on the Web. First, I listed the web addresses of international solar cooking organizations and Texas solar energy organizations. The next section has addresses of my favorite solar cooking sites grouped by topic. The addresses in this section were all active on February 5, 2000 or later. Web site entry pages with tables of contents are identified in bold print.

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Organizations Providing Information About Solar Cooking

In 1987 the organization Solar Box Cookers International (SBCI) was formed to "develop educational materials, and promote knowledge of the technology and use of solar box cookers worldwide" [4]. This organization and its sister group, Solar Box Cookers Northwest (SBCN), publish journals, books and hold conferences designed to spread knowledge about solar cooking.

I recommend their  Solar Cooking Archive  at www.solarcooking.org as the site to visit first. The site has numerous links to other documents on solar cooking and instructions for building solar ovens. The Solar Cooking Archive also provides a link to the archives of the solar cooking e-mail list, solarcooking-l@igc.apc.org. The e-mail list has discussions of people trying solar cooking at home, descriptions of projects bringing solar cooking technology to people in other countries, and new ideas for building cookers.

The solar cooking information I had before accessing the internet was based on SBCI's work. I ordered two designs for solar cookers from newspaper advertisements, and wondered how seemingly unrelated documents shared a few common graphics and instructions [2, 7]. I discovered that the designs I had ordered are derived from the designs offered by SBCI. I also found that internet research on the topic of solar cooking eventually refers back to the SBCI website.

The Texas Solar Energy Society is a local source for information on solar energy. The organization sponsors picnics and events which often include a demonstration of solar ovens. For more information on upcoming events, check the community listing of your local newspaper or see their website at www.txses.org.

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Lists of Web Addresses Related to Solar Cooking

The internet is constantly changing. Use the above organizations and the sites listed below as you begin your own tour of the resources available. Compile a list of popular sites by typing “solar cooking” into a search engine. Sites devoted to teaching are listed if you type “solar cooking” and “physics.” Most of the sites listed below have links to other related sites.

Ideas for teaching about solar energy. These sites have excellent ideas for teaching about the sun and renewable energy.

• www.gallaudet.edu/~tsapsoar/tsaoct.html -- Description of a project for measuring how much sun the schoolyard receives is an excellent starting point for a solar box cooking experiment.
• zebu.uoregon.edu/energy.html -- Entry page for college programs in University of Oregon environmental studies program and a long list of environmental and energy resources links.  

Instructions for using a solar box cooker. These sites have information on troubleshooting the oven and recipes and ideas for using the cooker:

• www.solarcooking.org/solarcooking-faq.htm -- Background information on solar cooking.
• www.solarcooking.org/cctips.htm -- Tips for solar oven construction and use.

Plans for building solar ovens. There are many good plans for building ovens on the internet. I suggest using the aluminum foil tape wherever tape is used in any cooker built following these designs.

• www.solarcooking.org/plans.htm -- List of plans and instructions for versions of box, panel and parabolic cookers.  
• www.eren.doe.gov/solarnow/solarnow.htm -- "Dedicated to promoting education about renewable energy and the environment," this Department of Energy site has background information about solar technology.
• www.eren.doe.gov/solarnow/activ_3.htm -- Plans for an easy-to-make pizza box oven.

Pictures of commercial solar ovens.  Several companies have web pages describing their ovens. The pages also have basic information describing how solar ovens work.

• www.solarchef.com -- This company created the parabolic oven pictured in Figure 2  of the "Types of Solar Ovens" section. They demonstrate their ovens at Texas solar and home and garden events.
• www.sunoven.com --Their Villager oven cooks food for school lunches in several remote villages around the world.