Hybrid Electrical-Solar Oven: A New Perspective

Abstract

Food habits and cooking methods are changing in recent decades. The recipes and cooking methods for most of the popular fast foods require ingredients to be cooked in an electric oven. The sale of the oven toaster griller type oven is surging in India. Revenue generated from the sale of cookers and ovens in India is the second highest globally. These numbers indicate the expected surge in electrical consumption because of ovens in India. The available solar cooking appliances come with their own set of merits and demerits. In this chapter, a conceptual electrical and solar hybrid cooking appliance has been introduced with a similar user interface and features available in a commercially available electric oven. The conceptualized oven also has a provision of outdoor cooking using solar thermal energy. The described control mechanism and design not only shows the simplicity of the appliance, but also points out how it can replace both electric ovens and solar cooking appliances. In hybrid mode, the smart switching mechanism minimizes the electrical energy requirements by utilizing the solar energy at the maximum available extend. This hybrid mode also saves a lot of cooking time compared to solar mode. The experimental results suggest energy saving of approximately 51% and much lesser cooking time as compared to electric ovens and solar cooking appliances, respectively, when operating in hybrid mode.