Abstract
The sustainability benefits of using solar cookers in developing countries have been analysed widely in the literature. However, the sustainability potential of solar cookers in developed economies has not been explored yet, which is the topic of this paper. Three types of solar cooker – box, panel and parabolic – were built as part of this research, using mostly (>70%) reused household materials. Their life cycle environmental and economic performance was analysed and compared to conventional microwaves. The results were first considered at the level of individual cookers and then scaled up to the levels of a city, region and country, considering a conservative (10%) uptake of solar cookers in substitution of microwaves. The contribution of home-made solar cookers to a circular economy and their social sustainability were also analysed. Spain was used as an illustrative example to demonstrate the potential sustainability benefits of using solar cookers in developed countries. The results suggest that, in comparison with microwaves, they could reduce annual life cycle costs by up to 40% and environmental impacts by up to 65%, including greenhouse gas emissions. At the national level, 42,600 t of CO2 eq. would be avoided annually while the consumption of primary energy would be reduced by 860 TJ. Furthermore, the electricity consumption would decrease by 67 GWh/yr and 4200 t/yr of household waste would be avoided. If solar cookers were built entirely by reusing household materials, up to €23.2 million could be saved per year. Finally, the development of craft activities to build and repair the cookers can help people to engage socially and reduce stress, thus enhancing their social wellbeing. It can also increase people's awareness of a more sustainable use of resources. Therefore, home-made solar cookers represent a promising opportunity to motivate behavioural changes towards a circular economy and sustainability in developed countries.
Highlights
Introduction and literature reviewSolar cookers are simple devices that utilise solar energy for heating or cooking of food (SCI 2004)
Environmental impacts and costs of solar cookers The environmental impacts and costs the three types of solar cooker are compared in Figure 4 for the three lifespans considered, based on the functional unit “heating food with solar cookers once a day over the period of eight months”
The results indicate that the impacts of solar cookers are from 10% (GWP) to 59 times (FAETP) lower than for the microwaves
Summary
Solar cookers are simple devices that utilise solar energy for heating or cooking of food (SCI 2004). Their use has been promoted widely as a sustainable alternative to biomass and fossil fuels in developing countries (Cuce and Cuce 2013). Little attention has been paid to the potential sustainability benefits that solar cookers might bring to developed countries. These could include reduced use of energy from fossil-fuels, lower environmental impacts and costs as well as various social benefits
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