Solar cookers use sunlight for cooking, drying and pasteurization. They can be grouped into three broad categories: box cookers, panel cookers and reflector cookers. The simplest solar cooker is the box cooker first built by Horace de Saussure in 1767. A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a transparent lid. It can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and will typically reach temperatures of 90–150 °C (194–302 °F). Panel cookers use a reflective panel to direct sunlight onto an insulated container and reach temperatures comparable to box cookers. Reflector cookers use various concentrating geometries (dish, trough, Fresnel mirrors) to focus light on a cooking container. These cookers reach temperatures of 315 °C (599 °F) and above but require direct light to function properly and must be repositioned to track the Sun. COUNT 7
QSN1 Horace de Saussure built the first box cooker in what year? ANS1 1767 QSN2 Reflector cookers can reach temperatures in Celsius of up to what? ANS2 315 QSN3 What are solar cookers used for? ANS3 cooking, drying and pasteurization QSN4 What are the 3 main categories of solar cookers? ANS4 box cookers, panel cookers and reflector cookers QSN5 Who created the box cooker? ANS5 Horace de Saussure QSN6 What is the typical temperature range for a box cooker? ANS6 90–150 °C (194–302 °F) QSN7 What do reflector cookers require to function? ANS7 direct light