With solar-powered ovens and cookers, you can cook food using just the light of the sun, thereby producing no emissions and reducing your overall carbon footprint. They're useful for power outages and other emergencies, but you might also want to incorporate them into your daily life.
If you're interested in doing some solar cooking, check out these options:
Sun Ovens International
This company produces both family- and institutional-sized solar ovens that use the reflected light and heat of the sun to bake, broil, and steam foods. These sun ovens harness the power of the sun to bake bread, roast chicken, dehydrate fruit, or do anything else you'd do with an electric oven. You can have one on hand just for emergencies, or use it regularly to save energy both on cooking and on cooling the house. A basic global sun oven costs $299, and one with a dehydrating and preparedness accessory package costs $364.
Sun BD Corporation
Solar electric ovens produced by Sun BD give you the option of combining solar power with electricity, so you can cook in a variety of weather conditions and locales. The company manufactures two models, both of which are U.S.-made. the Tulsi solar electric oven sells for $339, and the larger SunFocus sells for $629.
SOS Sport Solar Oven
This small oven is particularly good when you're on the go, camping, hiking, or trekking through the wilderness. The $199 oven comes complete with two pots, an oven thermometer, an instruction manual, and a cookbook.
DIY Solar Cookers
If you're interested in making your own solar cooker, SolarCooking.org provides plans for a variety of sizes and styles, including a collapsible solar box cooker, a solar water pasteurizer, a sun pan, and a tire cooker.
The sun is a reliable and cheap energy source, and these solar ovens will help you to harness it and make your daily food preparation more earth-friendly.
