Design of Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (ISECookers)
Design of Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (ISECookers)
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What is an ISEC stove?
What is an ISEC stove?
Insulated Solar Electric Cooking (ISEC) is a cooking method developed by Cal Poly students in 2015. ISEC's enable their users to cook food with renewable solar energy and without direct exposure to fire and smoke.
Diagram of Example ISEC Designs. See http://sharedcurriculum.peteschwartz.net/solar-electric-cooking/ for a full overview of ISECookers from their construction to the research behind the working design principles. Some good videos from the blog that can get you acquainted with ISECookers and their progress include a presentation to Engineering Without Borders (EWB), Sweden from June 2021 and a presentation from January 2022 at the ETHOS (Engineers in the Technical and Humanitarian Opportunities of Service) conference.
Design Options:
Design Options:
The design idea is simple: Solar Energy/Electricity + Heater + Insulation = ISECooker. However, how this is accomplished is based upon what is accessible and cost effective for local communities. By having a diversity of design options, the technology can be made to fit the specific needs and lifestyles of communities around the globe.
Electric Heater: Uses solar energy to produce heat electrically
Electric Heater: Uses solar energy to produce heat electrically
Types:
Resistive Heater
NiCr wire
Use a thermoswitch to control temperature
Positive Thermal Coefficient (PTC) thermistor
Regulates temperature without a thermoswitch by increasing resistance with temperature
Location:
External
Immersed
Insulation: Prevents heat transfer loss from the heater and pot, requiring less input energy & power.
Insulation: Prevents heat transfer loss from the heater and pot, requiring less input energy & power.
Fiberglass
Perlite
Vermiculite
Rockwool
Cotton
Wool
Straw
Clay
Electricity Source:
Electricity Source:
Solar Panel
Grid Connection
Hybrid Grid-Solar
Battery Storage
Housing:
Housing:
Materials
Concrete and Concrete meshes
Stainless Steal
Aluminum
Plastic
Structural support for non-rigid insulating materials
insulated concrete
aerogels
Thermal Storage: Stores heat energy from the day to be used after the sun goes down.
Thermal Storage: Stores heat energy from the day to be used after the sun goes down.
Phase Change Thermal Storage (PCTS)
Requires phase change material (PCM)
Thermal Storage In Action
Thermal Storage In Action
See the power of solid aluminum thermal storage during a workshop in Togo where 1 liter of water came to a boil in under four seconds! This demonstrates that ISECookers do not have to be constrained to boil and simmer styles of cooking. With STS, high power cooking can be achieved!
The ISECooker is more than just a technology. From its beginnings with Dr. Peter Schwartz at Cal Poly, collaborators around the world have joined to create a global learning community that continues to develop and test the cooker in local communities.
From 2022-2023, the ISEC projects have been funded by UK Aid through Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS). The current collaborators on the map from left to right: Fiji, Jamaica, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Gujarat, Kerala, Nepal.
The locations in bold were visited by Dr. Schwartz from August 2022 - August 2023. You can read about it in his trip log on his blog.
The ISECookers in many of these locations have been studied for the potential of the technology based upon deforestation and solar incidence. You can see this data at the following website.
To learn more about the following topics, see the construction manual on Pete's Blog:
To learn more about the following topics, see the construction manual on Pete's Blog:
What is 100 W?
Different designs for storing and delivering energy.
Thermal Conductivity
Different heating technologies
Drawing power from the solar panel
Insulation and construction materials
Safety and corrosion
Cooking
Developing a business collaboration
Instrumentation: Things you may want to buy
Manual
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