Solar Oven

Solar Oven

Josh Vallese

Problem:

For my Science Fair project I will be making a model of a solar oven.

Hypothesis:

My hypothesis is that most of the foods that I will put in the oven will cook or have a decent brown. I think this because my oven looks like many of the models and is properly assembled.

Procedure:

Measure original temperature of food

Get supplies, box, tray, tinfoil, plastic wrap, bananas, chocolate chips, egg, plexiglass, and black spray paint

Create a solar oven

Place the box outside or under a lamp, place item to be cooked in tray and record and see changes

Measure the temperature/analyze the food again

Do 3 times for accurate test (on different foods)

Data:

Abstract:

My project was an engineering project, building a solar oven. Making an oven that highly depends on solar power and sunlight. I think that all of the things that I try to cook will be decently fried or cooked. I think that, because my box looks kind of like an oven and like many examples I have seen. I chose this topic because I wanted to build something and see how it does in testing.

To create a solar oven that works, many materials are needed. I used, a cardboard box with the lid tin-foiled. Then the walls made of tin-foiled styrofoam which is what my plexiglass sits on. Inside is a platform of black and a metal bowl. The tinfoil from the lid would collect sunlight and reflect down to the metal bowl. To do that, you have to have a great angle to make it perfect. The plexiglass will help because it will create green house gasses, which is a process of trapping heat and re-radiated heat trapped between the glass and the metal bowl. That will make it even hotter inside the solar oven. I tested by measuring the temperature of the foods before and after. The weather didn’t cooperate so I got a heat lamp to do my testing with.

The results in my testing are quite interesting. The first food item I tested on was a banana. The banana sat out until it was recorded at room temperature (70°F). After two hours of cooking in the solar oven, the banana’s temperature was taken out and measured at 155°F. The banana increased in temperature by 85 degrees fahrenheit. The banana was golden brown and was almost fried. The second food I tested was chocolate. The chocolate also sat out until recorded at room temperature and after two hours it had reached 195°F. The chocolate wasn’t completely liquidated, but if somebody were to press on it, it would completely spread. The temperature increase was 125°F! The third and final food I tested was an egg. The egg was only in the oven for an hour but it had reached the limit on the thermometer at 200°F. The egg increased in 130°F and was completely hard!

My hypothesis was correct. My hypothesis stated that everything will be decently cooked and everything was. My experiment was as accurate as possible dealing with the no sunlight situation. I had to keep the lamp in the same spot the entire time for In conclusion, my solar oven worked extremely well.

Conclusion:

My hypothesis was correct. My hypothesis stated that everything will be decently cooked and everything was. My experiment was as accurate as possible dealing with the no sunlight situation. The ways I could improve it could be if I used real sunlight and if we tested each food multiple times. I had to keep the lamp in the same spot the entire time for an accurate test. In conclusion, my solar oven worked extremely well.