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Improving Solar Ovens

Our colleagues in Tanzania continue to work at improving the oven – can they make the box more air-tight? Can they find more reflective aluminum?

On our side, we have partnered with Michigan State University 's Mechanical Engineering Design Program to improve the ovens. The Solar Circle Student Design Team was assigned the task of developing an oven that is lighter, cheaper, and more efficient using only domestic Tanzanian materials. It is also a long-term goal for future semester design teams to enable the manufacturing of the improved oven design in Tanzania . The cost of a current oven is $70, approximately 15% of the annual income in the area. The weight of the oven also makes it difficult to be moved.

To ensure sustainability, only domestic materials and manufacturing processes were considered by the MSU team in the final design. Lighter, cheaper box oven materials and various insulations were assessed through computer modeling and lab testing. The final design will be optimized to meet all consumer needs.

It is hoped that the improved solar oven will be significantly lighter, cheaper and more efficient than the current design, allowing more families to enjoy the benefits of a solar powered oven, and a better lifestyle.

Solar Ovens