How Do Solar Cookers Help?

Solar Cookers Save Power

• Because they use only sunlight, solar cookers save the electricity, natural gas, propane or wood that would otherwise be used. Solar cookers also have very low "embodied energy," a term used to indicate how much power it takes to create the energy-saving device itself. While solar electric panels have fairly high embodied energy because of the power-intensive process of silicon production, solar cookers can be made from a cardboard box, aluminum foil, and a piece of glass, all of which can often be salvaged, thus using no new materials at all.

Solar Cookers Save Money

• Solar cookers cost little to build. Once they are built, they cost nothing to run. These low costs are in contrast to the relatively high costs of propane, gas or electric stoves and the propane, gas and electricity that are necessary to run them. Solar cookers are ideal for people in poverty-stricken tropical countries, where sunshine is plentiful and money is scarce.

Solar Cookers Save Trees

• In many parts of the world, most people still cook with firewood or charcoal. The impact of this is intense enough in some areas to result in the total destruction of forests around densely populated areas. For example, according to the online newspaper The Citizen, it has been estimated that 70 percent of the forest destruction in Tanzania is the result of the need for firewood. Widespread use of solar cookers in such areas would greatly reduce the need to cut down trees.

Solar Cookers Are Immune to Power Outages

• People who have electric stoves are unable to cook when the power goes out. If a power outage lasts for a day or more, this can lead to inconvenience and hardship. If people have a solar cooker, and a day with at least a few hours of sunshine, they will be able to cook food and boil water.