AMANECER

Solar Cooker News

November 2008

The group will be hosting a Solar Oven Dinner on November, 19th at 6:30 pm. All are welcome! Tickets are $5 per person and sold at the door or can be reserved in advanced by emailing hw282@cornell.edu.

With the end of another semester in sight, the solar cooker team is in the process of building two bigger box cookers so that they can perform some tests to characterize how the solar ovens scale up.

The group is currently finishing the construction of the 1-D scale up and will begin testing as they build the 3-D scale up. If you're free Monday or Wednesday 8-10 pm or Sunday 1-5 pm, the group would appreciate help with the building. We are located in Thurston B02 (Winter Lab) and will be working each week until Thanksgiving break.

Next spring break, our advisor will join a couple students to visit Sabana Grande. This is sure to give them many great ideas for new projects!

Project Overview

Three years ago the Solar Oven team partnered with Grupo Fenix, an organization from the Universidad Nacional de Ingeneria in Nicaragua that works in rural areas to increase awareness of sustainable lifestyles and research renewable energy.  In a region suffering from deforestation, Solar Ovens eliminate the need for women to spend hours of their day gathering resources and reduce the health risks from fires.  dealing specifically with a small community in Sabana Grande, the Solar Oven Team works to increase Solar Oven usage by creating a sustainable solution that is culturally acceptable and desirable. 

The current goals of Amenecer are:

• Build and characterize two larger box cookers with a 50% increase in interior volume, increasing it by creating a:
  • 1-D scale up (make the oven wider)
  • 3-D scale up (all dimensions increase)
• The testing will be done by measuring the time it takes to boil 5 pounds of water in
  • 1 big pot with 5 pounds of water
  • 5 small pots with 1 pound of water each
• Test paint adhesiveness using ASTM testing methods on zinc and galvanized steel sheets
  • Test adhesiveness after different using different preparation methods on each material
• Try to obtain a sample of the paint used in Nicaragua
• Consider other paint options that may perform better when exposed to high temperatures, especially for the paint that will be on the inside of the boxes and on the black plate.