Performance assessment of a solar domestic cooking unit integrated with thermal energy storage system

• Performance of newly developed Double walled cooking unit found suitable for solar cooking applications is studied.
• Evaluation of system and individual component efficiencies during discharging.
• An energy balance is accounted during the discharging process.

The performance evaluation of a newly developed double walled cooking unit (tava type) suitable for an indirect type solar cooking application integrated with thermal energy storage system is presented. The experimental set-up consists of a cooking unit, a storage tank and a positive displacement pump. Therminol 55 and D-Mannitol are used as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) and storage medium respectively. During the cooking experiment the maximum temperature reached by the olive oil in the cooking unit was 152 °C within a duration of 15 min which is comparatively lesser than the time taken by a conventional LPG stove in simmering mode. A heat balance for the developed cooking unit was prepared to account for the heat input and the distribution pattern. An experiment was also conducted to evaluate the average heat loss encountered in the system under no load condition and it was found that there was considerable heat loss in the flow circuit during the discharging process. The results of the present study will be very useful for the design of solar based indoor cooking units.