State of the art of solar cooking: An overview

Cooking is the prime requirement for people all over the world. It accounts for a major share of energy consumption in developing countries. Solar energy is contributing major energy requirements of the world's population particularly in developing countries. Among the different energy end uses, energy for cooking is one of the basic and dominant end uses in developing countries. There are number of solar energy based cooking appliances has been design, developed and tested for various applications across the globe. In this paper attempt has been made to provide comprehensive view on standard testing approach of solar cooker, energy and exergy analysis approach and economic evolution of different types of solar cooker. Thermal performance of box type and concentration type solar cookers in both laboratories and actual field conditions also rigorously reviewed and presented in this paper.