TITLE:
Performance Evaluation and Economic Analysis of a Domestic Solar Cooker
AUTHORS:
Augustine U. Iwuoha, Briggs M. Ogunedo
KEYWORDS:
Solar, Cooker, Exergy, Evaluation, Economic, Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
30,
2021
ABSTRACT:
The thermal performance of a Domestic Solar Cooker (DSC) was evaluated in this study in accordance with the Society of Agricultural Engineers Standard (ASAE S58, 2003). The DSC is a parabolic solar cooker type with a focal point of 1 m, diameter of 2.14 m, absorber surface area of 0.07 m2, concentrator surface area of 3.84 m2, and concentration ratio of 54 which uses a glass mirror as its reflector. Results of the study show that stagnation temperature of 320°C was attained at a heating rate of 5.4°C/min. The first and second figures of merit values were 0.623 m2K/W and 0.464 m2K/W respectively, indicating that the DSC absorbs 31.82 J of radiated heat energy from the DSC in 1 second while the heat load (4 kg of water) absorbs 0.0512 J of the radiated heat for every degree rise in the pot temperature in a second. The cooking power of the DSC is 618.5 W, and the thermal efficiency is 48.67%. The solar insolation during the test is 453.81 W/m2. This value is observed to be lower than what was obtained from similar solar cookers in published data implying that the DSC will perform better under higher solar insolation values. The cost of producing the DSC is N 12,920.00 (US$ 34) and with a payback time of 153 days, comparatively the DSC is judged to be viable economically.