Experimental investigation and computational analysis on a solar domestic cooking unit integrated with phase change material based storage system

Abstract

The continuous increase in the level of green house gas emissions and the increase in fuel prices are the main driving forces behind the efforts to more effectively utilize various sources of renewable energy In many parts of the world solar radiation is considered to be one of the most prospective sources of energy though it is intermittent in nature Among the different energy end uses energy for cooking is one of the basic and dominant end uses in developing countries An enormous amount of energy is thus expended regularly on cooking Energy consumption for cooking in developing countries is a major component of the total energy consumption including commercial and non commercial energy sources The major factor that limits the solar energy for various applications is that, it is a cyclic time dependent energy source Therefore solar systems require energy storage to provide energy during the night and overcast periods One of the major requirements in using solar energy for cooking applications is the development of a cooking unit which should be fast and energy efficient newline newline