Description: This kind of cooker uses the light energy from the sun to heat/cook food. A pot or skillet is placed at the focal point of the dish. (It must be black in order to absorb the maximum amount of light energy). The pan heats up and cooks the food.
Justification: This is an appropriate technology because it uses no natural gas or electricity in order to work. There are no harmful off-gases either, just heat. This particular dish was constructed from waste materials, which makes it even more appropriate.
Issues: The only issue is with the construstion of the dish. Many of the materials used can be considered non-AT material, (i.e. sheet aluminum, rivets...)
Location: This dish is currently located in Blue Lake.
Description: This is a parabolic solar cooker made from a decommissioned stadium light reflector. It can be used for cooking, specifically, anything that is made with boiling water. So far, it has worked best by placing a jar painted with black, non-toxic paint at the focal point in the base of the solar cooker while having the cooker pointed at the sun.
Justification: It is appropriate technology because it uses solar power to cook food instead of gas or electricity and it is made from something that otherwise would have been thrown away.
Issues: It can only be used on sunny days and it takes longer than a conventional stove or oven.
Location: This solar cooker is at Sunset and Western in Arcata, but there are a few of the same type around Humboldt County.
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=== NAME OF TECHNOLOGY ===
;Description
:WHAT KIND OF AT IS IT? HOW IS IT USED? FOR WHAT?
;Location
:WHERE IS IT LOCATED?
;Justification as Appropriate
:WHY DO YOU CONSIDER IT AT, BASED ON A DEFINITION OF AT?
;Issues with the Appropriateness
:IN WHAT WAYS DOES IT NOT MEET A DEFINITION OF AT.
;Notes
:E.G. LINK TO THE ORGANIZATION OR PROJECT, DELETE IF NOT APPLICABLE.
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Great photo. Is this one of the decommissioned stadium lights that were redirected from the waste stream? --Lonny 12:08, 6 February 2007 (PST)
Thanks. Yes, it is one of those stadium lights. Hopefully they will be used more often in the community since there are so many of them and their initial purpose is for education. --Ana 21:51, 6 February 2007 (PST)
I am excited to see how these get distributed. If any school teachers see this, contact me about getting one and setting up some lesson plans around it. --Lonny 22:30, 6 February 2007 (PST)
On an average sunny day, how much longer does the solar cooker take, to cook a simple meal like eggs, than a gas stove burner? I could see the solar oven taking off in the south pacific where people have a lot of time, do a lot of cooking, and have intense sunlight for most of the day. Thanks for the great post.--Nicole 9:10, 16 Feb 2007
Cooking time mostly depends on the day's weather and temperature and the size and type of the solar cooker. Assuming that an average sunny day is a warm day around 60-70 degrees Farhenheit, one could probably cook eggs using a satellite dish cooker, similar to the first one shown in this gallery, in the same amount of time one could cook them on medium-low heat on a gas stove. Using the same type of day but boiling water with a stadium light sized cooker, it takes about 30-40 minutes to boil water in a large mason jar. The smaller, stadium light cooker does take time but it can easily be left alone to cook so the user can do something else during that time. Solar cooking is definitely most effective in hot, sunny areas but I have still been able to use my cooker in typically overcast Arcata, CA. --Ana 16 February 2007, 15:48 (PST)
