Thermal Efficiency of a Box-Type Solar Cooker during Rainy Seasons

Abstract

This paper discusses the computation of performance parameters for a box-type solar cooker in a sub-Saharan country during the rainy season, when solar activity is significantly attenuated due to frequent cloudy periods. The experiments were conducted at the Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Physical Sciences of the École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Abidjan in a sub-Saharan country. Throughout the cooking tests, the illuminance was measured, and the temperatures of the ambient air and various locations within the solar cooker were recorded. Average illuminance was determined through measurements using an EPPLEY pyranometer, ranging from 636.98 W/m² to 517.91 W/m², depending on the day. The average energy efficiency of the cooker was calculated for the cooking of various food items, ranging from 20.48% to 26.59%. The overall loss coefficient ranged between 5.63 and 5.82. The results obtained from these tests are satisfactory and highly encouraging, particularly considering that they were conducted during the rainy season.