Abstract

A Pizza Box Solar Oven is a great Solar Oven Project which can help for better
understand of science behind solar energy the energy inherent in the sun's powerful
rays which so abundantly cover our planet earth.
Have you ever eaten food that was cooked outside, such as for a BBQ or while
camping? During the summer it can be a lot of fun to be outdoors and enjoy eating the
fruitsor burgersof your cooking labors. But you don't always need to burn wood,
charcoal or gas to cook outdoors. Did you know that you can directly use solar power to
cook food? This can be done using a solar oven, which is a low-cost, ecologically
friendly technology. In this activity you will build your very own simple solar oven out of a
pizza box to gather the sun's rays andcook a tasty treat for you!
Simple solar cooker can harness, multiply and concentrate the energy from the
sun to levels that can cook almost any food you can imagine. And It is accomplished by
the basic principle of passive solar design which can concentrate a source of energy to
such a point (level) as to create a change in the object (food) receiving the concentrated
energy.
Your solar oven will reach about 200 F. on a sunny day, and will take longer to
heat things than a conventional oven, but can cook just as well.

Chapter I

1. Introduction
The sun is hot enough to bake food. Here's how to make a simple solar oven that
gets hot enough to warm up cookies and other treats. It won't get really hot, though, so
you can't bake things in it and you won't burn yourself when observing with it. Solar
ovens use solar energylight and heat emitted from the sunto cook food. They can
also be used to pasteurize water or even sterilize instruments. How does a solar oven
work? The simple answer is that it is designed to absorb more heat than it releases.
The solar oven you will build in this activity is a relatively simple one made out of
a pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap and a sheet of black paper. You will cut a flap
out of the pizza box's lid and line this flap with aluminum foil. This will reflect sunlight
into the box. You'll also seal the opening with plastic wrap. This plastic "window" works
like a greenhouse roof, allowing (direct and reflected) sunlight to pass into the box,
while also retaining heat. At the bottom of the box, you will place black paper. This will
act as a heat sink that absorbs direct and reflected sunlight to warm it, which will heat
food placed on top of it.

2. Hypothesis
Sunlight is pure energy. The sun is the original energy source. Nearly all other
sources of energy originally got their energy from the sun. Plants convert solar energy
into leaves, flowers and fruits. Animals, which eat plants, convert the energy into body
mass. When animals die, their energy is decomposed and over extensive time,
becomes stored as oil, coal or natural gas. Sunlight also provides energy in the form of
heat and light for humans, animals and plants.
Use the sun energy to Heat up a Tasty treat with this simple solar Oven.
A. How Solar Cooking Works?
B. Will we be able to cook marshmallows with solar energy?
C. How long do they think it will take to cook the marshmallows in the solar cooker?

3. Significance of the Study

2

The pizza box solar oven is a great project because it demonstrates two of the
three basic principles of passive solar design working in concert with each other to
accomplish a goal of using Solar Energy in Cooking Foods.

Chapter II
Methodology
3

1.Materials Needed

1 Cardboard Pizza Box

1 Cutter / Scissors

1 Roll Aluminum foil

1 Clear Tape

1 Plastic Wrap(a heavy-duty or freezer zip lock bag will also work)

1 Black Construction Paper

1 News Paper

1 Ruler, or Wooden Spoon

1 Thermometer

Procedure
1. Use a cutter or sharp scissors to cut a flap in the lid of the pizza box. Cut along three
sides, leaving about an inch between the sides of the flap and the edges of the lid. Fold
this flap out so that it stands up when the box lid is closed.

2. Cover the inner side of the flap with aluminum foil so that it will reflect rays from the
sun. To do this, tightly wrap foil around the flap, then tape it to the back, or outer side of
the flap.
4

3. Use clear plastic wrap to create an airtight window for sunlight to enter into the box.
Do this by opening the box and taping a double layer of plastic wrap over the opening
you made when you cut the flap in the lid. Leave about an inch of plastic overlap around
the sides and tape each side down securely, sealing out air. If you use a plastic bag, cut
out a square big enough to cover the opening, and tape one layer over the opening.

4. Line the bottom of the box with black construction paperblack absorbs heat. The
black surface is where your food will be set to cook. How much you need will depend on
the size of the pizza box you're using to make your solar oven.
5

5. To insulate your oven so it holds in more heat, roll up sheets of newspaper and place
them on the bottom of the box. Tape them down so that they form a border around the
cooking area. It may be helpful to also tape the rolls closed first. The newspaper rolls
should make it so that the lid can still close, but there is a seal inside of the box, so air
cannot escape.

6. The best hours to set up your solar oven are when the sun is high overheadfrom 11
am to 3 pm. Take it outside to a sunny spot and adjust the flap until the most sunlight
possible is reflecting off the aluminum foil and onto the plastic-covered window. Use a
ruler to prop the flap at the right angle. You may want to angle the entire box by using a
rolled up towel.
6

7. You can make toast by buttering a slice of bread then letting the sun do the rest.
Cooking a hot dog or making nachos with chips and cheese are also fun treats to make
in your solar oven! It would also work great to heat up leftovers. So the paper at the
bottom doesn't get dirty, put what you would like to cook on a clear plastic or glass plate.
A pie plate would work well. Place the thermometer inside your oven before you close it,
so you can check the temperature.

8. To take food out of the oven, open up the lid of the pizza box, and using oven mitts or
potholders, lift the glass dish out of the oven.

Chapter III

1. Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation

8

The principles demonstrated are:

Solar Gain - arranging for sunlight to enter a device as a source of energy. In this case,
the gain is accomplished both by reflection and direct gain. This principle also includes
using dark colored surfaces to absorb the solar energy that enters a device.
Insulation - containing heat by trapping air inside and around a device to contain heat,
and reflecting thermal radiation back into a device.
The third principle of passive solar design - thermal mass, can also be experimented
with the solar oven. Large amounts of food will provide some thermal mass, causing the
oven to heat up more slowly.
Besides explaining these principles in the process of building and using the ovens, here
are several other points that might want to make:

Cooking food takes a lot of energy! By using solar energy, we can save alot on
fuel.

Cooking takes time, and the Sun will change position during that time. Therefore,
somebody, such as a vigilant cook, may need to align the solar oven now and
then to keep the sunlight entering. Mechanisms that track the sun and adjust the
device automatically are called "heliostats" (like thermostat, but with "helio",
which means "Sun", instead

2. Results
On a sunny, warm day, your oven could reach about 200 degrees F. The food
takes longer to cook in a solar oven than a regular one.
In this activity it built a simple box-type solar oven that should have been able to
cook a marshmallows in sunny, warm conditions. In some trials using a solar oven that
was made based on this design, at 85 to 90 degrees F on a sunny afternoon it took
about 30 to 35 minutes for the marshmallow to get warm enough to become soft and
melt some of the chocolate to make a tasty, solar-powered treat! In ideal conditions this
solar oven can easily heat up to about 160 to 200 degrees F. Using full, direct sunlight is
important for heating this solar oventhe sunlight needs to be reflected into the oven
(primarily from the aluminum foil-covered flap, but also from the inside of the box), and
the heat must be trapped and retained inside by the plastic "window." This heat is also
absorbed by the black paper to heat the food that is placed on top of it.
Solar oven can reach about 200 F on a sunny day and will take longer to heat
things than a conventional oven. Although this method will take longer, it is very easy to
use, and it is safe to leave alone while the energy from the sun cooks your food. A
cheese roll up by melting cheese took about 45 minutes for our cheese to melt. The
internal temperature of our pizza box solar oven was 125 F.
9

Illustration 1
Weather Condition

Time

Temperature

Sunny Day
Cloudy Day

30 minutes
30-35 minutes

200F
85-90 F

Time
30-35 minutes
45 minutes

Temperature
85-90 F
125 F

Illustration 2
Type of Foods
Marsh Mallow
Cheese

Chapter IV

1. Conclusion
The heat from the sun is trapped inside of the pizza box solar oven, and it starts
getting very hot. Ovens like this one are called collector boxes, because they collect the
sunlight inside. As it sits out in the sun, the oven eventually heats up enough to melt
10

cheese, or cook a hot dog! Rays of light are coming to the earth at an angle. The foil
reflects the ray, and bounces it directly into the opening of the box. Once it has gone
through the plastic wrap, it heats up the air that is trapped inside. The black paper
absorbs the heat at the bottom of the oven, and the newspaper make sure that the heat
stays where it is, instead of escaping out the sides of the oven.

2. Recommendation
There are a lot of variables that you can try to tweak in your oven design to make
it even better. Can you make your solar oven more efficient by changing the angle of the
reflector flap, using different materials to insulate it or changing its shape or size?
For greater heat retention and better cooking results, use a shallow, black or dark
colored pan, dish or pot that will fit inside the solar box cooker and place it inside of an
Oven roasting bag (used for roasting turkeys) and then seal or tie the bag closed. This
will create what is known as the "greenhouse effect", trapping extra heat and retaining
steam and moisture which will in turn maximize temperatures and cooking results.
If you wish, you may add some extra reflector panels on the side in order to
increase the concentrations of sunlight into the box and onto the cooking pot, thus
increasing your temperatures.

3. References
i.http://www.Solar & Alternative Energy Kit
ii http://www.Solar Cooker at Cantina West
ii http://www.SolarCooker .Hossain
iv.http://www.Sunny Science

11