In the 1760´s after observing the heat increase in a room, box, or carriage after the sun passes through glass, Horace de Saussure experimented with glass boxes over a black base. Facing these boxes in the sun may have been the first documented solar box experiments.
Solar cookers have been around
for many years and designs have adapted many forms in that time frame. Not
only have the cookers become more efficent, but the reasons for using them have
also become more pertinent. According
to Global Sun Oven, “over 2 billion people cook with wood, charcoal or dung
as their primary cooking fuel and the social, economic and environmental impacts
are significant.” As more and more trees are getting cut down for fuel
purpuses, women are having to walk further and further to gather necessary wood
taking more time out of their day. The vast majority of people who cook by
fire in their homes, do not have adequate ventilation, exposing them to smoke
related illnesses. Those who cook by conventional methods futher depend on
fossil fuels and pay for it out of their checkbooks. All of this being
true it is no wonder why the solar cookers have standed againt the test of time
and still continue to gain popularity around the world. Solar cooking concepts are the same as they
were 150 years ago, its the efficiency that has been improved the most.
In the 1830’s Sir John Herschel experimented with hot boxes in India.
Several years later it is noted that W. A. Adams developed a box with a glass front on a
small table in the 1870´s. This design was very similar to the solar box cookers
commonly used today.
Now, in 2005, you can find dozens of companies manufacturing and selling solar cookers on the market. Information on solar cooking is abundant and easily available via the web throughout thousands of pages.