How is The Global Sun Oven used as a crock pot?
Global Sun Oven users often put their ovens outside, focused for the mid-day sun, with their dinner in it when they leave for work in the morning. As the sun moves overhead, the temperature in the chamber slowly rises to a cooking level. As the sun passes, the food is kept warm and when they return from work they have a warm, sun-cooked dinner. [Keep in mind food will not burn in The Global Sun Oven, and that the chamber is extremely well insulted, allowing food to stay warm for hours - even after the sun is low in the sky].
Are special recipes or a different type of cooking required?
No - special recipes or different type of cooking are not required.
The Global Sun Oven reaches temperatures comparable to that of conventional ovens. A good rule of thumb is to add 10 to 15 minutes of cooking time for each time the oven door is opened.
Does The Global Sun Oven require special pots and pans?
No - but dark thin-walled pots with lids work best. Dark pots change the light from the sun into heat energy. Using lids is very important because they hold steam inside the pot. If a lid is not used the steam will dissipate much of the heat. Shiny, bright, or light colored aluminum pots and pans cause light to be reflected out thereby reducing the oven's temperature. Glass casserole dishes with lids also work well. For baking cakes, breads, cookies, and pies, dark cookie sheets and baking tins work best.
Is stirring to prevent scorching or burning to the pan required?
No - due to the fact that there are no hot spots created by burners or heating elements, stirring to prevent scorching or burning when cooking in The Global Sun Oven is not required. The temperature of the food rises evenly. It is almost impossible to burn food in The Global Sun Oven!!!
Is The Global Sun Oven safe to operate?
Yes - relatively speaking. The only parts that get hot are the oven chamber, the cooking pan, and the glass door. Only average care used with any cooking process must be taken - use hot pads when opening the door and removing food, etc. The entire exterior of the oven, including the reflectors, remains safe to touch.
Can The Global Sun Oven be used all year long, including winter?
Yes - even in winter!!! The most important factor in using The Global Sun Oven is the brightness of the day, NOT the outside-air temperature. Often, a 40-degree, clear, low-humidity day will allow food to cook faster than a 100-degree day with high humidity. The Global Sun Oven has been used very successfully at the base camp of a Mt. Everest expedition where the temperatures are often well below zero!
There are, however, more cooking hours available in the summer than in the winter. In the early summer, the cooking "window" is from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, whereas during the early winter, effective cooking is limited to 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
How does The Global Sun Oven actually work?
The black surfaces on the inside of the oven captures the sun's energy focused by the reflector panels and transforms the suns rays into a wave length that cannot escape from the oven chamber.
When a The Global Sun Oven is focused directly into the sun, the interior of the oven is heated by the sun's energy. Direct and reflected sunlight enters the oven chamber through the glass door.
It then turns to heat energy when it is absorbed by the black inner-shell and levelator. This heat input causes the temperature inside the oven to rise until the heat loss of the oven is equal to the solar heat gain. The light energy absorbed by dark pots and the oven's dark interior is converted into longer wavelength heat energy. Most of this longer wavelength radiant energy can not pass back out through the glass, ensuring more efficient cooking.
Are cooking times the same as those in a conventional oven?
Yes - Because the sun often is obscured behind clouds, cooking times can vary. At times it may take a little longer.
The factors that affect the cooking time are:
- The quality of the sunlight at the time you are cooking
- The types and quantities of the food being cooked
- How often the oven is refocused into the sun
Is focusing The Global Sun Oven easy to do?
Yes - All that is required is to watch the shadows created by the oven. When the shadows are even on all sides the cooker is directly focused. The built in leveling leg on the back of the oven allows for easy tracking.
The Global Sun Oven is equipped with a built in Levelator device, an inner shelf that pivots to always keep food level and avoid spills while the oven is being refocused.
The need to refocus depends a great deal on what you are cooking, the time of day, and the temperature you wish to maintain. A good rule of thumb is to plan to readjust every 30 minutes to maintain maximum heat.
At noon the sun is high in the sky and moves quickly past the maximum focus point, creating the need to refocus more often. Later in the day you will not need to refocus as often. Many meals can be cooked without refocusing.
How does The Global Sun Oven help build the Green Movement?
The Global Sun Oven is used worldwide. Currently they are being used in over 125 countries around the world. In many of these countries, they are purchased unassembled, and the final assembly is completed on location. This reduces the overall cost of the ovens and shipping while creating jobs locally.
The demands of massive population growth, and inefficient conversion of wood to charcoal, have outstripped the developing world forests ability to regenerate.
The ecological effect of gathering and burning wood fuel is very burdensome and has a far-reaching negative global impact. These global trends will lead to environmental destabilization - leading to deforestation, - leading to global warming.
Science strongly supports the fact that deforestation for agricultural and fuel use is changing weather patterns, causing soil erosion, and depleting plant and animal life.
The Global Sun Oven offers a powerful solution to the effects of deforestation, and can have an enormous positive impact on the everyday life of millions of people in developing countries by improving their nutrition, health, and quality of life.
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