Building integrated innovative non-imaging concentrating solar collector for clean cooking under low sun elevation

Abstract

This paper aims to report the building-integrated innovative non-imaging solar thermal collector (BISTC) for cooking, which is constructed and tested under field conditions in two configurations. A ray tracing analysis enables an understanding of the optics of the BISTC. The results show that BISTC attained a temperature in the range of 110–124 °C under low sun elevation and ensures the potential for better cooking performance under high sun elevation. The mean values of the Cooker Opto-thermal Ratio (COR) for BISTC1 and BISTC2 are 0.109 and 0.116 ((m2-°C)/W), respectively. Typical theoretical and experimental values of maximum achievable load temperature (Tfmax) are 129.8 °C and 119 °C and that for reference time (τR) are 77 and 76 min, respectively, for BISTC1. The typical theoretical and experimental values of Tfmax are 137.5 °C and 124.7 °C and that for τR are 80.7 and 75 min, respectively, for BISTC2. This work provides vital information about the opto-thermal behavior of the non-tracking type solar cooker design, i.e., BISTC, which can lead to the creation of similar systems for regular or building-integrated solar cooking. Thus, the BISTC is one of the promising technologies to be promoted with several future-optimized designs to fulfill sustainable development goals. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd