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What is Cooking? (Smart Solar Cooker & Heat Energy Lab)

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Construct a cardboard parabolic solar cooker box lined with aluminum foil mirrors. Place a DS18B20 digital temperature probe inside to record solar heating temperatures (up to 70°C) and compare with electric/induction cookers.

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Props & Materials Required

  • •Cardboard box with angled aluminum foil reflector flaps
  • •Black painted mini cooking pot
  • •DS18B20 waterproof digital temperature sensor probe
  • •ESP32 controller board
  • •16x2 LCD display screen
  • •DFPlayer Mini MP3 module + 3W speaker

Step-by-Step Instructions

1

Build Parabolic Solar Cooker

Line cardboard box flaps with shiny aluminum foil. Angle reflectors toward the Sun.

2

Place Black Cooking Pot

Place a covered black pot inside. Insert the DS18B20 temperature probe.

3

Track Temperature Rise

Check LCD display every 5 minutes: 25°C → 45°C → 65°C! Speaker announces: 'Solar thermal energy concentrated! Pot temperature reached 65°C!'

4

Fuel Comparison Quiz

Compare Solar (clean/free), LPG gas (fossil fuel), Induction (electric), and Firewood (causes smoke). Select cleanest fuel → Green LED!

Why It Works & Notes

What is Cooking explores cooking methods and fuels. Building a solar box cooker and watching the digital temperature sensor climb from 25°C to 70°C using ONLY reflected sunlight proves the power of renewable solar thermal energy.