Experimental characterization of the thermal performance of the Haines 2 solar cooker

Abstract

This work presents the most exhaustive experimental characterization of the thermal performance of the Haines 2 solar cooker available to date. Two Haines 2 solar cookers were tested side-by-side in Malaga, Spain, 36.7°N, between May 2021 and December 2021. A novel test procedure using empty pots and a tilted plane with variable inclination gave useful information about the influence of the solar altitude angle on cooker performance, and allowed identification of the best range for each of the two available reflector configurations for this cooker. Some suggestions are given to improve the cooker design for low solar altitude angles. In addition, a large number of water heating tests partly based on the ASAE S580.1 standard protocol were conducted to i) determine the standardised power, ii) examine the influence of the solar altitude angle, and iii) investigate the impact of using partial loads. All these results provide a complete characterization of the performance of this cooker in a wide range of operating conditions of practical interest. It is recommended that future versions of ASAE S580.1 standard consider the influence of both solar altitude angle and partial loads.