Unlocking the potential of solar PV electric cooking in households in sub-Saharan Africa – The case of pressurized solar electric cooker (PSEC)

• Published in: Scientific African 2022-09, Vol.17, p.e01328, Article e01328
• Main Authors: Opoku, Richard, Baah, Bismark, Sekyere, Charles K.K., Adjei, Eunice A., Uba, Felix, Obeng, George Y., Davis, Francis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: PCM, Power density, Fast cooking, Cost savings, Sub-Saharan Africa; Pressurized solar electric cookstove
• ISSN: 2468-2276; 2468-2276
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2022.e01328

•Solar PV electric cooking has the potential to unlock clean and safe cooking in African homes.•Incorporation of PCM in solar PV electric cooker increases its power density.•The PSEC is said to be charged when the integrated PCM has reached its melting point.•The charged PCM provided continuous heat source for cooking under fluctuating solar irradiations.•The PSEC has potential cost savings of US$ 575 compared to cooking with charcoal, in a 10-year analysis period. Many households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend on wood-fuel and biomass for cooking, with associated health and negative environmental impacts. Indoor air pollution from these traditional cooking technologies and practices lead to a number of deaths each year. Clean and smokeless cooking technologies are necessary to minimize respiratory related infections associated with traditional cooking technologies. In addition, modern energy cooking services (MECS), which have lower levelized lifecycle cost have a part to play for post COVID recovery and growth in the sub-region. In this study, a novel pressurized solar electric cooker (PSEC) using diodes as the heating element has been constructed and tested in Kumasi city, Ghana. The PSEC comprises 150 Wp solar panel, 3.3 Liter cooking volume, and with the system integrated with PCM for thermal energy storage. From the experiments conducted in this study, the diode-heating element was able to charge the PCM (erythritol) and maintain it at an average temperature of 118 °C to cook rice, which is a common staple food enjoyed in many households in SSA. The result revealed that when the PCM integrated as energy storage medium was fully charged, the PSEC had fast cooking time of 50 min. Financial analysis also revealed that the PSEC has potential cost savings of US$ 575 and US$ 365, compared to cooking with charcoal and grid electricity, respectively, over a 10-year period.