A novel application of a Fresnel lens for a solar stove and solar heating

M.M. Valmiki, Peiwen Li, Javier Heyer, Matthew Morgan, Abdulla Albinali, Kamal Alhamidi and Jeremy Wagoner

Renewable Energy, 2011, vol. 36, issue 5, 1614-1620

Abstract: This paper presents a novel design and the prototyped solar cooking stove which uses a large Fresnel lens for the concentration of sunlight. The technology demonstrates high safety and efficiency of solar cooking and heating using Fresnel lenses which are low cost and available from off-the-shelf. The stove has a fixed heat-receiving area located at the focal point of the lens. The sunlight tracking system rotates the Fresnel lens about its focal point in both zenith and azimuth angles. The tracking is accomplished through a revolving motion of two rotation arms that hold the lens and a horizontal rotation of a platform that the lens system stands on. The rotation of the arms tracks the sunlight in zenith plane, while the rotation of the platform tracks in the azimuth plane. Since the solar tracking allows the Fresnel lens to concentrate sunlight to a fixed small heat-receiving area, relatively low heat loss and high energy efficiency is made possible. The heat is used to maintain a stovetop surface at temperatures around as high as 300 °C, which is practical for cooking applications in a very safe, user-friendly, and convenient manner. The system also demonstrates the possibility of transferring heat using a working fluid for indoor heating and cooking. Wider applications using the system for solar thermal collection and utilization are also undergoing development.

Keywords: Solar energy; Fresnel lens; Solar stove; Heating; Cooking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:36:y:2011:i:5:p:1614-1620

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2010.10.017

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