Hi folks, hope you’re doing well. In what is possibly a first, I am unveiling a new prototype invention – a mini PV solar electric toaster oven. It is lightweight, portable and I think would be fairly cheap to produce. It easily bakes or roasts bread, meat, vegetables and whatever else – all day using free energy from the sun. As an option, it can run off of battery power.
Note: these ovens can also run off of 12/24 volts DC, making them the ultimate portable grid-independent (off grid) cooking solution.
My goal is to promote these kinds devices and hopefully encourage companies to manufacture them. I have built several versions of this oven, and hope to show those soon on video and on this blog.
Videos and Updates:
Quick PV2L DC Toaster Oven Demo – YouTube Short
Prototype Oven History
If you’re familiar with my past videos, you know I am interested in direct PV solar electric cooking. In my solar workshop I have built a lot of cooking prototypes. Due to time and health constraints, most have never been shown on video.
The last oven prototype shown on this channel was larger and more powerful. It was pretty efficient, but not exactly portable.
Mini PV2L Toaster Oven Power and Efficiency
The mini solar electric oven is extremely efficient and very portable! Due to various modifications, it requires only a small amount of power to cook a meal if the ambient temperature is warm enough. This means the oven can easily operate off of 2 100 Watt solar panels. I have been working to further increase efficiency of the oven and reduce power requirements.
A small oven like this would be useful for camping, van dwelling, RVs, boats and more. Areas where fuel is scarce, times are hard and cooking food is challenging would also benefit from such a device.
The oven is powered directly by solar panels. There is no battery, no charge controller and no inverter. This is not a gimmick or a trick. It’s real, it works and it’s the future. It’s also possible to power the oven with a 12 Volt car battery.
Powering appliances directly with PV solar panels is sometimes called PV-To-Load, or PV2L for short. However, these appliances can also run off of a normal solar battery bank.
PV2L Advantages
What are some advantages and benefits of PV2L cooking appliances? They include:
Lower overall cost
Less wear and tear on discrete components such as Charge Controllers and Inverters
Less cycling of solar battery banks
Higher efficiency, easier maintenance
Better portability of the cooking system
More Information and Updates
At this time the only video available is a YouTube Short briefly showing the very first live test cooking my jumbo “test shrimp” with a PV2L version of the oven. The test was very successful.
There are several new versions of this oven, and I will upload more footage ASAP. I hope you enjoyed this short article about my mini solar electric oven prototype.
Note: the first tests could not be recorded, but in this video, you are seeing the first time this oven ever actually cooked food. Of course the oven can hold a lot more food, but I didn’t have the luxury to wait that long.
The goal of my project is to push the boundaries of what is thought to be possible with solar power.
Thanks for reading – please stay tuned and see you next time. -DD
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