{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,8]],"date-time":"2026-01-08T03:06:25Z","timestamp":1767841585985,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736294400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"National Funds through the FCT\u2014Foundation for Science and Technology","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Research Center in Digital Services (CISeD)","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}]},{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu","award":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/05583\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This research presents the design, construction, and experimental evaluation of a novel box-type solar oven optimized for enhanced thermal efficiency and heat retention, developed to address the challenges of sustainable cooking in temperate climates. The solar oven, measuring 120 cm \u00d7 60 cm \u00d7 45 cm, incorporates strategically designed rock wool insulation and 5 kg of steel plates as thermal mass, along with a double-glazed glass cover tilted at an experimentally optimized angle of 15\u00b0 relative to the horizontal plane. Extensive experimental testing was conducted in Viseu, Portugal (40\u00b0 N latitude) under varying meteorological conditions, including solar irradiance levels ranging from 400 to 900 W\/m2 and wind speeds of up to 3 m\/s. The results demonstrated that the oven consistently achieved internal temperatures exceeding 160 \u00b0C, with a peak temperature of 180 \u00b0C, maintaining cooking capability even during periods of intermittent cloud cover. Quantitative analysis showed that the thermal efficiency of the oven reached a peak of 38%, representing a 25\u201330% improvement over conventional designs. The incorporation of thermal mass reduced temperature fluctuations by up to 40%, and the enhanced insulation reduced conductive heat loss by approximately 30%. Cooking tests validated the oven\u2019s practical effectiveness, with the successful preparation of various foods including rice (90 min), cake (120 min), vegetables (60 min), and bread (110 min). This study provides comprehensive performance data under different meteorological conditions, including detailed temperature profiles, heating rates, and thermal efficiency measurements. By addressing key limitations of prior models, particularly the challenge of temperature stability during variable solar conditions, the proposed solar oven offers a cost-effective, efficient solution that can be adapted for use in diverse climates and regions, with particular relevance to areas seeking sustainable alternatives to traditional cooking methods.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su17020428","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]],"date-time":"2025-01-08T07:40:13Z","timestamp":1736322013000},"page":"428","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["A Case Study of a Solar Oven\u2019s Efficiency: An Experimental Approach"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7285-8282","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Silva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2864-7597","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Serrano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Technology and Management, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2411-901 Leiria, Portugal"},{"name":"Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2118-1440","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Hugo","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1745-8937","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paulo","family":"V\u00e1z","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-2994-3444","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emanuel","family":"Guerra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Centre in Digital Services (CISeD), Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Pope, R., Arnold, S., Chipperfield, M., Reddington, C., Butt, E., Keslake, T., Feng, W., Latter, B., Kerridge, B., and Siddans, R. 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