Ugandan agricultural engineer Paul Soddo developed the MakSol Cooker to reduce the risk of developing respiratory illnesses in people that cook with charcoal, kerosene and firewood. Over 80% of Uganda’s population do not have access to the national electricity grid. For those people the MakSol Cooker is a gateway to truly clean cooking. Women and girls will primarily benefit from this technology, as they take principal responsibility for cooking in their households.
The MakSol Cooker is powered by a roof-mounted 300 watt-peak 18V solar panel and a 200 amp-hour 12V deep-cycle battery. The cooking zone, or top plate, produces up to 360 watts of induction power or 240 watts in energy-saving mode.
The front of the cooker has a control panel that people can easily and safely access while cooking their food. Four control buttons and an on/off power button regulate the power on each of the cooker’s two top plates via a wired connection to a power management system. This delivers the high-current direct current power that is converted into high-frequency alternating current power, which is induced into a ferromagnetic pan where it manifests as heat.
A power management system determines whether the solar energy powers the device or charges the battery, or both. When the battery voltage falls below 11V and the sun isn’t up, the system will hold the power as reserve. When the solar panels are detected to be receiving sunlight, it will automatically trigger the charging field effect power transistor to start charging.
MakSol can cook for up to six hours or until the battery has just 20% remaining. Soddo and his team are working on a version of the cooker that will enable the same amount of cooking to be done in three hours. This will be achieved by doubling the resonant power generated in the magnetic coil and induced into the cookware.
MakSol pricing starts at US$150, which is far more cost-effective than conventional electric cookers that connect to solar power, and with similar performance.
We have developed a high-quality and cost-effective solar cooker which every household can use. We’re cutting down on CO2 emissions and addressing the associated risk of smoke inhalation.
Paul Soddo
