EVALUATION OF A HOME-MADE SOLAR BOX HEATER FOR DOMESTIC HEATING

Quests for alternative energy source remain a challenging concern among researchers. Utilization of inexhaustible source of energy is one of research focus. Most households utilize fuel or electricity to work its intended function like heating and drying. To minimize the utilization of this exhaustible source of energy, home-made devices could be fabricated using locally available materials and fabrication technology to utilize inexhaustible source of energy to finish other households like heating, drying and others. The study was conducted to evaluate the heating performance of a home-made solar box heater for domestic cooking. The solar boxes were made of locally available materials and constructed using local technologies. The performance was carried out using different number of reflectors (one, two and three reflectors), with a constant amount of water of 500 grams as test liquid. The performance was analyzed using descriptive statistics like mean range and regression analysis. The performance of the solar box heaters was tested on the basis of the following parameters; temperature of the het absorber plate, temperature of the heating chamber, and temperature of the test liquid (water). Results of the study revealed that the different number of reflectors affect the temperature of the heat absorber plate, heating chamber, and the temperature of the test liquid (water). The highest temperature of 95.7˚C was recorded by the water in pot in the solar box with three reflectors. The least temperature of 92.87˚C was recorded by water in pot in the solar box with only reflector. The coefficient of determination R2 of 0.996 indicates that 99.6% of the variations of temperature of water in the pot inside the solar box heaters can be attributed to the variations in the number of reflectors used. This further means that the more reflectors, the higher heat energy could be developed inside the home-made solar box. The performance test results suggest the potential of the home-made solar box heater for domestic heating.