1.

Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Cooking is the process of using heat to prepare food for consumption. It is an art, science and
craft that has been around since civilization began. Nowadays cooking is done at different
levels, be it industrial by a group of people or just domestic by housewives or families. In order
to cook we need an energy source to provide the heat energy, over the years dating back to the
stone age, mankind has made use of different kinds of cooking energy from open fires to wood,
charcoal to kerosene to Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) and electricity in the form of electric
cookers and ovens, and solar energy.
A solar cooker is a device that makes use of solar energy to cook food (Smita 2017). It is well
known that providing access to cheap, clean and reliable modern forms of energy is important
for developing countries to reduces cost of living and promote economic development, s.
Improving access to affordable energy reduces effects on human health and environmental
influences caused by burning of various fuel. The major challenges facing the use of available
fuels are low efficiencies, high cost, un-sustainability and indoor house pollution that affect
many people. The paper has identified the use of solar energy for cooking that improve cooking
activities and therefore overcome indoor and environmental pollution (Hesborn Rasugu Ayub
et al 2021).
In some rural areas of Nigeria, okitipupa town will be used for the sake of this paper, where
electricity is not available and the price of kerosene and LPG is on the rise, harnessing the
abundant potential in the free renewable solar energy for cooking has become a very attractive
alternative for households. History made it clear that the present designs of solar cookers started
evolving in the 1950s as a result of fuel shortages and rationing arising from the second world
war (Clement and Clinton 2022).
Mobile kitchens commonly known as food trucks, “food trucks” refers to any vehicle that
serves food and can be moved, have recently become popular in the food industry, street
vending has been around for a very long time in the form of pushcarts driven by people selling
premade food, nowadays there are food truck races and food truck cook-out event and the
industry is advancing with the introduction of solar cookers as owners are looking for better
trucks with quieter generators, more eco-friendly power supply and sustainable and healthy
food sources to compete with concrete establishments (William Y. 2017).
The benefits of employing solar cookers in food trucks are manifold. Firstly, solar cookers
eliminate the need for traditional cooking fuels, such as propane or diesel, reducing both
operating costs and reliance on non-renewable resources. This transition to solar energy aligns
with the global shift towards sustainable practices and can enhance the branding and
marketability of food truck businesses, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.
1.2 Aim and Objectives
The aim is to:
i. Design a solar mobile kitchen
ii. Fabricate a solar mobile kitchen
The specific objectives are to:
i. Develop a solar mobile kitchen, and
ii. Evaluate the developed kitchen

1.3 Justification
The usage of solar energy in cooking has several potential benefits in different areas such as
environmental, health, cost efficiency etc.:
▪ It is very eco-friendly as it removes the dependence on gas or kerosene or any burnt
fuel that releases carbon into the atmosphere.
▪ It saves a lot of cost as it makes use of the sun energy thereby eliminating the cost of
fuel and once you have the cooker its free cooking. The solar energy is easily accessible
▪ It is also very beneficial to the health as traditional cooking causes air pollution,
respiratory diseases, etc. solar cooking produces no harmful emissions.
This research is necessary to better improve cooking conditions, save fuel and prevent health
deficiencies in the longer run, and it is also necessary as it is an advancement in cooking
technology.
References
Smita B Joshi solar cooker – a review 2017
Hesborn Rasugu Ayub, Willis Jakanyango Ambusso , Franklin Muriuki Manene , Daudi
Mongeri Nyaanga (2021) A Review of Cooking Systems and Energy Efficiencies American
Journal of Energy Engineering 2021; 9(1): 1-7
Komolafe CA and Okonkwo CE (2022) Design, Fabrication, and Thermal Evaluation of a Solar
Cooking System Integrated With Tracking Device and Sensible Heat Storage Materials. Front.
Energy Res. 10:821098. doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2022.821098
William Young Applying Solar Energy to Food Trucks ASES National Solar Conference
2017/SES Conference Proceedings (2017)