SolSource 3-in-1: An Alternative Energy Solution

In rural regions of the Himalayas, a new lightweight, low cost, portable solar cooker called the SolSource 3-in-1 is poised to transform the health and prosperity of entire villages. The device, which can replace the hazardous traditional biomass-burning stove as a means for cooking and heating the home, can also use its own waste thermal energy to generate enough electricity to light a home at night, charge cell phones and power other small devices. And because the cooker’s unique design targets specific local needs and materials, its manufacture and distribution could provide a new economic future for communities in transition from agricultural to manufacturing economies.

The satellite dish-shaped SolSource, developed by US-based nonprofit One Earth Designs, is elegant in its simplicity. Reflective nomadic tent material, stretched across a bamboo frame, concentrates sunlight from a large area inward toward a focal point where the user can place a pot stand for cooking, a thermoelectric device for generating electricity (at a lower cost than a photovoltaic panel), a heat module for heating the home, a solar water disinfector for treating drinking water, or a thermal battery for cooking after dark. These interchangeable parts are each about the size of a laptop computer, and the main platform is easily folded and disassembled for portability.

The SolSource generates enough heat at its focal point to bring a kettle of water to boil in about five to seven minutes – about the same amount of time as conventional gas stoves in homes throughout the developed world. While it is in use, the device generates heat to warm the home, and can create and store about 15 watt hours of electricity, or enough to power the lights for about seven hours. This is adequate for the villagers’ needs, but upgrading to a larger thermoelectric device would easily increase the energy capacity, says One Earth Designs co-founder and COO Catlin Powers.

Powers and co-founder/CEO Scot Frank, both 23, and project chief engineer Amy Qian, 20, worked with Himalayan university students to collect direct feedback from villagers across the region to inform the design of the SolSource 3-in-1. Crowd-sourcing input on the design was particularly important to this project, because although the villagers were already familiar with solar cookstoves introduced throughout the region via various government and NGO initiatives, these devices weren’t fulfilling the nomadic communities’ unique needs.

“In many cases, the villagers and nomads are quite disappointed with the current solar cookers available,” says Frank. Many of these stoves, he explains, are made from concrete and glass components, both of which are easily broken during distribution and everyday use, yet the rural communities lack the expertise and tools needed to repair broken devices. The stoves, which weigh about 95 kg, aren’t easily portable, so they hinder the villagers’ traditional lifestyles. And the stoves are designed for cooking only, so the villagers still rely on biomass burning to heat their homes, a need that accounts for most of the region’s fuel use.

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