Image: Book cover. Buy the print edition. Buy the epub edition. For most of history, the multifunctional fire was the only source of energy in the household. It served as a cookstove, toaster, heating device, lighting source, hot water boiler, clothes dryer, and refrigerator, among other functions....

   Image: The insulated solar electric cooker that we build in this manual. Photo by Marie Verdeil. ARTICLE Cooking’s high power use How to adapt an electric cooking device to solar power The advantages of solar electric cooking Our choice of building materials: Tiles, cork, mortar Self-made electric...

   Image: A removable heat brick, consisting of a nichrome circuit sandwiched between two identical tiles. It rests upon an insulated solar electric cooking device. Photo by Marie Verdeil. This manual documents the building of an electric resistance heating element that is directly connected to a...