Off grid living is not just a trend. It is possible that one day it will be a necessity for humans, as we ravage all our resources and create a world that requires us to let go of our

modern comforts and live again in a more simple way. Those have have use the internet wisely and learned all they could about DIY off grid living will be the ones that have a chance, the

ones that can not only survive but also thrive in a world without modern comforts. If you do not buy into the doomsday type of thinking that predicts that one day the world as we now know

it will be obsolete...well then try to think selfishly for a moment to motivate yourself. Think of the money that could be saved if you could learn how to harness the power of the sun

shining down in order to use your oven for examples.

Take the idea of the solar oven. A solar oven will take in energy in the form of sunlight. The sunlight comes through the glass and is aborbed by the cooking pot or some aluminum foil.

The oven is protected from the outdoor cooler air by the pane of glass which also serves to keep the heat of the pot inside the chamber. When an object differs in temperature than its surroundings, it will either gain heat or lose heat by one of 3 ways: 1) conduction, 2) convection or 3) radiation (see definitions below.) In the example of a solar oven, radiation is the most prominent kind of heating. The cooking pot absorbes the heat of the sun and the glass prevents the heat from leaving or cold air from coming in.

You may be surprised how little it takes to actually build a solar cooker. In the coming page you will see that it can take only 2 boxes, some cardboard, glue, a brush to spread the glue, newspaper, glass, a coat hanger, sealer, some cutting tolls and a bit of time. It is truly not rocket science, but the benefits of your own solar cooker are many.

Conduction: Heat transfer that happens through solid contact, for example, touching your hand on a hot surface.

Convection: Heat transfer that happens through fluid contact, for example, a cold wind coming through.

Radiation: Heat transfer that happends through electromagnetic waves, for example, sunlight.

For some excellent details about how to build a solar cooker, visit the link below to the 'Ethicurean' websites.