Experimental Investigation of a Solar PV-Powered Injera Baking System with Phase Change Material Thermal Storage

To address critical energy access challenges, overcome the limitations of conventional baking systems, and bridge the research gap in solar-assisted injera baking, this paper presents an experimental investigation of a photovoltaic (PV)-powered injera baking system integrated with a solar salt mixture for thermal storage. In addition to introducing the PV system to the injera baking application, this study incorporates self-regulating positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heating elements and a storage design that has not been previously investigated for injera baking—an integrated unit that combines the base plate and thermal storage to facilitate heat transfer during charging and discharging. The system’s performance was assessed by conducting experiments based on energy consumption during charging and the utilized energy during the cyclic baking process. Conducted in May, the test demonstrated that the charging process achieved a complete melting of the PCM within 6.26 h. Under a cycle of 5 min of average baking time followed by 9 min of plate reheating, the system produces 6 injeras from the stored heat with a significant amount still in the storage. The storage system exhibited an efficiency of 74.6% during charging and 65% during discharging. The findings from this research have the potential to address energy challenges in off grid communities, as well as within institutions that still rely on biomass for injera baking by managing solar energy intermittency and providing stable thermal output. For future work, we recommend incorporating customized plate type self-regulating heating elements with higher temperature ratings and non-stick baking plates to enhance performance.