Solar thermal and PV-electric cooking technologies: A comprehensive comparative review of performance, energy storage, application suitability, and sustainability

Solar cooking is increasingly relevant to clean energy access, yet comparison among technologies remains difficult because solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV)-electric systems are often evaluated using different performance boundaries and metrics. This review comparatively assesses five major solar cooking pathways: box-type solar cookers (BTSCs), panel-type SCs (PTSCs), parabolic SCs (PSCs), evacuated-tube SCs (ETSCs), and PV-based solar electric cookers. The concept of performance involves efficiency, temperature capability, cooking capability, speed, cost, portability, energy storage, climate adaptation, and other factors. The performance index of direct solar thermal means is highest for PSC, whose efficiency generally ranges between 60–75% and temperature values of about 300–400°C. The ETSCs combine high efficiency (50–70%) with effective heat storage capabilities, whereas BTSCs and PTSCs remain attractive where simplicity, affordability, and portability dominate. PV-based cookers follow a distinct solar-to-electric-to-heat pathway; reported household systems provide roughly 100–1200 W and enable indoor cooking, precise control, fixed solar collection, and electrical or thermal storage, although overall efficiency and lifecycle cost depend strongly on system architecture. No one technology can be said to be universally better than all others. The best technology depends on the sunlight available, cooking practice, temperature needed, system throughput, food storage needs, infrastructure available, and price. The review outlines the boundary-consistent, application-focused framework necessary to identify and develop further technologies for solar cooking.