Domestic Electric Oven Reimagined: Eco-Friendly Cooking Oven at Scale Using Recycled Reinforced Composites

The project aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative design for domestic electric ovens, focusing on improved thermal efficiency and reduced environmental impact. This will be achieved by replacing the traditional steel oven cavity with insulating reinforced composites made from recycled materials. The goal is to achieve cost parity with existing steel-only oven architectures to maintain affordability. Additionally, the increased efficiency of the ovens will result in a reduction in electrical demand, potentially allowing for more capacity in electrical panels to power other loads, like heat pump water heaters. This approach lowers the overall cost of electrification by eliminating the need to upgrade electrical panels for increased power delivery capacity.

The project will involve performance characterization of electric ovens, determination of material design requirements, selection of materials that meet the specified criteria, and minimizing the life cycle impact of the new design. A prototype of the new oven design will be developed and tested to validate its performance targets.

Project Impact

By increasing efficiency without adding product cost, low-income consumers will not only benefit from reduced energy costs, but will also benefit from a reduced financial burden to electrify by reducing the electric demand (kW) of the oven.