I live in eastern North Carolina, where it can be cloudy for days and the humidity can limit the sun a little. However, I've been cooking almost exclusively in the sunoven for almost 2 months. If you're home during the day, it's not hard to get the cooking done with the sunover. I've been using it to cook rice, bread, eggs, sausage, soups and stews, and chili. For most dishes, you just put them in the oven and try not to forget them.

It's true that the sun over doesn't burn things, but you can overcook things. Also, if you have something you want to cook at 300+ degrees, you need to keep it re-aim it every 30 minutes or so. It does take longer to cook things in the sunoven than in the conventional oven, or on the stove. At least here in NC it does.

The ambient temperature doesn't seem to make any difference. If you have a nice, clear sky and bright sun, the oven will get over 350 degrees from about 10 am until about 4 pm (this is based on late spring in NC). It takes about 40 minutes to cook a loaf of bread that would take 20 minutes in the oven, but the bread comes out very moist with a thin, golden crust. With bread, I just leave it in until the crust looks about right. There is no set time, because the temperature may vary.

Aside from the first week or so when the oven had a polymer smell that affected the taste of some foods, I've been really happy with the oven and everything I've cooked in it. I'd rather use it than the conventional oven, any day. Now, on cloudy days, I simply don't cook. When the sun shines, I make rice, bread and whatever else I feel like making, so I have plenty of staples when the sun goes down. I do still use my microwave, but I could get along without my stove.

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