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Solar grill adds component for nighttime cooking (hands on)

GoSun, a company that makes solar grills, will add an electric component to one of its stoves to enable users to cook when the sun isn't out.

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Ashlee Clark Thompson Associate Editor
Ashlee spent time as a newspaper reporter, AmeriCorps VISTA and an employee at a healthcare company before she landed at CNET. She loves to eat, write and watch "Golden Girls" (preferably all three at the same time). The first two hobbies help her out as an appliance reviewer. The last one makes her an asset to trivia teams. Ashlee also created the blog, AshleeEats.com, where she writes about casual dining in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Ashlee Clark Thompson
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Sometimes, even the sun needs a little help. GoSun, a company that makes solar-powered outdoor grills, will add a solar-electric hybrid model to its lineup of cookers that will let you grill at night. The company presented the hybrid model, which will be available in the second half of 2016, at the CES Unveiled early-access event Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

GoSun stands out at CES for its reliance on a power source that doesn't require plugs or charging station. Even the hybrid model has minimal electric capacity: The electrical heating element uses one-tenth of the energy of a traditional stove, GoSun founder Patrick Sherwin said at the trade show.

There are several solar models available on GoSun's website that vary by size and price. The hybrid GoSun is most similar to the company's largest solar model, the GoSun Grill, which will cost $600 (£410, AU$830) when it becomes available during the first half of 2016.

At Unveiled, we got early access to CES. Here's what we saw (pictures)

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GoSun came to fruition after a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in 2013. To use a GoSun stove, you put food inside the stove's vacuum tube, which is made of a material similar to Pyrex. You use the reflectors attached to the tube to focus sunlight onto the GoSun. The tube converts the light into heat that cooks whatever you put inside.

The GoSun company's aim to eliminate fuels from cooking are ambitious. The $600 price is comparable to that of a full-sized range, an appliance that has more wide-ranging appeal than the GoSun. The casual grill enthusiast might not be ready to lay down so much to cook food in a solar-powered tube.

Features

  • Temperatures inside the tube can reach 550 degrees F (about 288 degrees C), but the exterior stays cool to the touch
  • The GoSun Grill weighs 20 pounds (9 kg)
  • All stoves have stainless steel exterior
  • Can cook a meal in 20 minutes