The experimental set-up and technical aspects for charging a thermal energy storage (TES) of a proposed solar cooker at constant temperature and variable electrical power are presented. The TES is developed using a packed pebble bed. An electrical hot plate simulates the concentrator which heats up oil circulating through a copper coil absorber charging the TES system. A computer program to acquire data for monitoring the storage system and to maintain a nearly constant outlet charging temperature is developed using Visual Basic. The input power to the hot plate is also controlled to simulate the variation of the daily solar radiation by using another Visual Basic program. A combined internal model control (IMC) and proportional, integral and derivative (PID) temperature control structure is tested on the TES system under varying conditions and its performance is reasonable within a few degrees of the set temperature points. Results of the charging experiments are used to characterise the storage system. The different experiments indicate various degrees of stratification in the storage tank. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.