Quantifying the Efficiency and Fuel Consumption of Cooking with Traditional Wood and Charcoal Stoves in Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya

Carbon
emission reductions and other results-based financing determinations
for clean cooking projects are heavily dependent on the fuel savings
generated by a new technology. Historically this calculation is based
on the difference in thermal efficiency between the traditional and
new device measured in the laboratory. However, efficiency varies
with technological and operational factors that can be accurately
accounted for only by field-based measurements. In this research,
an uncontrolled cooking efficiency test (UCET) was developed and implemented
to measure baseline efficiency and fuel consumption during meal preparation
for a planned total of 360 charcoal stove tests and 360 wood stove
tests. Results show average thermal efficiencies of 11.8 ± 5.3%
for traditional wood and 22.1 ± 9.8% for traditional charcoal
cookstoves, demonstrating good agreement with the previous and current
UNFCCC baseline values of 10% and 15% for wood and 20% and 25% for
charcoal. Single meal fuel use was extrapolated to 0.17 ± 0.07
tonnes/capita/year of wood and 0.04 ± 0.02 tonnes/capita/year
of charcoal, conservative compared to the UNFCCC global default of
0.4 tonnes of wood/capita/year. Multiple regression analysis indicated
a strong statistical association of efficiency with firepower, pot/pan
dimensions, and the cooking method. Results demonstrate the utility
of the UCET for evaluating cookstove efficiency and fuel consumption
in households to more accurately support the determination of emissions
reductions.