Solar E-Cooking with Low-Power Solar Home Systems for Sub-Saharan Africa

Fernando Antonanzas-Torres, Ruben Urraca, Camilo Andres Cortes Guerrero and Julio Blanco-Fernandez
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Fernando Antonanzas-Torres: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, Spain
Ruben Urraca: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Fermi 2749, I-21027 Ispra, Italy
Camilo Andres Cortes Guerrero: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota 111321, Colombia
Julio Blanco-Fernandez: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: The e-cooking feasibility was evaluated for two of the main staple foods across rural Sub-Saharan Africa (rice and maize porridge) considering basic solar home systems (SHS) of 100–150 W and using inexpensive market available low-power DC cooking devices (rice cooker and slow cooker). The coverage of e-cooking necessities was spatially evaluated for the African continent considering households of two, five, and eight people. While households of two people were able to be covered >95% of the days, the increase in e-cooking necessities implied that only larger PV generators (150 W) located in high irradiation sites (>2400 kWh/m 2 /year) were able to fulfill e-cooking, even in scenarios of households of five and eight people. Furthermore, the economic cost and the greenhouse gases emission factor (GHG) of e-cooking via small SHS were evaluated and benchmarked against traditional technologies with wood and charcoal considering three-stone and improved stoves and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookers. The GHG for e-cooking was 0.027–0.052 kgCO 2 eq./kg·meal, which was strikingly lower than the other technologies (0.502–2.42 kgCO 2 eq./kg·meal). The e-cooking cost was in the range of EUR 0.022–0.078 person/day, which was clearly lower than LPG and within the range of the cost of cooking with wood and charcoal (EUR 0.02–0.48 person/day). The results provided a novel insight regarding market available technologies with a potential of changing cooking conditions in this region.

Keywords: e-cooking; Sub-Saharan Africa; solar home system; low-power cookers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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