TEG cookstove project

TEG Schematic

2.8 billion people globally rely solely on traditional polluting fuels and technologies for cooking (IEA et al, 2020). Diseases arising from household air pollution include acute respiratory infection, pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which account for 2 to 4 million deaths each year and 60 million disability life adjusted years (IEA et al, 2020; Lee et al, 2020). While traditional cookstove and fuel users positively regard cleaning cooking fuels, the monetary cost of cleaner fuels is a key barrier to adoption. In response, IIT Delhi’s Centre for Rural Development Technology has developed an improved TEG cookstove that uses free-of-monetary cost biofuel that traditional cookstove users use, but whose electric fan improves combustion and reduces harmful emissions. It additionally generates 3-5W of electricity to charge small electric devices, to further incentivise adoption.

 

IIT Delhi disbursed 16 TEG cookstoves in 2019 to villagers in Gandikhata, Haridwar district in the state of Uttarakhand in India to field-test their performance. In 2021, IIT Delhi teamed up with the UCL Engineering for International Development Centre, UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (GOSH) to leverage their expertise in infrastructure in resource-constrained settings, in behavioural change, and in community health. Through Covid19-safe phone interviews, the interdisciplinary collaboration aims to learn about the:

  • extent of adoption of the TEG cookstove,
  • perceived improvements in health, and 
  • perceptions about the TEG cookstove and any constraints to its greater use.

The research findings will serve as a pilot for follow-up research on a larger scale post-Covid19 once design suggestions arising from the research have been incorporated into a newer generation of TEG cookstove.

The UCL-IIT Delhi Strategic Partner Funds has made the research possible. University College London and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi are contributing matching funds to support collaborative education and research in any field that will lead to impactful research outcomes.

The project researchers are:

  • Dr Priti Parikh, Associate Professor, UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction; Head of UCL Engineering for International Development Centre
  • Professor Virendra Kumar Vijay, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Chair Professor, IIT Delhi – Centre for Rural Development and Technology; National Coordinator, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan; General Secretary, Biogas Forum-India
  • Professor Monica Lakhanpaul, Professor of Integrated Community Child Health, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health – Population, Policy and Practice Department
  • Dr Priyanka Kaushal, Associate Professor, IIT Delhi – Centre for Rural Development and Technology
  • Dr Amit Mehndiratta, Associate Professor, IIT Delhi – Centre for Biomedical Engineering
  • Dr Niamh Murtagh, Senior Research Fellow, UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction
  • Dr Imad Ahmed, Research Fellow, UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction
  • Imlisongla Aier, Research Assistant, IIT Delhi – Centre for Rural Development and Technology
  • Chakrabhushan Pandey, Senior Project Assistant, IIT Delhi and Unnat Bharat Abhiyan