An introduction to household energy

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Key issues Related topics Related Links References Authors

'Household energy' is energy for meeting needs within the household such as heat for cooking, warmth, lighting, communication (radio/TV), and productive uses (home industries).

In developing countries in the context of acute poverty, fuels such as wood, charcoal and kerosene are dominant for cooking and providing warmth (and these uses are the main consumers of energy in the household). Liquified petroleum gas are occasionally used but costs are often prohibitive. Renewable energy systems which includes solar thermal, solar photovoltaics, wind energy, and micro-hydro power are of increasing importance. In some areas small village based electricity grids have been developed and a limited (but growing) number of households are connected to the national electricity grid.

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Household energy and health - current research suggests that over 2 million people die each year from Indoor Air Pollution caused by inefficient cooking devices in developing countries, but strong evidence is still lacking. There's quite a bit of skepticism too (much like the skepticism around the health impact of tabacco smoke years ago).
Household energy and gender - women are usually the main users of household energy, but frequently decisions are made by men. Policies also frequently only look from the male perspective.
Productive uses of energy? -
Energy and development? - energy can play a crucial role in underpinning efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and improving the lives of poor people across the world. Lack of access to adequate, affordable, reliable, safe and environmentally benign energy is a severe constraint on development. And the number of people without that access, even to meet their basic needs, is staggering: two billion people lack clean, safe cooking fuels and must depend on traditional biomass sources.

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Improved cookstoves

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UK Department for International Development - paper on Energy for the Poor
Review of interventions to reduce the exposure of women and young children to indoor air pollution in developing countries by Grant Ballard-Tremeer and Angela Mathee grant@... and www.ecoharmony.com
Ezzati, M., H. Saleh, and D. M. Kammen (2000) The Contributions of Emissions and Spatial Microenvironments to Exposure to Indoor Air Pollution from Biomass Combustion in Kenya Environmental Health Perspectives, 108(9), 833-839

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Page created: 07 August 2003; Last edited: 26 March 2007; Version: 26
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Pagename: IntroductionToHouseholdEnergy @HEDON: GBAA