PCIA Workshop: Stove Design and Performance Testing with Approvecho Research Center, Laos

March 14-26, 2011, Laos

In March 2011, Aprovecho Research Center conducted a PCIA-sponsored Workshop on Stove Design and Performance Testing giving workshop participants the opportunity to learn how to improve cooking technology and how to test, evaluate and improve stove models. Aprovecho Research Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated to researching, developing and disseminating appropriate technological solutions for meeting the basic human needs of refugees and impoverished people and communities in poorer countries. ARC’s goal is to help relieve suffering, improve health, enhance safety, and reduce adverse impacts on the environment. ARC has been especially dedicated to creating effective cooking and heating systems using biomass fuels.

At the workshop, participants learned the importance of testing stoves and the various monitoring tools and performance tests available for monitoring and evaluating stove performance. Participants learned about the emissions monitoring tools, the Portable Emissions Monitoring System (PEMS) and Indoor Air Pollution Meter (IAP), and the the various stove tests, the Water Boiling Test (WBT), the Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) and the Kitchen Performance Test. Participants received hands on training on conducting WBT and CCT on their project stoves. Participants also learned about General Design Principles for clean burning stoves and received hands on training on how to make design changes to improve their stoves and testing their design changes using the WBT and CCT tests.

Please find below the Agenda and the Presentations from the Workshop.