Numbers don’t lie: New monitoring devices measure the impact of improved cookstoves | Source, complete article: Rob Goodier, Engineering for Change, Dec 29, 2013 |
Excerpts – How can stove developers learn about cooks in the millions of other open-fire kitchens worldwide? And how much, if at all, are the stoves reducing air pollution and fuel consumption? New monitoring technologies coming online now may have some answers.
Stove sensors and air testers
Businesses and universities are incorporating low-cost cell phone technology and high-priced proprietary instruments into stove sensors and air quality testers. A $75 wireless device by the non-profit technology company Nexleaf Analytics latches to the stove and records when it is in use. It sends its data wirelessly using a cheap built-in cell phone. If you know what the stove is cooking with, the company’s analytic software can estimate the amount of fuel consumed.
Personal particle sensors
Smoky cooking fires are thought to kill 2 million people per year, according to the World Health Organization. That bird’s eye estimate doesn’t take into account the conditions of individual kitchens or the behavior of each cook. RTI International is developing wearable particle sensors to help understand how stoves and fires can affect our health. The MicroPEM, a device the size of a smartphone, measures particles in the air that are smaller than 15,000 µg / m3. Using acceleration sensors, the device also records the wearer’s movements to predict how fast they are breathing.
“Health impacts from air pollutants are not just based on the concentrations in the environment, but on how much of the pollutant is actually inhaled,” Charles Rodes, who is leading the project, said in a statement. “For the first time, with MicroPEM technology, we can now estimate how much of a pollutant is actually making it into the respiratory system.”
Rhodes received a $2 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a children’s version of the sensor. He is now working on slimming down the MicroPEM to make it suitable for children and more easily tolerated by adults. He also hopes to bring the cost down to $2000 each.
