Abstract
Due to the need for the certification of stoves under
both Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and
voluntary market projects, there is now a strong drive
to create testing protocols and standard operating
procedures that simulate the real-world use of stoves.
Given the current importance of stove performance
tests as a basis for emissions inventories for global
climate prediction models, improvements in
performance testing are critical to derive representative
estimates. This reinforces the need for robust testing
protocols that can be used to create performance curves
for the inter-comparison of a variety of fuel/stove/task
combinations when applied to diverse cooking and
space heating needs. Currently stove emission factors
are derived from variants of either a Water Boiling Test
(WBT) or a Controlled Cooking Test (CCT), in spite of
well-documented problems associated with use of these
methods. This paper aims to present both a conceptual
and preliminary experimental comparison of stove
testing methods between the standard WBT and the
SeTAR Centre’s Heterogeneous Stove Testing Protocol
(HTP) for thermal and emissions performance, using an
ethanol gel stove. Recommendations will be drawn from
the results and will have practical relevance for stove
project managers and certification bodies to develop a
set of criteria for improving existing testing protocols;
and for stove developers in guiding improvements in
existing stoves and the development of new designs.