Version 1
: Received: 2 August 2023 / Approved: 3 August 2023 / Online: 3 August 2023 (10:05:20 CEST)
How to cite:
Scott, N.; Leach, M.; Clements, W. Energy Efficient Electric Cooking and Sustainable Energy Transitions. Preprints2023, 2023080313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0313.v1
Scott, N.; Leach, M.; Clements, W. Energy Efficient Electric Cooking and Sustainable Energy Transitions. Preprints 2023, 2023080313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0313.v1
Scott, N.; Leach, M.; Clements, W. Energy Efficient Electric Cooking and Sustainable Energy Transitions. Preprints2023, 2023080313. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0313.v1
APA Style
Scott, N., Leach, M., & Clements, W. (2023). Energy Efficient Electric Cooking and Sustainable Energy Transitions. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0313.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Scott, N., Matthew Leach and Will Clements. 2023 "Energy Efficient Electric Cooking and Sustainable Energy Transitions" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0313.v1
Abstract
Transitioning to clean cooking fuels is not only part of achieving SDG7, but also makes a significant contribution to mitigating climate change by reducing carbon emissions. The paper contradicts the conventional wisdom that electricity is too expensive to cook with. The paper explores the energy required to cook dishes using different technologies and fuels by analysing data from Cooking Diaries and Controlled Cooking tests conducted under the MECS programme. Electric pressure cookers (EPCs) use least energy when compared with electric hotplates, and a detailed description of how the EPC works explains why this should be. The paper draws out distinctions between African and Asian dishes, notably the impact of energy intensive dishes prepared mostly in Africa. Standard efficiency based approaches to comparing the performance of stoves are not appropriate to modern electric cooking devices so an alternative approach based on specific energy consumptions is proposed e.g. charcoal stoves use 15 times as much energy as EPCs to cook African dishes. Energy ratios provide a basis for estimating carbon emission reductions associated with transitioning to modern cooking fuels. Historical costs show that the cost of cooking with an EPC can be only 20% of the cost of cooking with charcoal, which highlights the potential for modern, energy efficient electric cooking devices to defy the conventional wisdom of the energy ladder.
Keywords
cooking; modern energy; electric pressure cooker; induction; energy transition; low and middle income countries
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Sustainable Science and Technology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
