Energy Saving and Techno-economic Assessment of Self Aspirated Domestic LPG Stove with Porous Radiant Burner

In this paper, a comparative study on energy and cost saving in a self-aspirated domestic LPG cook-stove with porous radiant burner (SAPRB) developed by Mishra et al. [1] with reference to a conventional LPG burner (CB) using Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) and Techno-economic Assessment (TEA) is presented. CCT estimates the total energy required for the preparation of typical food items, based on average daily food intake as reported in National Sample Survey [2]. In order to make a fair comparison between SAPRB and CB, the similar dishes were prepared in parallel in both the stoves. The fuel and time required for cooking of various dishes were recorded individually. Results indicated that the cook-stove with PRB is a better choice for the replacement of conventional LPG stove due to its economic and environmental superiority. On daily basis, SAPRB resulted in average saving of 50 min cooking time and 29.46% fuel consumption. SAPRB has been found to significantly reduce the emissions of CO by 84.4% and NOx by 91.3%. TEA showed annual saving of Rs. 2025/- and the cumulative present worth of annual savings over the life of the PRB cook-stove has been found as Rs. 16572/-, which are much higher than the capital cost of the PRB cook-stove (Rs. 990/-). The calculated Internal Rate of Return (IRR) has been found to be 209.3% which is much higher than rate of return (8%). Similarly, the payback period has been found less than 6 month, which is very small considering the life of the cook-stove (10 years). (paper)