Household Energy Systems in the Global South (MCEN 4228/5228)
Unit 1. Household energy use and the services provided. The first unit covers an overview of existing household energy use and its impact on human health and climate along with a deeper dive into the services being provided by these energy conversion systems including food cooking with the focus on increasing useable calories. We will explore how different forms of cooking, lighting and heating provide different service outcomes. The students will use the context of their assigned country to think about each service. For example, a student assigned to Indonesia might explore the differences in energy needed and calories provided by smoking versus pan frying fish.
Unit 2. Combustion of solid fuels. The second unit covers combustion of solid fuels including both the fuel energy content as well as emissions. These emissions drive the human health and climate impact, so learning about why they happen and how they can be minimized will be the focus. There will be some content on solid fuel alternatives depending on student interest. Again, students will use the context of an assigned country to focus their exploration. As an example, a student assigned Guatemala might explore the differences in CO emissions from burning wet versus dry corn crop residue.
Unit 3. Heat energy conversion technology. The third unit will cover the existing and potential alternative technologies that provide the service of cooking, heating and lighting. These technologies are in large part heat transfer devices that are taking the heat released from the fuel and converting it to the energy needed to provide the service. We will explore how these technologies are designed and how those designs could be improved to increase heat transfer efficiency or other energy service objectives. Again, local context will be used, so a student assigned Burkina Faso might experiment with the how kerosene wick height changes the efficiency of light production from a lamp.
Student Assessment
Unit 1.
Country Websites 30 %
(content and appearance, scope depending on student level)
Household energy service group project 70 %
(proposal + 12 minute in-class presentation + 1 pg synopsis)
Unit 2.
Lecture 30 %
(topics of chosen by student, 10-20 minutes depending on student level)
Combustion group project 70 %
(proposal + poster presentation)
Unit 3.
Lecture 30 %
(topics chosen by student, 10-20 minutes depending on student level)
Heat Transfer Group Project
(proposal + 12 minute in-class presentation + pg report) 70 %
Readings:
Motivation
WHO Burning Opportunity
United National Sustainable Development Goals progress report
IPCC Summary Report on Climate Change 2016
Links:
Motivation:
Internal Energy Agency, Energy Flows by country
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (by International Energy Agency)
Global Burden of Disease
Clean Cooking Alliance
Testing:
Compilation of cooking testing protocols
Equipment check-out with emission factor and efficiency calculator
Nutrition:
USDA Choose My Plate
What the world eats
Monitoring Tools:
Citizen Science Air Quality Monitoring
Pods and AQIQ
Interesting Videos:
New Aprovecho stove designs
Recorded Zoom Lectures
Lecture topic schedule
Country Assignments
Middle Americas
Haiti,
Nicaragua,
Honduras,
West Africa
Nigeria
DR Congo,
Senegal,
East Africa
Ethiopia,
Madagascar,
Tanzania,
Western Pacific
Phillipines,
Laos,
Papua New Guinea,
Southeast Asia
Bangladesh,
India,
Nepal,
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