Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Greater Mekong SubRegion

Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region End User Adoption Study Foreword With the Project Market Acceleration for Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Mekong sub-region’ SNV supports Vietnamese producers of improved cook stoves to increase the efficiency and safety while reducing harmful emissions from these cook stoves After meeting the strict project criteria producers are supported with a result based finance (RBF) incentive for each stove that they sell to end users in Vietnam The RBF incentives are allocated through an innovative mechanism which we call the RBF incentive option auction This mechanism results in the lowest possible incentive at which producers are still able to sell advanced clean cook stoves to end users in Vietnam, thereby achieving the maximum possible development impact per euro invested by our donor Energizing Development The producers are free to decide on the optimal delivery method to their end users, which results in a high efficiency and an increased chance that they will continue these activities after our intervention stops Besides supply, it is also necessary to create demand Through this project end users have a chance to experience the benefits that advanced clean cook stoves bring, which may increase their willingness to pay to a level where these cook stoves can be delivered on a commercial basis At that point, our objective of creating a sustainable market for advanced clean cook stoves in Vietnam will become a reality By now, seven different stove designs are eligible to compete for RBF incentives In order to estimate the actual development impact of the delivery of these cook stoves it is necessary to get a better insight into how much end users actually use these stoves and how they experience the benefits This report would not have been possible without the contributions of many different actors SNV Netherlands Development Organisation would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following organisations and individuals: Our donors, Energizing Development (EnDev) and Blue Moon Fund (BMF) for their financial contributions which enable SNV to implement this important project with the objective of creating a commercial market for advanced clean cook stoves in Vietnam The Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development (WINROCK) under the U.S EPA Cook Stoves Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Project who supported and funded the workshop about “Measuring and Understanding Household Stove Use” They also provided SNV with the iButtons (stove usage monitors) and provided technical support in during this research and the writing of this report The Vietnamese Women Union, for their coordination regarding the many household visits and in arranging support and approval from local government regarding this study The ACCS team (Nguyen Duc Minh, Nguyen Hong Hanh, Theo Shand and Daniel Salinas) for their hard work during the implementation of the study Also I would like to thank Nguyen Hong Nam, a PhD student of the University of Science and Technology (USTH) for his contribution to this study We hope that you will continue to engage Vietnamese students to work on advanced clean cook stoves in Vietnam Last but not least I would like to express my appreciation for the work done by Daniel Salinas, a Master candidate Sustainable Energy Technology at the Eindhoven University of Technology Daniel joined SNV for a three-month internship and acted as project leader for this study You have done a remarkable job in putting this study together in such a short time period I appreciate your in depth analysis and visualisation of the results of this study I am sure you have a bright future ahead of you, hopefully within SNV but I would also highly recommend you to any external organisation Steven Von Eije Sector Leader Renewable Energy – SNV Vietnam Executive Summary SSS The End User Adoption Study was designed to gain a comprehensive understanding into the adoption practices of Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in Vietnam by the general public The overall study researches on a wide range of factors that are relevant for the implementation of this technology The study consisted on obtaining qualitative and quantitative data from surveys and sensors that monitor temperature respectively During a period of two months, field study visits were conducted on two different locations within the Province of Hanoi Location A, 30 kilometres west of Hanoi, is considered primarily a rural area Location B, 26 kilometres south of Hanoi, is formed by small and relatively close clusters of households making it a peri-urban area Two different intervention stoves were evaluated throughout the study The THX model from GreenGen Company was analysed on Location A while the TM model from Tiến Mạnh Company was assessed on Location B Between both locations a total of 46 households participated in the study Surveys were carried out in order to gain insight on demographics, stove-stacking, accessibility of energy source, convenience, health, seasonal usage and an overall comparative between the intervention stoves (ACCS) and the traditional stoves Coupled to this, Stove Usage Monitor Systems (SUMS) were placed on cooking stoves used by each households to monitor their cooking behaviour A transition between users cooking indoors towards cooking now outdoors in Intervention Households was registered via the survey The ACCS owners argued that the portability of their stove allowed them to cook outdoors more often than their Iron Bar Ultimately this has positive health consequences as there is a decreased risk for high emissions exposure due to the full air ventilation existing while cooking outdoors The findings from the study also showed a substantial reduction in Iron Bar Usage in households that owned the ACCS with respect to the Control Group houses that didn’t own it The minutes spent per day using Iron Bar in the houses owning the ACCS dropped nearly 80% The number of cooking events with the Iron Bar dropped 69% for Location A and 90% for Location B Houses using the THX Stove operate their stove on average 0.7 times per day, while the TM Stove is required 1.0 times per day The THX Stove accounted for 28% of the total cooking events for Location A whereas the TM Stove was responsible for 52% of the total cooking events in Location B Both intervention stoves have contributed in a sustained reduction of households depending on the Iron Bar for their cooking necessities Nonetheless, stove stacking is present in the households as they require to use multiple stoves to satisfy different conditions A difference in satisfaction levels between both intervention stoves was observed; with a slightly better evaluated TM Stove in comparison to the THX Stove However, it is possible to attribute this phenomena to the adoption maturity that the TM Stove has over the THX Stove with respect to their owners Nonetheless, the majority of the ACCS users claimed that their Intervention Stoves outperformed significantly their traditional stove in different aspects Both stoves have a potential to improve based on users’ opinions and they are willing to pay a higher retail price in order for it to occur A notorious benefit observed on both stoves was fuel savings A reduction in high quantities (more than 10 kilograms per day) of fuel consumption was noticed on Intervention Households in contrast with the Control Group households that still endure high fuel intensity due to their inefficient traditional stoves Furthermore, fuel availability was not a major concern for households that expressed the facilities they had to collect and acquire Wood and, to a lesser extent, Rice Husk In the end, the study findings were able to successfully provide relevant data for all the parties involved in the project Table of Contents FOREWORD EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 1: Introduction Background Information Locations Part 2: Research & Methodology 10 Study Question 11 Study Target 11 Methodology 12 Part 3: Qualitative Results & Discussion 14 Demographics 15 Stove Stacking 16 Accessibility of Energy Sources 20 Convenience 29 Advanced Clean Cook Stoves 30 Advanced Clean Cook Stoves vs Traditional Stoves 35 Kitchen & Ventilation 39 Health Issues 43 Seasonal Usage 45 Willingness to pay 46 Part 4: Quantitative Results & Discussion 48 SUMS – Stove Usage 49 Iron Bar Transition (comparing Qualitative & Quantitative Data) 53 ACCS Transition 55 Case Study: A Household using an ACCS for the first time 57 Part 5: Conclusions & Learning Goals Major Conclusions Part 6: Testimonies from study group Final Word Part 7: References 60 61 63 65 66 Glossary & Abbreviations Adoption of an Intervention Stove: User’s adoption of ACCS is a process that involved acquisition, adaptation and implementation of the technology in the household’s routine rather than being limited to the event of purchasing the stove Forced draft: Forced air cook stoves use a fan to blow high velocity, low volume jets of air into a combustion chamber, which results in more complete combustion of the fuel ICS: Energy-efficient stoves for households They reduce fuel consumption below 40 % compared to iron bar stoves and the three-stone-fires Natural draft: The flow of gases in a chimney due to the difference in temperature and density between the gases within the chimney and the exterior air Primary Fuel: most used fuel based on qualitative data Primary Stove: most used stove in the household based on the owner's perception or based on the data from SUMS Results Based Finance: Conditional payments for pre-agreed and verifiable results with shifting risks from donors to market actors Stove Stacking: The process of using multiple stoves for users to satisfy their cooking demands; (e.g to cook faster, cook a number of dishes at once, among others) SUMS: provides information on adoption of new technologies and their effect on cooking habits by using low-cost commercially available temperature loggers coupled with fit-for-purpose processing software Abbreviations ACCS Advanced Clean Cook Stoves HH Household ICS Improved Cook Stoves PF Primary Fuel RBF Results Based Finance SNV SNV Netherlands Development Organisation SUMS Stove Usage Monitor System THX Thế Hệ Xanh Stove (Green Generation Company Stove) T-LUD Top-Lit Updraft Gasifier TM Tien Manh Stove (Tien Manh Company Stove) WOM Word of Mouth Introduction Background Information In Vietnam alone, 70% of rural households use firewood along with agricultural residue for cooking The WHO claims that short and long term health effects associated with the smoke produced by these fuels has contributed to approximately 45,000 deaths per year in the country Coupled to the health hazards, environmental damage with this scenario is of great concern as inefficient burning of wood and agricultural residue for cooking spews five tonnes of greenhouse gases per stove per year into the atmosphere The role of cleaner and efficient cooking technologies, such as the Advanced Clean Cook Stoves (ACCS), can contribute to a reduction between 2040% of these emissions The “Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Greater Mekong Sub-region” project is an Energising Development (EnDev), Blue Moon Fund (BMF) and SNV intervention in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam It aims to start a sustainable market for clean, smokeless and efficient ACCS through supported sales from 2016-2019 in Vietnam The project receives funding from EnDev; a global program managed by GIZ and financed by DFID and different European donors, and from BMF; a foundation comprised by scientists, researches, investment professionals among other entities that apply strategic philanthropy and initiative-based investments in communities across the world The End User Adoption strives to comprehend and report the household’s cooking habits and patterns of usage The success of a technology adoption relies on a symbiotic relationship between user and technology itself Therefore, a thorough analysis of the users’ needs and wants has to be addressed and consider for the success of the ACCS program Why is the project relevant? Gains understanding on how stoves are used and how they change through time Collects insight on fuel usage, distribution, convenience and affordability Reflects on how successful the intervention stove has been in replacing traditional stoves Provides valuable information regarding users perception and satisfaction levels with the technology Based on the list of consumers provided by the ACCS Producers, Hanoi Province was chosen to serve as the study group’s location for this project Two locations within the province were studied Each location contained households that owned either the THX stove or the TM Stove Locations Hanoi Location A Location B For this study, the first location (known as ‘Location A’) was located 30 kilometres due west of Hanoi Location A is composed by the Districts of Thạch Thất & Quốc Oai This area comprises sets of scattered houses in several communes within the Districts under a primarily rural setting The second location (known as ‘Location B’), 26 kilometres due south of Hanoi, is composed by small villages scattered close to each other The Districts of Phú Xuyên & Thường Tín have a higher urbanization rate and therefore are considered to be peri-urban Location A Location B Research & Methodology 10 Iron Bar Transition Comparative between Average Iron Bar Usage between Control and Intervention Households The figure below illustrates the elapsed behaviour of an Iron Bar Stove based on the average usage for both the Control and Intervention Group As it was shown in the previous section, the Iron Bar for Location A was operated on average 1.3 times per day in the Control Group while for the Intervention Group it was used 0.4 times per day The graph above shows a significant difference between the usages patterns involved in both groups The frequency at which the Iron Bar Stove is used for the Control Group is slightly more than once per day This can be observed as the multiple green peaks existing throughout the lapse of one month Additionally, the number of average events present for the Iron Bar in the Intervention Group shows a rather erratic behaviour; having scattered events followed by activity gaps in between the events of several days Ultimately, this exemplifies the existing reduction of cooking events attributed to the Traditional Stove The Iron Bar Stove’s role in certain households has consolidated primarily for preparing animal feed in substantial quantities 54 One of the main objectives from the study was to observe and discuss the differences in cooking patterns between the ACCS The average cooking patterns for the THX Stove showed on average a cooking frequency of roughly seven out of ten days On the other hand, the TM Stove was utilised on average daily by the households that owned it The following section discusses the observed patterns from both ACCS ACCS Transition THX Usage Patterns The following graphs represent the usage patterns found in three different houses Each of the graphs (based on the SUMS data) represent the behaviour of households that used the THX Stove below, on or above average with respect to the entirety of the intervention households owning it Below Average Usage The first graph illustrates a household that used the THX Stove below the average found on the rest of the households The THX Stove usage pattern remained unpredictable as the household could operate the stove for certain days while having prolonged periods without any use Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 39% Average Usage The second graph exemplifies the case of a household that utilised the THX Stove close to the average observed in this intervention group The pattern remained fairly consistent as three out of every four days involved this stove in the household’s cooking activities Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 58% Above Average Usage The third graph displays the data observed from a household that operated the THX Stove above the average usage found in the rest of the study group The pattern remained mostly constant throughout the study; with a virtually daily involvement of this stove in the cooking activities that the households conducted Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 69% 55 ACCS Transition TM Usage Patterns The following graphs represent the usage patterns found in three different houses Each of the graphs (based on the SUMS data) represent the behaviour of households that used the TM Stove below, on or above average with respect to the entirety of the intervention households owning it Below Average Usage The first graph shows a household that used the TM Stove below the average found on the rest of the households The TM Stove pattern remained relatively consistent albeit certain moments in which this stove was not involved in the household’s cooking activities At least half of the time was the stove being operated Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 54% Average Usage The second graph reveals the average behaviour of households that own the TM Stove The stove was involved in the cooking events on a nearly daily basis Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 83% Above Average Usage The third graph exposes the data observed from a household that operated the TM Stove above the average usage found in the rest of the study group Households using the stove above average utilised it more than once per day; performing different cooking activities Percentage of days that this stove was used for cooking in the household: 100% 56 The following case study shows the transition in cooking patterns that a control household in Location B has gone through as it purchased and adopted a TM Stove amidst the study Case Study: New ACCS The Household Mrs Vu Thi Nhan is a 57 year old female that lives in Đại Thắng Commune which is located within Hanoi Province She is a grandmother and their main source of income is provided by crop and livestock farming that her husband earns They formed part of the Control Group in which their main and only stove was the Iron Bar On average they claimed to use the stove between 60 – 90 minutes each day for animal food and heating water The kitchen shows the traditional Iron Bar Stove and the ash accumulation existing after cooking process The cooking area comprises a three-walled structure with a full opening towards the main patio; allowing good air circulation to exist between the kitchen and the exterior Before ACCS: Iron Bar Mrs Vu expressed her high intensity in fuel consumption; using both rice husk and wood as energy sources for her Iron Bar stove Her household consumed between – 10 kilograms of wood per day, while rice husk quantities surpassed the 10 kilograms per day A high energy consumption in a low efficiency cooking process limits the productivity of the household as cooking activities take a considerable amount of time Based on the SUMS data for the Iron Bar in the household:    Average events per day: 1.8 Average duration per day: 152 minutes Percentage of days with Iron Bar cooking: 100% Cooking activities consumed each day more than two and a half hours from the household’s activities Therefore, Mrs Vu decided to look for alternatives to this situation Her main concerns relied on:  High degree of fuel consumption and therefore fuel savings were vital for her to consider adopting another option to reduce her dependency on the Iron Bar Stove 57 Case Study: New ACCS After ACCS: TM Stove Iron Bar Usage prior to ACCS acquisition Mrs Vu utilised for one month her new TM Stove in the household and the cooking activities were monitored with the SUMS The sharp and sudden increases in temperature indicate cooking events while the observable high and low temperature cycles indicate the ambient temperature and therefore no cooking activity taking place A dramatic drop in Iron Bar activity could be observed after the ACCS acquisition The Iron Bar was consistently used on a daily basis in the household prior to the ACCS purchase The TM Stove was used intensively by Mrs Vu each day as it can be seen on the following data recorded by the SUMS: Before ACCS: Iron Bar Iron Bar Usage after ACCS acquisition    Average events per day: 1.8 Average duration per day: 152 minutes Percentage of days with Iron Bar cooking: 100% After ACCS: Iron Bar    Average events per day: 0.29 Average duration per day: 13 minutes Percentage of days with Iron Bar cooking: 24% TM Stove ACCS Usage in Household    Average events per day: 3.1 Average duration per day: 108 minutes Percentage of days with TM Stove cooking: 100% Observed changes:    58 Increase in overall cooking events but with a reduction in time spent o Time savings of 20% with respect to the time spent before the ACCS 76% decrease in percentage of days in which the Iron Bar was required 84% reduction in number of events per day attributed to the Iron Bar Testimony from using the TM Stove Case Study: New ACCS Mrs Vu’s case study has shown the immediate results of a particular household that relied on the Iron Bar Stove and that now has access to an ACCS Significant changes have been recorded on the SUMS showing a consistent reduction in Iron Bar Usage while the ACCS was able to provide her with most of their cooking necessities on a daily basis Despite having an increase in cooking events on a daily basis, the time spent on a daily basis reduced by roughly 30 minutes Less time spent on the process could not only reflect on having lower fuel consumption rates but also in allowing Mrs Vu to use that time for other tasks in the household The final impression from Mrs Vu is that the ACCS stove has proven to serve her needs and will continue to use it Also, she claims that she will buy a new one in case her current TM breaks down as she is satisfied with its performance “I will continue to use the Iron Bar Stove but, eventually I will use the new TM Stove for boiling water for bathing during the winter” Our Team and Mrs Vu showing her TM Stove “I will buy a new TM Stove again even if it breaks” 59 Major Conclusions 60 The results from the End User Adoption Study showed that there has been a significant reduction in Iron Bar Usage were households own the ACCS Factors such as adoption maturity play a key role behind the difference found in perception and usage between the TM Stove and the THX Stove Major Conclusions Conclusions for Producers o THX STOVE      41% of the users consider it to be their Primary Stove 0.7 cooking events on an average daily basis 65 minutes spent with the stove on an average daily basis 77% drop in Iron Bar Usage (minutes spent) Slowly consolidating in the cooking patterns of Location A o Learning curve: users are learning how to use the stove effectively o Adoption maturity is key in the stove’s adaptation to the user and its success o Willingness from THX Stove owners to pay more after features on the stove are improved o Main area to improve: increase in size to fit more pots TM STOVE      63% of the users consider it to be their Primary Stove 1.0 cooking events on an average daily basis 48 minutes spent with the stove on an average daily basis 84% drop in Iron Bar Usage (minutes spent) More than 52% of the cooking events in houses with this stove are done with it o High Satisfaction levels with the stove o Willingness from TM Stove owners to pay slightly more after features on the stove are improved o Main area to improve: increase in durability of the stove 61 Major Conclusions Conclusions for Donors Fuel savings are present (in both Wood and Rice Husk) when the ACCS are utilised o These fuel savings not only could represent an economic benefit for those that purchase the fuel but also social and environmentalbenefits can be found  Less time spent collecting or acquiring the fuel allows households to perform other tasks  Lower fuel consumption potentially reduces the production of emissions A transition of cooking location is occurring o Households that own the ACCS have suggested that their cooking activities are being displaced outdoors due to the portability benefit that they obtain from the stove o This reflects in a reduction of exposure to harmful emissions which has a positive impact on the user’s health The THX Stove is used on average 0.7 times per day while the TM Stove was used on average 1.0 times per day A substantial reduction in Iron Bar Usage and ownership was observed o This could be attributed to the ACCS adaptation to the household’s cooking necessities o A case of technology displacement from a least efficient to a more efficient technology may be exemplifying an energy laddering scenario o Social factors such as the negative perception of the Iron Bar Stove in more urban areas also contribute in its reduction LPG behaviour remained fairly constant despite the introduction of the ACCS o ACCS might be catering the market of replacing the traditional stoves rather than efficient stoves such as the LPG Stoves remain affordable for users; who are willing to pay higher retail prices for them as long as improvements are done based on their demands Preparing the stove for cooking activities remains a quick and easy task; while soot and ash cleaning coupled to temperature control remain as challenges Kitchens offer some ventilation in most of the cases but not sufficient to prevent soot marks from traditional cooking stoves Wood is a perennial fuel while Rice Husk faces a slightly higher threat in availability 62 Testimonies 63 63 Testimonies “I have been using the rice husk stove for more than years I feel my skin is better which is also more beautiful because I am no longer suffering from the iron bar’s smoke” “I like using the rice husk stove because it is cleaner; easy to ignite It also helps me to have more time for my children, for raising pigs and making wine to earn for income” 64 Final Word “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow The important thing is not to stop questioning” – Albert Einstein Personally I would like to thank the households involved in the study, as well as the team who constantly kept working to improve and to support in making this project happen Also, I would like to thank the Donors and groups involved by providing the funds and conditions to promote this project Additionally I would like to thank Steven Von Eije for the opportunity to participate in such a rewarding and fulfilling project - Daniel Salinas Renewable Energy Intern for SNV Vietnam 65 References 66 References Global Health Observatory data repository (2015, May 07) Retrieved Fall, 2016, from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.HAPBYCAUSEBYCOUNTRY?lang=en Services: Stove Use Monitoring System (SUMS) (2016) Retrieved Fall, 2016, from http://berkeleyair.com/services/stove-use-monitoring-system-sums/ SNV, Renewable Energy (2016, July 4) Advanced clean cookstoves auction launched in Vietnam [Press release] SNV Retrieved Fall, 2016, from http://www.snv.org/update/advanced-clean-cookstoves-auctionlaunched-vietnam SNV, Renewable Energy (2016, July) Successful kick-off workshop for Advanced Clean Cookstove project in Vietnam [Press release] SNV Retrieved Fall, 2016, from http://www.snv.org/update/successful-kick-workshopadvanced-clean-cookstove-project-vietnam Stanistreet, D., Hyseni, L., Bashin, M., Sadumah, I., Pope, D., Sage, M., & Bruce, N (2015) The Role of Mixed Methods in Improved Cookstove Research Journal of Health Communication, 20(Sup1), 84-93 doi:10.1080/10810730.2014.999896 V Eije, S., & Nguyen Hong, H (2016) MARKET STUDY Biomass Advanced Cookstove in Vietnam (Rep.) Vietnam: SNV 67 Contact Information: SNV Vietnam Office 3rd Floor, Building D La Thanh Hotel 218 Doi Can Street Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84 (0) 3846 3791 Fax: +84 (0) 3846 3794 Website: www.snv.org Project website: www.bepsachvietnam.com.vn 68 ... technologies, such as the Advanced Clean Cook Stoves (ACCS), can contribute to a reduction between 2040% of these emissions The Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Greater Mekong Sub-region”... 52% of the total cooking events in Location B Both intervention stoves have contributed in a sustained reduction of households depending on the Iron Bar for their cooking necessities Nonetheless,...2 Foreword With the Project Market Acceleration for Advanced Clean Cook Stoves in the Mekong sub-region’ SNV supports Vietnamese producers of improved cook stoves to increase the efficiency and