Household energy

Around 2.4 billion people use biomass fuels - wood, charcoal and animal dung - for their domestic energy needs. These are typically burned in inefficient stoves or on open fires, with serious consequences for health and the environment. SEI identifies and designs actions to help households transition to cleaner technologies and energy sources.

Person transporting tall stack of firewood by bicycle down mountain pass, Zomba, Malawi

Energy access and the ultra-poor: Do unconditional social cash transfers close the energy access gap in Malawi?

Journal article / This article explores the relationship between poverty and energy access in Malawi and whether unconditional social cash transfers help close the energy gap.

4 January 2021 / About Behaviour and choice, Energy access, Household energy, Public policy and Sustainable Development Goals

Large black pot on cookstove, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

In-use emissions from biomass and LPG stoves measured during a large, multi-year cookstove intervention study in rural India

Journal article / The study aimed to measure in-home emissions from a variety of stoves in rural Indian communities.

23 November 2020 / About Behaviour and choice, Household energy and Pollution

Forest, farms and fuelwood: Measuring changes in fuelwood collection and consumption behavior from a clean cooking intervention

Journal article / Researchers examined fuelwood use in two rural Indian districts where clean cooking solutions were implemented.

3 March 2021 / About Behaviour and choice, Forests, Household energy and Pollution

Low-cost interventions to reduce emissions and fuel consumption in open wood fires in rural communities: Evidence from field surveys

Journal article / Researchers measure the effectiveness of a grass-roots campaign in Western Kenya to increase cooking with rock-beds for open fires and simple woodstoves.

13 July 2021 / About Behaviour and choice, Household energy and Pollution

Waste pipe or drainage polluting environment

Recovering resources from organic waste streams with the REVAMP tool

Feature / Explore your city or community's resource recovery potential of urban organic waste streams on the new web-based platform for SEI’s newly launched REVAMP tool.

19 November 2021 / About Business, Cities, Finance, Household energy, Innovation, Public policy, Renewables, Sanitation and Water resources

Solar panels on a house roof in a Berber village in Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco, North Africa

Perceived unknowns about gridless water, sanitation and energy services

SEI report / This SEI report outlines issues that stakeholders in water, sanitation and energy services believe are holding back uptake of promising gridless technologies.

18 November 2021 / About Business, Energy access, Household energy, Innovation, Renewables, Sanitation and Water resources

Upscaling small scale organic waste processing ventures for circular economy in cities in SSA and East Asia

Project / Study generated critical knowledge to inform upscaling of investments in small-scale organic waste processing ventures in low- and-middle income countries

2021 - 2022 / About Cities, Household energy and Pollution

African woman cooking food over wood-burning fire, Nanyuki, Kenya

New database aims to help build the future of clean household energy policy

Feature / Almost one-third of the world’s population has no access to clean energy for cooking. SEI scientists hope to help tackle the problem with better policies.

30 September 2021 / About Household energy

Solar cooker uses sun's energy to boil a kettle of water in Nepal

Defining and achieving clean cooking

Past event / SEI scientists join a panel of experts to unveil a new WHO household energy policy repository, which lists clean household energy policies for 30+ countries.

29 September 2021 / About Household energy