TIDE Improved Biomass Cooking Stoves

Biomass is a primary fuel source in India. Most commonly, wood is collected from forests and burned in stoves for cooking and other processes. TIDE aims to improve the efficiency of cooking stoves, and reduce the need for biomass fuel, and its resultant emissions.

TIDE designs improved stoves tailored to the needs of different consumers. Most designs include the same features: improved internal geometry to maximize heat transfer and minimize heat loss, better internal insulation, and chimney to take pollution away from the user's surroundings.

Entrepreneurs sell these products locally, and offer service for one year. After that, service and repairs can be made for a fee. The life of the stove, given proper use and basic maintenance, is about 5 years.

Stoves are manufactured locally, using as many locally-available materials as possible. To improve quality control, some improved water-heating stoves are manufactured by Phoenix Products, which can install 300 units per year.

Right now, TIDE is providing stoves to many states in the South of India. Depending on the application of the stove, the price varies. A silk-reeling stove costs Rs2,000; a 100-litre water boiler Rs15,000; an improved stove for Rs17,000. The state of Karnataka, for example, offers subsidies for different stoves based on which industry is purchasing them.

Publicly available: yes
Countries where available: India
Offered or can be licensed for local manufacture: Yes

tide-case-study-2008-0.pdf