Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA) of Cooking Fuel Sources Used in India Households

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to analyze various cooking fuel options commonly used in Indian households, namely, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG CO) derived from crude oil and (LPG NG) natural gas, kerosene, coal, electricity, firewood, charcoal, crop residues, dung cake and biogas. In this paper, we used life cycle energy analysis approach to determine the life cycle energy efficiency (LCEE) of cooking fuels. The daily heat energy requirement by the Indian households for cooking activities is about 2150 kcal. Amongst the analyzed fossil fuels, LPG derived from natural gas has the highest energy efficiency of 45 % and coal with 14.7 % is the least energy efficient fossil fuel option for household cooking. The life cycle energy efficiency of traditional biomass fuels is 11.9-7.5%, which is much lower than those of commercial cooking fuels like LPG and kerosene. The life cycle energy efficiency of charcoal is found to be 9 % and is lower than that of firewood. The energy efficiency of biogas is found to be comparable to that of LPG and is potentially a sustainable cooking fuel option in Indian context