Performance Analysis of an LPG Cooking Stove for Improvements and Future Usability Perspective

Abstract

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is an economical, clean, and renewable fuel, preferred for domestic cooking around the world. Because of its benefits, its consumption is growing on a large scale in household use for gas stoves. The present study was carried out keeping in view, energy conservation and to explore the possibilities of improving the performance, in particular, the thermal efficiency of LPG gas stove. An experimental test setup was developed as per IS 4246:2002 for testing the gas stove. A commercially available LPG gas stove was selected and tested for thermal efficiency and emissions, as per IS 4246:2002. The average thermal efficiency of 60.7% was measured. The power of the burner was found to be 1.12 kW. A mechanism to change the loading height was fabricated and installed on the gas stove. The thermal efficiency and gas consumption test of the gas stove was evaluated for the following loading heights, 0, 2.5 mm, 5 and 7.5 mm. The optimum loading height was found to be 5 mm, at which the highest thermal efficiency and lowest gas consumption were measured. After the study, it can be concluded that there is scope for improvement in the thermal efficiency of the gas stove using suitable techniques and design modifications. A cookstove usability evaluation was done for usability and technical features on a scale of 1–5, to understand the user and future needs to develop an improved gas stove for urban and rural households.