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Lab & Field Testing

Comprehensive stove testing is critical. Some cookstoves can actually emit more emissions than an open fire, or they can be highly efficient in a laboratory setting, but not perform well in the field where the conditions are less controlled. That is why it is important to test stoves both ways.

Lab Tests

The standard laboratory test conducted for cookstoves is called the 5-liter Water Boiling Test or WBT. This test measures the fuel and energy needed to boil 5 liters of water on the stove while also capturing the smoke and emissions produced. These results provide critical information about the stove’s design (and design flaws) and are an indicator of how it will perform in the field.

Our R&D partner, the Aprovecho Research Center is one of the industry’s leading testing centers and works to set up other testing centers across the globe. Aprovecho tests all EcoZoom stoves in the lab before they are taken into the field to ensure they are fuel and emissions efficient. Our stoves have also been tested by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Field Tests

The EcoZoom stove has been tested by third party experts to ensure they provide an efficient and safe cooking experience. Experts test the speed of cooking local foods, ease of use, fuel consumption, emissions released, and response of the cooks. EcoZoom repeatedly performs well in third party testing of manufactured cookstoves. Some reports available upon request, others are confidential as requested by the testing entity. 

Customer Satisfaction Survey: In March of 2016 we contacted 100 users of our 'Jiko Bora' charcoal stove in Kenya to find out how they were performing. 96% of the users were happy with the product! More than 50% were using their jiko daily, while over 90% felt that the stove had saved them money and made their home healthier. They cited charcoal savings, less smoke, ease of use and quality as the things they liked the most.

 

The 'Jiko Bora' Kitchen Performance Test (KPT): The Jiko Bora is our charcoal cookstove, 'jiko' means stove in Swahili. The objective of the KPT was to assess the performance of the stove by analyzing it's fuel consumption. Fuel consumption indicators and qualitative metrics of usage and preference were measured over two 24 hour periods in 8 different households. The Bora was measured against a traditional charcoal stove and a kerosene wick stove. The study was a success and majority of the households reported that the Bora saved them time, fuel and money!

   

 

World Health Organization (WHO) Nyanza Stove Testing: In late 2013/early 2014, the WHO in collaboration with the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and various universities conducted an 'evaluation of acceptability & performance' of cookstoves for reducing household air pollution. The EcoZoom Dura wood stove performed best in it's class of natural draft cookstoves!

 

C-Quest, Zambia: To explore how EcoZoom performed over a range of household energy demands and patterns, a development customer conducted a multi-day, in-house pilot with our stoves in Zambia. 90% of households said they would use the EcoZoom all the time if they owned it and cited speed of cooking and fuel savings as the primary advantages.

 

DelAgua, Rwanda: DelAgua piloted over 2,000 Zoom Dura cookstoves in rural Rwanda and conducted extensive monitoring and evaluation to test end user uptake. Results from follow-up surveys conducted by local Community Health Workers 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after stove placement show that 95% of recipients now use EcoZoom as their primary cooking method.

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