Advances in Cookstove Field Monitoring

On September 25, 2013 Winrock International and the U.S. EPA hosted a webinar titled “Advances in Cookstove Field Monitoring". While lab-based testing of cookstoves and fuels is a critical tool for evaluating performance under controlled conditions, field-based monitoring of cookstoves and fuels in homes is essential for understanding real-world performance and use. New and improved technologies and data collection platforms are transforming the sector by providing key field performance data to better inform implementers, funders, and policy makers.

Dr. Michael Johnson from Berkeley Air Monitoring Group presented on the Platform for Integrated Cookstove Assessment (PICA), Dr. Nithya Ramanathan from Nexleaf Analytics presented on low cost remote sensors including the Black Carbon Cellphone Based Monitoring System (BC-CBM), and Dr. Charles Rodes from RTI International presented on the MicroPEM™. Each presenter explained the background and rationale behind developing these technologies/platforms, the intended uses and applications for each, and shared results and lessons learned from case studies and pilots in Africa and Asia.

The purpose of the webinar was to:

• Provide information on new and innovative technologies/platforms used for monitoring cookstove performance and use in the field.
• Discuss how field monitoring can be used to better inform implementers, funders and policy makers.
• Share results and lessons learned from field monitoring pilots across Africa and Asia.
• Provide information on how field monitoring can inform studies linking interventional cookstove performance with exposures to bridge links with adverse health outcomes.

You can view the full recording of the event HERE [1]. Presentation slides and Questions and Answers from the webinar are available in PDF format below. Please also find a PDF of the Chartier et al."Validating the Performance of the RTI MicroPEM™ to Support Indoor Air Pollution Exposure Health Studies" poster, presented at the ISEE/ISEA/ISIAQ meeting in Basel, Switzerland, August 22, 2013. For more information on the presenters’ organizations please visit:

• Berkeley Air Monitoring Group: www.berkeleyair.com [2]
• Nexleaf Analytics: www.nexleaf.org [3]
• RTI International: www.rti.org [4]