The tool analyses both residential and commercial cooking. You can work in dish-based mode by selecting meals, dishes, and a fuel for each dish, or in consumption-based mode by entering your actual monthly fuel use. Both modes feed the same energy, cost, emission, and health calculations.
Dish-based mode does not assume you cook a single serving of each dish you select. Instead, it sizes each meal to the household monthly calorie need, then scales the dishes you picked so that together they meet that calorie target. This keeps results comparable no matter how many dishes are selected.
meal_target_kcal = calories_per_person_per_day × household_size × 30 × meal_share
meal_scaling = meal_target_kcal ÷ sum(selected_dish_calories_in_meal)
useful_energy = energy_to_cook × meal_scaling × household_efficiency × wastage
These are the default values the calculator uses. Energy contents, stove efficiencies, and most emission factors are fixed model assumptions, while fuel prices and the grid CO₂ factor can be overridden with local values on the input forms.
| Parameter | Value | User-adjustable |
|---|---|---|
| Calorie model | ||
| Calories per person per day | 2,400 kcal | No |
| Month length used for targets | 30 days | No |
| Household cooking efficiency (4-person) | 0.85 | Scales with size |
| Cooking wastage factor (4-person) | 1.133 | Formula, floor 1.05 |
| Fuel energy content | ||
| LPG calorific value | 12.8 kWh/kg | No |
| PNG calorific value | 10.2 kWh/SCM | No |
| Biomass energy content | 4.5 kWh/kg | No |
| Biogas energy value | 5.5 kWh/m³ | No |
| Stove efficiency | ||
| LPG | 0.60 | No |
| PNG | 0.70 | No |
| Grid electricity | 0.90 | No |
| Biogas and traditional solid biomass | 0.55 | No |
| CO₂ emission factors (kg CO₂ per kWh input) | ||
| LPG | 0.24 | No |
| PNG | 0.21 | No |
| Grid electricity | 0.65 | Yes |
| Biogas | 0.30 | No |
| Traditional solid biomass | 0.40 | No |
| Prices (local defaults) | ||
| LPG cylinder price | e.g. 922 Rs / 14.2 kg | Yes |
| PNG rate | e.g. 48 Rs/SCM | Yes |
| Electricity Tariff (₹/kWh) | e.g. 6.5 Rs/kWh | Yes |
| Biomass cost | e.g. 5 Rs/kg | Yes |
Indoor PM2.5 exposure is estimated from the fuel, the kitchen ventilation setup, and daily cooking hours, then benchmarked against WHO air-quality guidance. Cleaner fuels and better ventilation lower the modelled exposure, and the presence of sensitive members raises the risk score above the base level.
PM2.5_peak = fuel_PM25_factor × kitchen_factor × cooking_hours_factor × scale
cooking_hours_factor = min(cooking_hours ÷ 3, 1.5)
| Kitchen ventilation scenario | Exposure factor |
|---|---|
| Open Kitchen | 0.04 |
| Chimney | 0.25 |
| Exhaust Fan | 0.60 |
| No Exhaust | 0.80 |
The current setup and every alternative fuel are scored on four weighted criteria, and the highest-scoring options are recommended. The weights below are for the balanced preference; choosing a different budget or priority shifts the weights toward cost, environment, or health.
| Criterion | Weight (balanced) |
|---|---|
| Health | 0.40 |
| Environmental | 0.25 |
| Economic | 0.25 |
| Practicality | 0.10 |
recommendation_score = health × 0.40 + environmental × 0.25 + economic × 0.25 + practicality × 0.10. Every fuel option is scored on these four components, ranked by the combined score, and the top options are shown as recommendations.
The environmental grade is based on emissions per unit of use, not on total emissions, so larger households and busier kitchens are judged fairly against smaller ones.
The grade is based on annual CO₂ emissions per household member, so per-person emissions decide the grade rather than the household total.
The grade is based on annual CO₂ emissions per serving, so a high-throughput kitchen is measured by its per-serving footprint.
