HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN

MYMENSING MUNICIPALITY AREA

A PROJECT REPORT
By

Sabikunnahar
ID .No. 0405073
Reg. No. 30843
Session: 2003-2004

Approved as to style and content by

_____________________________
Supervisor
(Professor. Md. Akhtaruzzaman)

________________________________
Chairman
Examination Committee
and

Head

Department of Farm Power and Machinery

Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology
Bangladesh Agricultural University,
Mymensingh-2202.
HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION PATTERN IN
MYMENSING MUNICIPALITY AREA

A PROJECT REPORT
By

Sabikunnahar
ID .No. 0405073
Reg. No. 30843
Session: 2003-2004

Submitted to the

Department of Farm Power and Machinery

Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

In partial fulfillment of the requirement

For the degree of

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE
IN
AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

June 2008
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author expressed her all praises are due to Almighty Allah who enables the author to
complete the project report.

The author deem it a proud privilege to express his deepest respect & heartfelt thanks and
sincere appreciation to his respected project supervisor Prof. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, Department
of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, for his
continuous supervision, worthy guidance & valuable suggestion.

The author thanks all of her friends, specially Esmat Akhter, Laila-tuj-Jahan, Sirazam
Munira, and Aminul Islam for their valuable suggestions, constructive criticism and constant
inspiration from the beginning to the end of the study with continuous help.
Also author expressed her heartfelt remembered to Farha Khan who was great inspiration of
the author to successful completion of the study with continuous help.

The author wish to take this opportunity to express their grateful gratitude to all their
respected teachers of the Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Bangladesh Agricultural
University, Mymensingh for their affections and valuable suggestions during her entire study
period in this University.

The Author
 LIST OF TABLES

TITLE PAGE

4.1. Distribution of household according to family size 14

4.2. The number of family members according to age level 16

4.3. The numbers of family members according to education levels 17

4.4. The distribution of households according to income level 18

4.5. The numbers of households owing and using home appliances 19

4.6. Energy sources for cooking 21

4.7 Monthly consumption of electrical energy including the energy for 21

cooking

4.8 Monthly consumption of biomass for cooking 22

4.9 Monthly consumption of biomass energy for cooking 23

 LIST OF FIGURE

TITLE PAGE

Fig.1 Scatter plot of consumption of electricity against income 20

LIST OF APPENDIX

APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

APPENDIX-A Questionnaire 26
 CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
LIST OF FIGURE viii
LIST OF APPENDIX viii
LIST OF TABLES ix
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
Fuels for household use in traditional activities 3
Mechanized equipment 4
Lighting 5
Information and communications 5
1.1. Sources of energy 6
1.2. Availability commercial energy 7
Electricity 7
Natural gas 7
1.3. Non commercial biomass energy 7
Organic residues 7
Rice husk 7
Jute sticks 8
Animal Dung 8
Wood 8
Objectives 8
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 9
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 12
3.1. Selection of the study area 12
3.2. Collection of data 13
3.3. Processing, converting and analyzing data 13

CONTENTS (contd.)
 CHAPTER TITLE PAGE
CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION 14
4.1. Family size 14
4.2. Distribution of family members by age 15
4.3. Distribution of family members by education level 15
4.4. Monthly income of the households 17
4.5. Owning and using home appliances 18
4.6. Electricity consumption by urban households 19
4.7. Electricity consumption versus income 20
4.8. Energy for cooking 21
4.9. Choice of energy sources 21
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 24
REFERENCES 25
APPENDICES 26
 ABSTRACTS

An effort has been made to study the energy consumption pattern of urban

household. For this purpose survey was conducted at household level through a

questionnaire in Mymensingh municipality area. Out of 80 respondents use

electricity for lighting and home appliances, only 5.0% for cooking electric heater.

Among the 80 households, 98.8 (almost all) our TV, 86.36 freeze, 40.0% DVD

Player, 26.3 % computer, 11.3% oven, 6.3% deep freeze and 2.5 air cooler, 2.5%

households own all of these appliances. The estimated consumption of electric

energy ranges from 30 KWh to 586 KWh per household per month with an

average of 247 KWh per month. According to monthly electric bill, consumption

of electric energy ranges from 32 KWh to 985 KWh per household per month with

an average of 199 KWh per month. Out of 80 households, 90.0% families use gas

for cooking, 5% uses electricity and other 5% uses biomass. 1000W or 1500W

heaters are normally used for cooking. Average monthly consumption of natural

gas for cooking per household is 931.8 kWh within the range of 170.0 – 1274.2

kWh. Gas consumption varies with cooking hours per day, which varies from 2 to

6 hours. The consumption of biomass energy for cooking per household is 196-663

kWh per month.

 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

In Bangladesh 80% people live in the rural area and their occupation is agriculture.
The population density is 1014 persons per kilometer square. The life style in
Bangladesh is characterized by one of the lowest per capita income in the world
with consequential effect of low per capita energy consumption.

In Bangladesh, 64.8% of the total final energy consumed in 1990 was consumed in
the household sector. This high proportion is an indication of the subsistence
nature of the economy. The energy needs of the household sector are basic for
survival, making their provision on a sustain-able basis a priority. In 1990, of the
total energy consumed in the household sector, 91.5% was supplied by biomass
fuels and only 8.5% by commercial fuels. To ensure a sustainable supply of energy
for the household sector there must be planned development of biomass fuels
which are in scarce supply in Bangladesh.
Energy is needed in the household sector for cooking and lighting. Lighting cannot
be provided by biomass fuels, so a supply of commercial fuels, such as kerosene
and electricity is also needed.

But now a days for better life style and opportunities people are migrated in urban
areas. City life has become more busy and complex and the energy consumption
increased for household activities such as lighting, cooking and water lifting by
pumps.
Self reliant development of a country should not only consider population control
measures and increased production policies but also need to take into account
integrated use of energy for improving quality of life. Per capita consumption of
energy is a measure of the physical quality of life. Per capita energy consumption
in Bangladesh is 4.2 GJ/yr against 11.0 GJ/yr in India and 3,446.0 GJ/yr in USA
(Habibullah , 1997). This indicates how low the qualiy of life in Bangladesh is.

Bangladesh consumes 281.6 KJ of the commercial energy and 563.4 PJ of biomass

energy per annum (Habibullah 1997). In this country energy use in cities increased
multitudinally. Commercial energy comprised of oil, natural gas, coal, peat and
electricity and biomass energy comprised of fuel wood, agricultural residues and
animal dung. Energy resources in Bangladesh comprises of commercial resources
and biomass resources. 11.51% of total use of natural gas is used for domestic
purpose.

Energy policies relating to fuel choices, electricity generating capacity, and energy
delivery systems have impacts on development that are not generally analysed in
all of their social and economic dimensions. Although decision makers may view
their energy-related choices as gender neutral, men and women are affected
differently by energy policies wherever their home, work, and community roles
differ. While small amounts of electricity at home in the evening hours may
improve the quality of life for some members of the family, including through
illumination for reading, and entertainment and communication through radios and
televisions, for other members of the family it may simply extend the working day.
In the former case it is men, and to some extent children, who benefit most, while
in the latter case it is women who usually bear the burden. In many cases, the
provision of electricity without attention to the provision of modern cooking fuels
or appliances has resulted in rural electrification that in fact increases the hardships
of women because the working day is prolonged while traditional fuel use patterns
remain in place; solar home systems cannot supply the energy for cooking.
Attention to these sorts of differing interests is needed in order to achieve effective
and equitable distribution of energy services.

As a starting point for gender-sensitive energy planning, it is important to identify

the energy services of primary importance to women and to consider options for
providing those services. Energy planning is often focused on increasing supplies
of fuel or electricity, especially for industrial and urban uses, with little attention to
the energy demand characteristics of women, especially those in underserved rural
areas. Rural energy needs for domestic, agricultural, and small-scale informal
production activities, where women predominate, are given low priority.

Approaches that favour demand-side considerations rather than supply-side energy

targets are more likely to positively reflect women’s actual needs. Overall, in order
to reach the MDGs, energy should be considered within the context of community
life, and energy policies and projects should be integrated in a holistic way with
other programmes related to health, education, agriculture, and job creation.

Fuels for Household Use in Traditional Activities

Affordable access to modern fuels is needed to address cooking, heating, and food
processing needs, and to reduce reliance on fuelwood and traditional uses of
biomass materials.

Inadequate access to cleaner fuels, and the high costs of related appliances and
technologies, have proven to be barriers preventing women from moving up the
energy ladder away from traditional fuels towards cleaner, more efficient fuels
Lack of access to cleaner and more convenient fuels (such as LPG) dramatically
increases the burdens on women as they carry out traditional household tasks, as
well as income-generating activities. In many areas fuels other than wood and
other forms of biomass are not available and actions are needed to promote better
distribution systems and smaller gas-canister sizes that are more convenient for
women to carry. Refill costs can also act as a significant barrier to continued usage.

Women’s income-generating activities also often involve fuel-intensive activities

requiring thermal energy. Examples include beer brewing, food processing, and
kiln-based activities. Moreover, many of women’s income-generating activities are
actually carried out in the household and so a more holistic approach to household
energy, which addresses both practical and productive energy needs, is required.

Mechanized Equipment

Electricity and mechanical power are needed for preparing foods, grinding grain,
pumping water, and running equipment for household and community use as well
as commercial activities. Decentralized rural electricity systems are essential for
relieving the burdens of drudgery and expanding economic opportunities in rural
areas, where women’s opportunities are most limited. Decentralized power can be
obtained from conventional energy sources such as diesel generators; village or
household systems using renewable energy sources such as wind, micro-hydro, and
photovoltaics; or modernized biomass technologies. When electricity is used to
support activities that generate revenue streams, women and their families can earn
more income and can therefore afford to pay for the equipment, and for the
electricity to run it.

Lighting
In areas without electrical power, adequate lighting is a critical need. Since
illumination does not require a great deal of electrical power, better lighting can be
provided through low-cost lighting options using battery power, small stand-alone
home systems, or decentralised village power systems. Kerosene pricing policies
also affect illumination opportunities for women.

Lighting is of particular significance for women. Global evidence has shown that
the availability of lighting in the home increases women’s literacy and educational
levels, and extends the working day of women for income-generating activities.
Lighting in public places also increases the safety of communities, particularly for
women, and allows women greater access to public gatherings. Street lighting also
opens up opportunities for extended trading hours by street vendors, an income-
generating activity favoured by women.

Information and Communications

Electricity is essential for radios, televisions, and other electronic equipment used
for information and communications. Women who are restricted in their ability to
leave the home or participate in public affairs may rely more heavily than men on
radios (or televisions, if available) for news, information, and entertainment.
Radios can be operated with very little electricity and can be effective tools for
information sharing, training, marketing, and public awareness programmes. Rural
telephones can be effective in enabling women to maintain contact with family
members working away from home. Telephones also facilitate business
opportunities. Indeed, running telephone services can provide rural women with a
business opportunity.

1.1 Sources of Energy

Energy sources can be broadly divided into three distinct groups: fossil fuels,
fissionable nuclear fuels and non-fossil, non-nuclear energy sources. In spite of
their outstanding virtues, fossil fuels have to major drawbacks. Firstly, these are
non-renewable and thus supply of many such fuels is either being exhausted or
getting more difficult to procure due to nonavailability, transport bottlenecks and
high price. Secondly, their continued and increasing use creates environmental
problems.

The non-fossil, non-nuclear energy supply possibilities fall in three groups: namely
non-solar such as geothermal and tidal; indirectly solar such as wind and ocean
thermal gradients and directly solar which among other options includes
photosynthesis. Photosynthesis or the photo biological process is a continuous
activity, creating organic carbon that burns with less air pollution than fossil fuels.
Photosynthesis helps to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generate
oxygen, the life sustaining gas.

1.2 Availability Commercial Energy

Electricity: Electricity one of the main sources of commercial energy which are
broadly used in household purpose now a days. In our country electricity in the
blood of city hearts. At present electricity production capacity are 5025 MW. But
electricity demand in our country are 4,630 MW and maximum electricity supply
3,652 MW. Electricity system loss 21.33% and dasher loss 22.59% maximum
electricity used in urban area.
Natural Gases: In Bangladesh 70% of total demand of commercial fuel is met by
gases natural gas.

1.3 Non Commercial Biomass Energy

Organic Residues

These are the renewable resources available at farm level (rice straw, cotton stick,
jute stick); in the agro-processing centres (rice husk, cane baggasse and molasses,
coconut shell, ground nut shell, maize cobs, potato waste); at animal sheds
(cowdung, poultry excreta); in the forests (bark, chips, shavings, sawdust);
municipal waste (city refuse, sewage) and industrial waste (distillery effluent, plant
wash, textile waste, plastic waste).

Rice Husk

Rice husk is an important source of fuel in Bangladesh. It has a calorific value of

about 3,000 kcal/kg. 100% of the parboiling rice mills use rice husk for parboiling
rice. Surplus rice husk is sold loose or converted into rice husk briquettes, which is
highly demanded for domestic cooking as well as coking in hotels and restaurants.

Jute Sticks

Jute is grown all over the country both for fibre and the sticks. Both are valuable.
Weight of the dry stick is nearly 2.5 times the weight of dry fibre. Jute sticks are
considered as an excellent fuel in rural areas, because storing and burning jute
sticks are very simple.

Animal Dung
The quantity of dung available from adult cattles varies from 12-15 kg/day per
animal, from which 10 to 12 kg manure can be obtained per day per animal.

Wood

When fuel wood from nearby source is exhausted urban people switch from using
firewood to charcoal, which has about 45% more potential energy per unit weight
than wood and it is easier to transport long distances.

Now-a-days the use of biomass energy is decreasing for domestic cooking in city
areas.

In this context, a research work was undertaken to study the actual situations of
energy use patterns in typical city household systems of Bangladesh with the
following objectives.

Objectives

1. To estimate the energy consumption by urban households for lighting, home

appliances and cooking.
2. To identify the energy use pattern by city dwellers.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Veena (1988) reported that the domestic sector is predominant in non-commercial

energy consumption (93.7%) over commercial energy consumption (7.3%). The
rural population survive on non-commercial energy sources such as fire-wood,
dung cakes and agricultural wastes, which contributes to 65, 15 and 20 percent
share respectively.

A study was conducted by Bari et al. (1998) to assess biomass energy supply and
use in two villages in different agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh using three
different techniques. They found that per capita cooking energy demand varied
significantly between the villages, socio-economic groups and the methods of
survey. Energy use was found to be strongly correlated with family size and
decreased according to landholding size.

Walter Kennes et al. (1985) studied household energy consumption patterns in

Bangladesh. They examined this pattern for nine socio-economic classes in rural
areas.

Biomass (primarily wood, crop residues, and animal waste) is a significant

noncommercial energy source in Bangladesh, estimated to account for over half of
the country’s energy consumption. Biomass is especially prevalent in rural areas
for household energy purposes such as cooking (Source: Internet; Bangladesh
Energy Data, Statistics and Analysis, Energy Information Administration, Official
Energy Statistics from the US Government).

At the household level, Bangladesh is the prime example of a country in which

biofuel supplies (chiefly for cooking) come from the agricultural sector. According
to data gathered for FY 1986, 61 percent of biomass energy for fuel use comes
from crop residues (jute sticks, rice straw, rice hulls, sugarcane refuse, and other
waste products), 24 percent from animal dung, and the remainder from firewood,
twigs, and leaves.

The firewood typically comes from village trees. The importance of cereal straws
means that household energy supply is highly sensitive to changes in agricultural
practices and economics and that agricultural policies need to take this into
account. The future availability of these fuels was becoming a critical issue in the
mid- and late 1980s. Inevitably, new energy resources would have to come from
commercial sources. The government and aid donors were struggling with the
dilemma of how to provide these needed resources in a manner consistent with the
rest of Bangladesh's strategy for long-term economic development and growth.
[Source: internet; U.S. Library of Congress]

Abul Barkat, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, noted the disparity in energy

access between rural and urban regions, as well as between the rich and the poor.
He noted that energy security has consequences for livelihoods and food security,
and remarked on the importance of the politics of development, including
governance, exclusion, and corruption. (IISD, 2006).

The domestic sector is one of the main energy consumption sectors in Singapore.
The various domestic houses constituted 18% of the total energy used in 1993. As
Singapore become more affluent, and the living standard increases, the energy
consumption in domestic sector was increased drastically. In 1988, 19% of
households in Singapore owned air-conditioners. Ten years later in 1998, the figure
shot up to 58%. Such lifestyle changes lead to higher electricity consumption.
Indeed, household monthly average consumption had increased by 17% from 1995
to 1999. Figures in 1999 showed that over 40% of households in Singapore used
more than the average electricity consumption for their household. For the
residential buildings in Singapore, the energy consumption had increased almost
100% during the past 10 years from 950.8kW/h/resident in 1991 to 1803
kW/h/resident in 2001. [3] The huge energy consumption brings large domestic
utilities bill.
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

The present study was done based upon field survey where primary data were
collected systematically by means of a questionnaire. Individual householders were
visited personally by the researcher for data collection. Most of the householder
doesn’t keep the records of their household activities. So the accuracy of the
information given by them are not beyond doubt.

Energy is fundamental necessity of the households. Energy is used for various

household activities. The household energy is mainly used for cooking, lighting
and electric and electronic appliances. A micro level study about the present status
of household energy consumption for cooking, lighting and to operate household
appliances was conducted with each 80 families in the city.

3.1 Selection of the study area

The study was conducted in the Mymensingh municipality area. Considering the
socio-economic and educational status of the households. 80 households were
selected randomly from different parts of the municipal area such as Balaspur,
Vatikashor, Natunbazar, Nowmohol, Golkibari, R.K. Mission road, etc.
3.2 Collection of data:

In order to collect relevant information on data sheets, the single interview

technique was followed i.e. primary data was collected directly from the household
members. A questionnaire was prepared prior to data collection, which was
pretested by a few sample data collection and then modified into the present form
(given in Appendix-A). Survey work was done in the month of July, 2007.

It was very difficult to collect data, since house owners in most cases do not keep
written records. For these researchers had to rely completely upon the memory of
the family members. All possible efforts were made by the researcher to ensure the
collection of reasonably accurate data.

Data were collected on a specifically designed schedule through personal

interview. Recall method was used for recording time spent on various household
activities.

3.3 Processing, converting and analyzing data

After completion of the data sheets, the collected data were summarized. After
completing the pre-tabulation task, processed data were transferred to a master
sheet. These data were put into Microsoft excel 2000 spreadsheet in a personal
computer. The tabulated data were then analyzed in the computer for presentation
in graphical and tabular forms.
 CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Family Size

In total 80 households with a total number of family member of 367 were

investigated. The family sizes of the households are shown in Table 4.1. The
number of family members per household varies from 1 to 9 with an average of 5,
which is less than the national average of 6.00. A maximum of 29 households has a
family size of 4, followed by 16 households with family size of 5, 13 households
with family size of 6, 11 households with family size of 3.

Table 4.1 Distribution of households according to family size

Family Size No. of households Total No. of family

members
1 1 1
2 4 8
3 10 30
4 29 116
5 16 80
6 13 78
7 4 28
8 1 8
9 2 18
Average = 5 Total = 80 Total = 367
4.2 Distribution of family members by age

The number of family members according to age level is shown in Table 4.2. Out
of 367 members of 80 households, 48.2% is male and 51.8% female (male-female
ratio is 48.2/51.8). 10.1% represents infants, 43.3% student age group, 42.2%
working age group and 4.4% retirement group.

4.3 Distribution of Family Members by Education Level

Among 367 members, 6.0% is under aged for education. Out of the rest 345
household members, 6.7% are illiterate and 93.3% educated. Illiterate people are
1.7% male and 4.9% female. Among the educated, male accounts for 49.7% and
female 50.3%. Among those who finished education, 25.8, 23.3 and 7.1 percent
have education level of graduate, SSC or HSC and under SSC level, respectively;
female percentage is lower than male in each case. Among the students also the
female percentage is lower than male.
Table 4.2 The number of family members according to age level

Group Age Total Male Female

(yrs) No % No. % No %
Infants Below 7 37 10.1 23 6.3 14 3.8

Student 7-12 42 11.4 19 5.2 23 6.3

age 13-18 48 13.1 21 5.7 27 7.4
group 19-30 69 18.8 27 7.4 42 11.4
43.3

Working 31-40 60 16.3 23 6.3 37 10.1

group 41-60 95 25.9 57 15.5 38 10.4
42.2

Retirement
>60 16 4.4 7 1.9 9 2.5
group

367 100.0 177 48.2 190 51.8

Table 4.3 The number of family members according to education level

Education level Total Male Female

No. % No. % No. %
Under aged 22 6.0 12 3.3 10 2.7

Illiterate 23 6.7 6 1.7 17 4.9

Educated 322 93.3 160 46.4 162 47.0
345 100.0 166 48.1 179 51.9
Educated
Education level Total Male Female
No. % No. % No. %
Under S.S.C. 23 7.1 10 3.1 13 4.0
SSC/HSC 75 23.3 32 9.9 43 13.4
Graduate 83 25.8 57 17.7 26 8.1
School Student 81 25.2 45 14.0 36 11.2

College Student 20 6.2 4 1.2 16 5.0

University Student 40 12.4 12 3.7 28 8.7
322 100.0 160 49.7 162 50.3

4.4 Monthly income of the households

Based on the monthly income, the households are categorized as low, medium,
high and very high level of income. 21.3% households represents low, 45.0%
medium, 30.0% high and 3.8% very high family income.
Table 4.4 The distribution of households according to income level

Income level Monthly Income (Tk) Number of Percent (%)

households
Low 1,000.00 - 5,000.00 5 6.3
5,001.00 – 7,000.00 3 3.8
7,001.00 – 10,000.00 9 11.3
17 21.3
Medium 10,001.00 – 20,000.00 16 20.0
20,001.00 – 30,000.00 20 25.0
36 45.0
High 30,001.00 – 40,000.00 17 21.3
40,001.00 – 50,000.00 7 8.8
24 30.0
Very High 50,001.00 – 60,000.00 3 3.8
> 60,000.00 nil Nil
80 100.00

4.5 Owning and Using Home Appliances

Among the 80 households, 98.8% (almost all) own TV, 86.3% freeze, 40.0% DVD
player, 26.3% computer, 11.3% oven, 6.3% deep freeze and 2.5% air cooler. 2.5%
households own all of these appliances. It is impressing that the urban households
consider these equipment useful for the family. In contrast, very few rural families
can have these appliances due to economic reasons. On the other hand, most of the
rural households do not have access to electricity. Owning and using these home
appliances indicate the higher standard living of the urban people. Obviously
energy consumption of urban people is higher than those living in rural areas.

Table 4.5 The number of households owning and using home appliances

Appliance Number of Percent of total

households households
TV 79 98.8
Freeze 69 86.3
DVD player 32 40.0
Computer 21 26.3
Oven 9 11.3
Deep Freeze 5 6.3
Air Cooler 2 2.5
All appliances 2 2.5

4.6 Electricity Consumption by Urban Households

Out of 80 respondents, 79 use electricity for lighting and home appliances; only 4
for cooking (electric heater).

The estimated consumption of electric energy ranges from 30 kWh to 586 kWh per
household per month with an average of 247 kWh per month. According to
monthly electric bill, consumption of electric energy ranges from 32 kWh to 985
kWh per household per month with an average of 199 kWh per month.

The variation between the estimated values and meter readings is observed. This
may be due to inaccuracy of the data given by the users on the hours of use of the
lighting bulbs and the home appliances. Moreover, there may be instrumental error
in the energy meters.

4.7 Electricity Consumption Versus Income

Scattered plot of the consumption of electricity, both estimated and meter readings,
versus income are shown in Fig. 3.1. Regression analysis shows low correlation
coefficient for both cases. But the trend lines show that consumption of electricity
increases with income of the households.

1000
Estimated Meter Reading
900
CONSUMPTION OF ELECTRICITY (kWh)

Linear (Estimated) Linear (Meter Reading)

800
y = 5.9553x + 155.8 y = 6.0919x + 70.837
700
R2 = 0.2886 R2 = 0.2503
600

500

400

300

200

100

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
INCOME ( '000 Tk )

Fig. 1 Scatter plot of consumption of electricity against income

4.8 Energy for cooking

Out of 80 households, 72 families (90.0%) use natural gas for cooking; 4 uses
electricity and other 4 uses biomass.

Table 4.6 Energy sources for cooking

Energy source Technology No. of Percent of total
Consumer no. of families
families
Electricity Electric heater 4 5.00
Gas Gas burner 72 90.00
Fuel wood, rice Chula 3 3.75
husk, saw dust
Fuel wood & rice Chula 1 1.25
husk briquette

The consumption of electrical energy is much higher for the households using
electric heaters for cooking. 1000W or 1500W heaters are normally used for
cooking.

Table 4.7 Monthly consumption of electrical energy including the energy for
cooking
Sl. No. Family Income Electricity Bill Consumption of
Size (Tk/month) (Tk/month) Elect. Energy
(kWh/month)
1 4 10,000.00 940.00 300
2 5 15,000.00 940.00 300
3 4 18,000.00 850.00 279
4 7 20,000.00 1178.00 370

The higher heating value of natural gas of Bangladesh is 36 MJ/m3 as reported by

the International Energy Agency (Source: Wikipedia from website). The lower
heating values of the above natural gases are about 90 percent of the higher heating
values. The conversion efficiency is usually 30% to 35%.
Seventy two households out of 80 has been reported to use natural gas for cooking.
There is no meter installed at the household level to measure the gas consumption.
A thumb rule is used. One gas burner consumes 20 cft (0.56663 m3) gas per hour
and two burners consumes 25 cft (0.7079 m3) gas per hour. Average monthly
consumption of natural gas for cooking per household is 931.8 kWh within the
range of 170.0 – 1274.2 kWh. Gas consumption varies with cooking hours per day,
which varies from 2 to 6 hours. Family size and income level did not show any
significant effect on gas consumption. Gas bill is based on a flat rate of Tk. 200.00
for a single burner and 400.00 for double burner.

Four families have been found to use biomass for cooking. Low income families,
who cannot afford the cost of gas, use biomass as fuel for cooking. Biomass fuels
include fuel wood, rice husk, saw dust and rice husk briquette. The consumption of
biomass per month per household is shown in Table 4.8. The consumption of
biomass energy in kWh per month per household have been estimated as shown in
Table 4.9.
Table 4.8 Monthly consumption of biomass for cooking
Sl. Family Income Fuel wood Rice husk Briquette Total Cost
No. Size (kg) (kg) of biomass
fuel
2 6 4000 30 20 160.00
3 6 5000 60 30 300.00
7 9 10,000 150 600.00
11 9 15,000 150 10 635.00
Price = 4.00 Price = 2.00 Price =
Tk/kg Tk/kg 3.50
Tk/kg

Table 4.9 Monthly consumption of biomass energy for cooking

Sl. Fuel wood Rice husk Briquette Consumption Consumption
No. (kg/month) (kg/month) of Biomass of Elect.
 Energy Energy
(kWh/month) (kWh/month)
2 30 20 196 --
3 60 30 356 50
7 150 625 47
11 150 10 663 120
15 MJ/kg 12.76 14.0
MJ/kg MJ/kg

4.9 Choice of Energy Sources

The choice of energy source depends on the availability, price and also the
purchasing capacity of the people. Many of the low income people living in the
cities cannot afford to buy electricity or gas for cooking, even if these are available
at the door steps. Those who can afford, choose electricity for lighting and to
operate the electrical and electronic household equipment; very few use for cooling
the living rooms in the summer. Working class families with very low income uses
kerosene lamp for lighting.

Cooking by electric heater is expensive for high consumption of electricity. So gas

is the first choice, if it is available. The problem is the users have to pay for
establishing the connecting gas pipeline (from the main supply line to the
household), which is not affordable by many users. So the low income families
cannot have access to gas for cooking. This class of people use biomass fuel such
as fuel wood, rice husk, saw dust and rice husk briquette.
 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
1. Out of 80 respondents, 98.75% use electricity for lighting and home appliances, only 5%
for cooking (electric heater) .
The estimated consumption of electric energy ranges from 30 KWh to 586 KWh per
household per month with an average of 247 KWh per month. According to monthly
electric bill, consumption of electric energy ranges from 32 KWh to 985 KWh per
household per month with an average of 199 KWh per month.
2. Among the 80 households, 98.8 (almost all) our TV, 86.36 freeze, 40.0% DVD Player,
26.3 % computer, 11.3% oven, 6.3% deep freeze and 2.5 air cooler. 2.5% households
own all of these appliances. It is impressing that the urban households consider these
equipment useful for the family.
3. Out of 80 households, 90.0% families use gas for cooking, 5% uses electricity and other
5% uses biomass.
4. The choice of energy sources depends on the availability, price and also the purchasing
capacity of the people.
5. Average monthly consumption of natural gas for cooking per household is 931.8 kWh
within the range of 170.0 – 1274.2 kWh. Gas consumption varies with cooking hours per
day, which varies from 2 to 6 hours. The consumption of biomass energy for cooking per
household is 196-663 kWh per month.
 Appendix A
Questionnaire
Household energy consumption pattern in Mymensingh Municipality area
1. Name of the interviewee:
2. Address: House No………………………Road/Lane…………………
3. Family Head (name):………………………………...
4. Family members
Member Sex: M/F Age (yrs) Category Education Monthly
level income (Tk)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Code SG School going
CG College going
US Univ. student
EM Earning member

5. Electricity Consumption
(a) For Lighting
Room Tubes Bulbs
W Nos Hrs W Nos hrs
Drawing room
Bed room 1
Bed room 2
Bed room 3
Bed room 4
Bath room
Kitchen
 (b) For Household Appliances
TV Audio player VCD/DVD Freeze Fan Iron Heater Oven others
Nos
W
kW
hrs

(c) Monthly electricity consumption: …………kWh; Electric bill:……….Tk.

6. Gas use
(a) for Cooking
No. of burners:………………………; How many times used:………….
Gas burnt/day (cft)……………………
Gas bill: ……………………………...
7. Kerosene
(a) for Cooking
No. of Stoves:………………….; How many times used:………………
Kerosene burnt/day (litre)………………………………;
(b) for Lighting
No. of lamps:……; hrs. lighted...........kerosene burnt/day (litre)………..;
Price of kerosene:……………………Tk./litre
8. Fuel Wood (Lakri)
Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of fuel wood:……………………Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from market; (b) brought from village home;
(c) collected from street
 9. Ricehusk briquette
Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of briquette:…………………….Taka/kg

10.Rice husk
Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of Rice husk:……………………Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from market; (b) brought from village home;

11. Jute/dhaincha stalk

Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of Jute/dhaincha stalk:……………………Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from market; (b) brought from village home;

12. Tree leaves

Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of Tree leaves:……………………Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from collectors; (b) brought from village home;
(c) collected from street

13. Animal dung

Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Price of Tree leaves:……………………Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from collectors; (b) brought from village home;
 (c) collected from street; (d) collected from own stable

14. Other fuels (specify)

Cooking Water heating parboiling
Amount (kg)/day
Amount (kg)/day
Amount (kg)/day
Price:……………………….Taka/kg
Source: (a) purchased from collectors; (b) brought from village home;
(c) collected from street;
 REFERENCES

Bari, M.N.; D.O. Hall; N.J.D. Lucas and S.M.A. Hossain. 1998. Biomass energy
use at the household level in two villages of Bangladesh: assessment of field
method. Biomass and Bioenergy. London, UK. 1998. vol. 15(2):171-180.

Habibullah, M. 1997. Computer modeling of rural energy system in Bangladesh.

MS Thesis. Department of Farm Power & Machinery, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

IISD, 2006. Special Report on Selected Side Events at the Fourteenth Session of
the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14). ENB the earth
negotiations bulletin, Published by IISD, the International Institute for
Sustainable Development in cooperation with the UNDP Secretariat, 1-12
May 2006 | United Nations Headquarters, New York.

Kennes, Walter; J.K. Parikh and H. Stolwijk. 1985. Energy from biomass by socio-
economic groups- A case study of Bangladesh biomass. Vol. 4:209-234.

Veena, D.R. 1988. Rural energy consumption, problems and prospects. New Delhi.