Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

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Energy Strategy Reviews

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/esr

A strategic model to identify the factors and risks of solar cooker

manufacturing and use: A case study of Razavi Khorasan, Iran
Ali Mostafaeipour a, b, c, Mohammad Behzadian c, Mohammad Bagher Fakhrzad c,
Kuaanan Techato d, e, f, *, Fatemeh Najafi g
a
Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam
b
The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Viet Nam
c
Industrial Engineering Department, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran
d
Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
e
Environmental Assessment and Technology for Hazardous Waste Management Research Center, Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University,
90110, Songkhla, Thailand
f
Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
g
Department of Industrial Management, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Solar energy is the Earth’s primary source of energy and the most widely available source of renewable energy.
Solar cooker Its use in cooking is just one of its numerous applications and benefits. By concentrating solar energy into a small
Strategy area, a solar cooker is capable of generating sufficient heat to cook, pasteurise and sterilise food items. This paper
Factor analysis
aims to identify factors affecting solar cooker 1) manufacturing and development and 2) project implementation
Structural equation modelling
Risk
in the Razavi Khorasan province of Iran. The necessary data was collected via an expert panel and a question­
naire. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that factors such as Capital, Financial support, Economy,
Technology and infrastructure, and Interactions directly impacted the successful promotion of solar cookers in Iran.
While all these factors affected solar cooker development positively, Interactions had the most profoundly positive
influence. The results of this research would benefit solar cooker manufacturers and users either living in the
region and in other suitable locations.

1. Introduction
This past century saw fossil fuel as the primary source of energy
globally. At present, developed and developing countries, respectively,
have a 1% and up to 5% growth in energy demand annually [1]. How­
ever, the rising cost of fossil fuel production as well as its detrimental
environmental impacts, such as pollution and climate change, have, in
recent decades, increased global demand for renewable energy.
Environmentally-friendly renewable energy now meets about 14% of
the world’s energy demand and is expected to play a vital role in future
energy markets [2].
Solar power and wind power are currently the two most popular
sources of renewable energy. Solar radiation, in particular, is ideal
because it can be harvested in almost any part of the world, does not
require advance or expensive technologies, and, unlike nuclear energy,
it does not carry any risks or produce harmful by-products. It is,
therefore, the perfect energy source for achieving sustainable growth
and development, particularly in countries that lack underground en­
ergy sources [3].
Apart from the simpler and cleaner nature of solar energy, more and
more mineral-rich countries have adopted it in recent years to conserve
their fossil fuel reservoirs for future generations or to convert into more
valuable substances via petrochemical refining techniques [4]. Although
the immense potential and numerous applications of solar energy leave
nothing to be desired, the economic potential of other alternative energy
options warrants consideration. Among its many vital applications, it is
technically feasible to cook using solar energy and existing technologies
[5]. Solar cooking is a significant potential application since cooking
accounts for approximately 36% of the world’s total energy consump­
tion [6]. A solar cooker operates by concentrating sunlight onto a focal
point to increase its temperature. Numerous solar cooker designs have
shown satisfactory performance in field tests conducted around the

* Corresponding author. Faculty of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand.
E-mail address: Kuaanan.t@psu.ac.th (K. Techato).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2020.100587
Received 11 May 2019; Received in revised form 17 November 2020; Accepted 24 November 2020
Available online 19 December 2020
2211-467X/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
A. Mostafaeipour et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

world, most notably in South Africa. Such cookers could prove useful to
people living in the remote regions of eastern Iran who struggle with fuel
transport problems [7]. Schematic diagrams of various reflector-based
(parabolic) solar cookers are illustrated in Fig. 1.
A list of studies conducted on solar cookers between 1990 and 2016
is presented in Fig. 2. The sheer number of these studies, especially in
the last four years, reveals increased interest in the potential of this
solar-powered appliance and its future development.
Solar cookers use elementary technology to function and are versa­
tile enough to use in any location with sufficient solar radiation. Not
only are they easy to use but very cheap to repair and maintain. These
positive features, i.e. cleanliness, simplicity, affordability, as well as the
demand for such an appliance, are reasons enough to develop and pro­
mote these cookers [8].
Some of the features of solar cookers include:

- Time and money-saving: Solar energy is free and abundantly avail­

able globally. Solar cookers store energy for use on overcast days.
Soot does not adhere to cooking pots facilitating ease of cleaning.
Food is cooked without much effort [3].
- Health and safety: Solar cookers do not burn fuel or produce pol­
lutants, thereby making them safer for human health [9].
- Cooling effect: Since solar cookers function by absorbing solar ra­
diation, its immediate surroundings are usually cool [1].
- Disease mitigation: Solar cookers can disinfect water and milk,
thereby reducing the prevalence of cholera-related diseases [3].
- Environmentally-friendly: Solar cookers reduce wood and fossil fuel
consumption as well as carbon dioxide emissions. In sunny and dry
climates, one solar cooker saves 1 ton of wood per year [1].
There are three categories of solar cookers: parabolic solar cookers
Fig. 2. List of solar cooker-related studies from 1990 to 2016 [7].
(or curved concentrator solar cookers), solar box cookers, and indirect
solar cookers [9]. The implementation of solar cooker projects involves
identifying target communities who not only require but will accept this
technology as well as evaluating fossil fuel consumption in addition to
implementing and monitoring the project’s performance [10,11]. The
first step is to identify the target group, its volume and its needs. Then,
by assessing its current fossil fuel consumption, calculate its energy
consumption per unit. The solar cooker project can then be implemented
and periodically monitored to finetune the solar cooker’s output and
performance.
Therefore, the factors influencing the success of the project should,

Fig. 1. (a): Solar cooker with reflector [7]. (b): Solar cooker with reflector panel [7]. (c): Solar cooker with flat plate reflector [7]. (d): Solar cooker with parabolic
reflector [7].

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A. Mostafaeipour et al.
first and foremost, be identified and taken into account during planning
and execution. Prior knowledge of these factors enables the project’s
priorities to stay on track during the planning phase and to make opti­
mum use of the available resources during its execution for the best
possible outcome.
Over the past 30 years, while the economy has had an annual growth
rate of only 33%, electricity consumption has increased by 36% per
annum. Solar and wind energy are the more attractive options in com­
parison with other renewable energy sources [12]. Many regions should
adopt solar energy to simultaneously meet energy demands and reduce
the pollution caused by fossil fuel consumption. With a highly suitable
climate for various forms of renewable energy technology, Iran was one
of the few countries to develop renewable energy in ancient times [13].
Since then, the solar and wind energy industries have both seen enor­
mous development in recent years and gained the attention of many
countries [14].
This study identified the factors and risks involved in the imple­
mentation of solar cooker projects then ranked them using factor anal­
ysis. It also highlighted the correlation between the identified factors via
structural equation modelling (SEM) and investigated the possible role
of solar cookers in alleviating environmental and economic concerns.
This is the first model to successfully identify the factors and risks
involved in the manufacturing and use of solar cookers. At present, this
is also the first study to investigate this topic in Iran. As seen in Table 1,
none of the existing studies used infrastructure, technology, financial
support, and interaction to assess solar cooker development. This study
added these factors to the factors identified by existing studies. The
factors were then ranked and modelled using factor analysis and SEM,
respectively. Previous works had only used multi-criteria decision
making (MCDM) or qualitative methods to evaluate the factors. In this
research, these criteria are added to other factors which considered in
previous works (see Table 1). However, while MCDM methods can rank
the factors, they cannot make a comprehensive model of the correlation
between these factors.
1.1. Literature review
A study by Mirza et al. [15] reported the findings of
non-governmental organizations involved in promoting solar cookers in
Pakistan. According to their report, there are currently only 2000 solar
cookers in Pakistan in comparison to 60,000 solar cookers in China and
14,500 in India. The study, therefore, called for more aggressive pro­
motion of these cookers if they were to have a tangible impact.
To assess the possibility of replacing fossil fuels with renewable en­
ergy sources, Pohekar & Ramachandran [16] studied cooking options in
India. Based on several economic, social and environmental criteria,
their investigation showed that solar box cookers were the best renew­
able energy option [17].
A paper by Zhiqiang [17] analysed the development of solar
energy-based systems in China over a 25-year period and showed rapid
development of these systems only over the last 10 years of that period.
The study revealed that, as of 2002, about 10 million people used
different varieties of solar thermal systems; some of which had been
developed to produce hot water for domestic use; while others were still
in the R&D stage.
Toonen [18] reported the problems encountered by a project which
aimed to introduce Cookit solar cookers to rural homes in Burkina Faso,
West Africa, and provide users with some training and initial assistance.
One of the main obstacles that the project encountered was unstable
climate and cloudy skies, which effectively limited the usefulness of the
Cookit as a replacement for conventional stoves. To resolve this prob­
lem, Cookit solar cookers were modified to also function with alternative
fuel sources, such as vegetable oil, in lieu of solar energy.
A study by Ekechukwu and Ugwuoke [19] designed and compared
the performance of two solar cookers; one with and one without a
reflector. The temperatures achieved with and without the reflector
3
Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587
were 138 ◦ C and 119 ◦ C, respectively. The researchers also calculated
the figures of merit of both cookers and predicted their respective
boiling times. Their results indicated that a reflector significantly
improved the performance of a solar cooker.
Zafar et al. [20] designed a box solar cooker with an L-shaped
absorber plate acting as the reflector and field tested it in Pakistan to
evaluate its performance. Upon evaluating the unit’s maximum plate
temperature, energy efficiency, overall efficiency, usability, and other
performance indicators, they concluded that the L-shaped absorber plate
increased the amount of energy received by 30%.
Adetifa et al. [21] evaluated the effect of a reflector on the perfor­
mance of two types of solar cookers, with and without heat storage, and
reported that the presence of a reflector improved the cooker’s heating
power while its absence negatively impacted its performance. In another
study, Aghamolaei [22] proposed implementing two strategies to bal­
ance energy supply and meet demand by using photovoltaic systems to
generate electricity in the city of Yazd, Iran. Meanwhile, Al-Shammari
et al. [23] believed that district heating systems could be more effi­
cient with the implementation of new strategies.
As seen from the summary of solar cooker-related studies presented
in Table 1, the existing literature mostly focused on economic, social,
and environmental factors while ignoring other pertinent factors such as
technology, financial support, interactions, and infrastructure. While
numerous studies have focused on solar cooker development, this is the
first study to analyse the aforementioned factors in conjunction with the
other factors affecting solar cooker implementation in Iran.
While the use of new technologies, such as solar cookers, is both
valuable and lucrative in areas with sufficient infrastructure and tech­
nical knowledge, Iran, however, is unable to import the latest technol­
ogies owing to long-standing industrial sanctions against the country.
Therefore, all the required equipment and technologies are manufac­
tured by domestic engineers and manufacturers. Thus, accessibility to
technical knowledge, skilled workers, infrastructure and experience in
solar cooker manufacturing are vital for developing the technology in
Iran.
Financial support is of great importance when implementing a new
project. However, due to the direct impact of the Iranian government
and the banks on its economy, this is not forthcoming. Instead, high
inflation rates and a fluctuating economy have compelled users and
manufacturers alike to procure industrial loans. Therefore, financial
support from the government plays an important role in new technology
development, especially in the private sectors.
This paper investigated and ranked the effects of factors such as
technology, financial support, interactions, and infrastructure, in addi­
tion to other factors identified in previous works, on solar cooker project
implementation in Iran then used SEM to outline the correlation be­
tween these factors.
1.2. Geographic characteristics
The region studied in this work was the Razavi-Khorasan province in
northeast Iran spanning 33◦ 52′ N to 37◦ 42′ N and 59◦ 19′ E to 61◦ 16′ E. It is
a landlocked province bounded by Turkmenistan to the north,
Afghanistan to the east, and the provinces of South Khorasan to the
south, Semnan to the west, and North-Khorasan to the northwest. The
province is divided into 19 counties, 64 cities, 62 districts, 158 rural
districts, and 3767 villages. The principal capital of Khorasan-Razavi is
the city of Mashhad. The location of this province and its counties are
illustrated in Fig. 3 [32].
Razavi-Khorasan has an average sunshine duration of 3088.5 h per
year, while the counties of Khaf and Dargaz, have the highest (3313.4 h)
and lowest (3829.9 h) annual sunshine durations, respectively, the mean
annual overcast duration of province is less than 1393 h [33]. Fig. 4
shows the cumulative annual sunshine durations as recorded by multiple
synoptic weather stations in the province.
 Table 1

A. Mostafaeipour et al.
Comparison of previous studies regarding solar cooker development.
Row Authors Date of Location of Subject Criteria
research study
Performance/ Interactions Technology Environmental Infrastructure Financial Cultural Political Social Economic Technical Behavioral Commercial
efficiency factors support factors factors factors factors factors factors factors

1 Pohekar & 2004 India Evaluation * * * * * *

Ramachandran available
[24] energy options
for solar cooker
development
2 Kimambo [25] 2007 Tanzania Solar cookers * *
performance
and
development
assessment
3 Otte [26] 2013 Developing Identifying * * * * * *
countries effective
factors for solar
cooker
development in
developing
countries
4 Aremu & 2013 Developing Considering the * *
Akinoso [27] countries potential of
developing
countries for
using of box-
typed solar
cookers
5 Harmim et al. 2014 Algeria Socially * *
4

[28] suitable Solar

cooker
development
6 Kebede et al. 2014 Africa Extracting *
[29] effective
factors that
prevent solar
cooker
development
7 Otte [30] 2014 Developing Comprising * * * * * *
countries motivators for
solar cooker
use in
developing
countries
8 Regattieri et al. 2016 – Making *
[31] portable solar

Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

cooker for
using wastes
9 Herez et al. [7] 2018 Lebanon Solar cooker * *
systems
assessment
10 Current work 2020 Iran Identifying * * * * * * * * *
relative factors
and risks for
solar cooker
development
A. Mostafaeipour et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

Fig. 3. Location of Razavi-Khorasan province in Iran.

Fig. 4. Total of the annual sunshine durations reported by Razavi-Khorasan’s synoptic weather stations [33].

2. Methodology 5. The questionnaire was distributed among the sample population.

This research was carried out as follows:
1. The factors affecting solar cooker development as well as the risks
threatening this project were identified via literature review and
interviews with renewable energy experts.
2. Based on the identified factors and risks, a questionnaire (Appendix)
was designed and administered to the target population.
3. Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the results of the question­
naire and determine its reliability. The expert panel evaluated the
questionnaire and verified its content validity through confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA).
4. The Cochran formula was then used to determine the sample size
based on the population size.
6. Respondents demographic data were analysed using SPSS® Statistics
software. Questionnaires’ data was analysed using CFA to identify
the factors and risks involved in the implementation process.
7. SPSS® Amos software was used for SEM of the correlation between
the identified factors.
Fig. 5 shows the current research methodology.
2.1. Sampling method
Given the difficulty and time-consuming nature of census approach,
sampling of the total population was used in this work. The Cochran
formula is a famous and easy method to calculate sample size due to its
accuracy and suitability in sampling large populations. Equation (1)

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A. Mostafaeipour et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

3. Results and analysis

This section aimed to provide the reader with an understanding of

the realities and concepts under investigation. Analyses often involve
categorising, arranging, processing, and summarising data to find the
answers to the research questions and hypotheses. Its purpose is to
reduce the data to a comprehensible and interpretable format so that the
correlation between the problem variables can be investigated.
In this study, the results and analyses were divided into descriptive
and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis of the variables was per­
formed with the help of frequency tables and pie charts. Descriptive
statistics includes measuring the central tendency (mean) and dispersion
(variance, standard deviation).

3.1. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)

CFA begins with a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure and Bartlett’s

test. These tests satisfy the first purpose of a CFA, which is to determine
whether the variance of the research’s variables is influenced by the
joint variance of other latent factors. Its statistical value varies from 0 to
1 and is interpreted as follows:

1 If the statistical value is less than 0.49, a CFA is not recommended

and the collected data should be fundamentally modified before this
analysis can be performed.
2 If the statistical value is between 0.5 and 0.69, the collected data is
relatively suitable for a CFA.
3 If the statistical value is higher than 0.7, the collected data is
completely suitable for a CFA.

The KMO and Bartlett’s tests of the factors were performed using
SPSS® Statistics software. The KMO measure and Bartlett’s test statistics
Fig. 5. the research methodology. obtained for the components of the factors are presented in Table 2.
As Table 2 shows, the KMO measures obtained by the Performance,
Geography and environment, and Financial support components were 0.5,
shows the Cochran formula [34]: which is relatively good. The p-value of the Bartlett’s test was less than

Z2α p(1 − p)
n0 = 2
. (1) Table 2
E2 KMO measure and Bartlett’s test statistics for the components of the factors.
In equation (1), Z2 is the abscissa of the normal curve that cuts off an Component KMO and Bartlett’s Test
area α at the tails. p is the relative amount of an attribute existing in the Performance KMO measure 0.5
population. E is the level of accuracy. Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 34.179
The population size in this research was 250. Assuming a precision test square
level (α) of 5%, the sample size was calculated to be 149. The number of Degree of freedom 1
P-value 0.000
samples in each cluster was determined by proportional allocation based Geographic and environmental KMO measure 0.5
on the population size of each cluster. factors Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 36.711
test square
2.2. Data collection Degree of freedom 1
P-value 0.000
Capital, economy, technology, KMO measure 0.71
Related works were reviewed and the factors influencing solar and infrastructure Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 101.179
cooker development were identified (documentary study). The expert test square
panel was interviewed and several additional factors were then added to Degree of freedom 6
the extracted criteria (interview instrument). All the factors were then P-value 0.000
Interactions KMO measure 0.652
modified using the experts’ opinions and the final factors were verified. Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 77.452
The panel of experts consisted of professors from good and recognised test square
universities in Iran; such as the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Yazd Degree of freedom 3
University, Tarbiat Modares University and Tehran University; and had P-value 0.000
Financial support KMO measure 0.5
a combined total of 15 years of experience in solar energy, renewable
Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 34.179
energy, solar cookers, and other solar applications. test square
All the data was collected via questionnaire. It consisted of 80 Degree of freedom 1
statements based on the final factors (Appendix) and was distributed to P-value 0.000
149 respondents from the energy association, power ministry, and solar Cultural, political, and social KMO measure 0.604
factors Bartlett’s Approximated chi- 64.981
panel companies. More than 75% of the respondents had a masters and/
test square
or PhD and approximately 51% of them were women. Degree of freedom 6
P-value 0.000

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A. Mostafaeipour et al.
0.05 for each component, demonstrating their analytical suitability.
For the Capital, Economy, Technology and infrastructure components,
their KMO measures were 0.7 and the p-value was less than 0.05 for each
component, again showing the suitability of the extracted items.
For the Interactions and Cultural, political, and social components, the
KMO measures were 0.65 and 0.604, respectively, and the p-value was
less than 0.05 for both components, once again confirming the suit­
ability of the items.
According to the CFA results, the factors affecting the use of solar
cooker in Razavi-Khorasan fell into six broad categories: 1) Perfor­
mance, 2) Geography and environment, 3) Technology and infrastruc­
ture, 4) Interactions, 5) Financial Support, 6) Cultural, political, and
social. Each of these components consisted of several factors and sub-
factors, which all played a role in the final impact of that component
on the use of solar cookers. Performance consists of two sub-factors,
namely “quality” and “speed”. Quality was in reference to the quality
of the cooked food, while speed related to the solar cooker’s cooking
time in comparison to ordinary ovens. Geography and environment are
very important in solar energy application because solar energy can only
be used in areas with sufficient solar radiation and daylight. Capital and
Economy were the other vital factors affecting the implementation of this
new technology because investors need to interested enough to invest
capital in solar cookers, and the economy has to be sufficiently stable to
offer encouragement. Technology and infrastructure were of great
importance because useful technologies and equipment as well as
existing infrastructure for constructing and running a project should be
made available to establish new technologies, like solar cookers. In­
teractions involved contacts and connections with skilled experts who
have adequate experience and knowledge of solar cooker manufacturing
and use. Financial support related to banks and the government who
have effective roles in the Iranian manufacturing industry. The Cultural,
social, and political factor related to the beliefs, norms, acceptance,
awareness, etc of the people. Table 3 shows a summary of each
component based on the CFA.
After identifying the factors influencing the design, manufacturing,
and use of solar cookers, the extent of each factor’s impact had to be
determined. For this purpose, a model showing the correlation between
the factors was developed using SEM.
3.2. Structural equation modelling (SEM)
The path analysis approach was used to investigate the relationships
between the factors based on the presented conceptual model. The
model was, first, tested with pre-specified variables to either reject or
confirm the hypotheses. The effects on the SEM were also determined
via standardised coefficients.
3.2.1. Initial model
Fig. 6 shows the research model developed based on assumptions. In
this model, q refers to the items of the factors and e is the error of each
path. The number between each component and each factor is the fac­
tor’s contribution to the component and the number between each
component and the solar cooker represents the effect of that component
on the use of solar cooker. The arrows indicate that the paths are
unidirectional.
Table 4 provides a schematic of the paths present in the model and
the regression coefficient computed for each path. Here, a null hy­
pothesis was when the regression coefficient was zero while, with the
alternative hypothesis, the regression coefficient had any value other
than zero. If the p-value was less than 0.05 (at 95% significance level),
the null hypothesis was rejected, showing the effectiveness of the ana­
lysed path. The magnitude of this effect was determined using the
standardised coefficients, which represent the intensity of the effect of
the path, as seen in Table 4. A negative standardised coefficient showed
that the independent variable had an inverse effect on the response
variable.
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Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587
Table 3
Categorisation of the factors influencing the implementation of solar cookers in
Iran.
Component Description
Performance The foods cooked with solar cooker have a higher
quality than those cooked with ordinary oven.
Solar cookers increase the speed of cooking.
Geographic and environmental The abundance of solar radiation available in the
factors area is an advantage for solar cookers.
Using solar cookers instead of ordinary ovens can
contribute to combat against climate change.
Capital, economy, technology, The area has the necessary infrastructure (e.g.,
and infrastructure knowledge and industrial base needed for
manufacturing equipment).
It is possible to attract private investment in
building solar cookers in the area
There is sufficient local workforce with the skills to
build and maintain the needed equipment.
Economic sanctions are the main obstacle to
building solar cookers in the area.
The use of solar cookers in the area is cost
effective.
Solar cookers made in Khorasan Razavi province
are suitable for the solar energy industry of the
area.
The utilization of latest techniques and
technologies will have a positive impact on the
future of the area.
Interactions There is not enough experience of solar cooker
manufacturing in the area
There is no experience of solar cooker
manufacturing management in the area.
There is not enough competition in the design,
manufacturing, and marketing of solar cookers in
the area.
Financial support Banks are not interested in giving loans to solar
cooker projects.
The government is not investing enough in solar
cooker projects.
Cultural, political, and social There is not enough awareness among people
factors about the benefits of solar cookers.
People are more likely to trust the units
manufactured abroad than those manufactured
domestically.
People of the area are ready to accept the use of
solar cookers.
Political risks in Iran are among the main obstacles
to foreign investment in solar cookers in the area.
3.2.1.1. Fitness of the initial model. The initial model developed using
the CFA of the variables with acceptable factor loadings was not suitable
to investigate intervariable relationships because, as shown in Table 5,
all the KMO statistics of the model were below 80%. With regard to the
root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the closer this error
was to zero, the better the model fit. For a model to be a good fit, RMSEA
needs to be less or between 0.05 and 0.08. This model’s RMSEA, how­
ever, was 2.215 and, therefore, it was not a good fit. The RMSEA value
also revealed the relatively weak performance of the residues in the
model.
The χ2 was also insignificant (to have a good model, the ratio of chi-
squared to the degree of freedom should be less than 5). Therefore, the
weak paths were discarded and the model was developed from scratch.
3.2.2. Final model
The final model developed in this study is illustrated in Fig. 7. A
schematic of the model’s paths and the regression coefficients obtained
for each path is provided in Table 6. As previously mentioned, a null
hypothesis was when the regression coefficient was zero and had to be
tested against an alternative hypothesis and the regression coefficient
was not zero. Again, if the p-value was less than 0.05, then the null
hypothesis was rejected, indicating that the analysed path was effective.
A. Mostafaeipour et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

Fig. 6. Initial model developed based on assumptions.

Table 4
Path analysis of the model developed based on assumptions.
P-Value C.R. S.E. Standardized conclusion
Coefficients

0.759 Performance → q2 reject

0.048 1.897 0.192 0.356 Performance → q1
0.737 Geographic → q4
0.035 0.959 1.178 0.344 Geographic → q3
1.000 infrastructure → q11
0.002 1.281 0.046 0.086 infrastructure → q10
0.000 6.611 0.045 0.425 infrastructure → q9
0.000 8.737 0.085 0.540 infrastructure → q8
0.046 1.995 0.050 0.133 infrastructure → q7
0.000 10.642 0.074 0.627 infrastructure → q6
0.000 8.676 0.000 1.000 infrastructure → q5
0.791 Interactions → q14
0.000 6.624 0.112 0.675 Interactions → q13
0.000 5.118 0.086 0.488 Interactions → q12
0.759 Financial support → q16
0.038 1.897 0.192 0.356 Financial support → q15
0.006 2.763 0.130 0.332 Cultural, political, and social factors → q19
0.000 3.322 0.157 0.477 Cultural, political, and social factors → q18
0.000 8.269 0.038 0.439 infrastructure → Implementation
0.000 6.490 0.053 0.762 Interactions → Implementation
0.036 2.913 0.074 0.513 Financial support → Implementation
0.079 1.913 0.174 0.048 Performance → Implementation
0.953 0.058 0.128 0.009 Geographic → Implementation
0.121 1.223 0.168 0.116 Cultural, political, and social factors → Implementation
0.043 1.933 0.113 0.210 Cultural, political, and social factors → q17
0.740 Cultural, political, and social factors → q20

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A. Mostafaeipour et al. Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587

Table 5
Fitness indicators of the model developed based on assumptions.
χ2/DF p-value RMSEA NFI CFI IFI RFI Table 6
Path analysis of the final model.
7.124 0.024 2.215 0.689 0.712 0.715 0.524
P-Value C.R. S.E. Standardized
Coefficients

0.921 F1 → q2
The standardised coefficients listed in Table 6 show the magnitude of 0.000 13.016 0.072 0.878 F1 → q1
the effect of each path. As stated earlier, a negative standardised coef­ 0.708 F2 → q4
0.016 0.439 0.109 0.043 F2 q3
ficient reflects the inverse effect of the independent variable on the →
0.691 F3 → q11
response variable. 0.000 7.857 0.136 0.716 F3 → q10
0.000 6.495 0.129 0.583 F3 → q9
3.2.2.1. Fitness of the final model. As shown in Table 7, all KMO values 0.000 6.667 0.166 0.599 F3 → q8
0.031 0.174 0.098 0.015 F3 q7
obtained for the final model were over 80%, showing the suitability of →
0.000 7.469 0.149 0.677 F3 → q6
this model for investigating inter-variable relationships. For this model, 0.000 7.859 0.145 0.717 F3 → q5
RMSEA was calculated to 0.079, confirming the goodness of fit. 0.743 F4 → q14
Although χ2 is statistically significant, this index is highly sensitive 0.000 13.574 0.071 1.000 F4 → q13
to sample size. However, the good quality of the final model was also 0.000 5.863 0.074 0.467 F4 → q12
1.000 F5 q16
reflected in the computed χ2/DF ratio, which was less than 5. The ob­
→
0.000 5.816 0.077 0.430 F5 → q15
tained p-value also confirmed that the hypothesis of the model was fit. 0.796 F6 → q20
The findings of this research are summarised as follows: 0.037 0.345 0.090 0.034 F6 → q19
0.003 2.937 0.192 0.506 F6 → q18
• Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to be more than 0.8 for both items 0.018 1.342 0.119 0.139 F6 → q17
0.003 2.976 0.000 0.421 F3 → Implementation
of the questionnaire including risks and factors. Therefore, the 0.000 13.574 0.035 0.834 F4 → Implementation
designed questionnaire was reliable. 0.000 4.041 0.000 0.551 F5 → Implementation
• The K–S test, to check normality of data distributions, showed that:

Table 7
H0. Data follows a normal distribution. Fitness indicators for the final model.
χ2/DF p-value RMSEA NFI CFI IFI RFI
H1. Data does not follow a normal distribution.
2.623 0.111 0.079 0.851 0.9 0.902 0.910

Fig. 7. The final model.

9
A. Mostafaeipour et al.
• According to the CFA result, the six factors affecting the use of solar
cookers in Razavi-Khorasan province were Performance, Geography
and environment, Infrastructure, Interactions, Financial support, and
Cultural, political, and social.
• Based on SEM, a comprehensive model demonstrating a correlation
between the factors is presented Fig. 7.
• Items related to the Performance factor such as “quality” and “speed”
were able to show a correlation and had equal contribution.
• The items related to Geography and environment including “available
sun radiation” and “climate change” were also able to demonstrate a
correlation and had equal contribution.
• The correlation of Capital, Economy, Technology and infrastructure was
also shown by the items of this factor. Of the items included,
“necessary infrastructure” and “new technology” had the largest
contribution while “available local workforce for construction and
maintenance” had the smallest contribution to this factor.
• A similar result was observed with the items for Interactions. For this
factor, “experience of solar cooker manufacturing” was the greatest
contribution while the smallest was “competition in the design,
manufacturing, and marketing of solar cookers in the area”.
• The items related to the Financial support factor consisted of “bank
loans to industrial projects” and “government support for solar
cooker projects” and were also able to prove a correlation and had
equal contribution.
• Of the items related to Cultural, social, and political, “peoples’ interest
to use foreign products” had the largest contribution and “people
awareness of solar cooker benefits” had the smallest contribution to
this factor.
• Based on the SEM, Capital, Economy, Technology and infrastructure,
Interactions, and Financial support were found to directly impact solar
cooker development.
• While all the factors impacted solar cooker project implementation
positive, Interactions was found to have the greatest effect.
4. Conclusion
In this study, the factors influencing as well as the risks threatening
solar cooker development, manufacturing, and use in Razavi-Khorasan
province of Iran were identified, ranked, then modelled to clarify the
correlation between the identified factors. The findings of this study are
summarised below:
• Cronbach’s alpha of the developed questionnaire was estimated to be
0.891, verifying the reliability of the research instrument.
• The respondents gave a higher than moderate rating of the use of
solar cookers in the study area in terms of Performance, Geography
and environment, Capital, Economy, Technology and infrastructure, and
Financial support and a moderate rating in terms of Interactions and
Cultural, social, and political.
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed using SPSS®
Statistics software. Prior to the CFA, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and
Bartlett’s tests were performed to verify the suitability of the method for
the variables. The factor loading of each component and the coefficients
of its constituting items were calculated and analysed. The results
showed that the factors affecting the use of solar cooker in Razavi-
Khorasan fell into six broad categories: Performance, Geography and
environment, Technology and infrastructure, Interactions, Financial sup­
port, and Cultural, social, and political.
Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to determine the
correlation between the factors. The SEM was constructed using SPSS®
Amos software by introducing all of the identified factors as independent
variables and setting the possibility of using solar cookers in Razavi-
Khorasan as the dependent variable. The results of this modelling
were as follows:
10
Energy Strategy Reviews 33 (2021) 100587
• The factors Capital, Economy, Technology and infrastructure, In­
teractions, and Financial support were found to directly impact the
implementation of solar cookers.
• All the investigated factors showed a positive impact on the imple­
mentation of solar cookers (the better a factor’s status, the higher the
possibility of success). Interactions was found to have the greatest
effect.
4.1. Suggestions for future works
Most of Iran’s provinces are blessed with a sunny and dry climate
making them suitable for solar applications such as solar cookers.
Therefore, future works may investigate solar cooker development in
other case studies with their own applicable factors. Also, in light of the
sanctions against Iran, a comprehensive economic framework as well as
new MCDM methods could prove useful.
Credit author statement
Ali Mostafaeipour: Supervision, Software, writing, Conceptualiza­
tion, Software Data Curation, Writing – original draft. Mohamad Beh­
zadian: Methodology, Software, submitting and collecting
questionnaires. Mohammad Bagher Fakhrzad: Visualization, Investiga­
tion, Writing – original draft. Kuaanan Techato: Reviewing and Editing.
Fatemeh Najafi: Software, preparing new literature reviews with related
Table, Reviewing and Editing
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.esr.2020.100587.
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