Trend in household energy consumption pattern in India: A case study on the influence of socio-cultural factors for the choice of clean fuel use

Solid biomass fuel use is closely intertwined with the life of rural households in Asia. However, its consumption and demand vary significantly across different countries, states and in various agro-climatic zones. Uses of solid biomass fuel in the kitchen not only leads to household air pollution but also influences the air quality in the regions of Indo- Gangetic plains. Considering this, current study assesses the household fuel use pattern and trend in India. Further, the socio-cultural, economical and behavioral factors which can influence the household fuel choice were evaluated through a case study from Punjab, India using a standard questionnaire. The decadal trend in household energy consumption pattern shows that 77.5% of rural households in India rely on solid biomass fuel for cooking. Further, during the last 30 years (upto 2011), only 2% of rural households shifted from solid biomass fuel to cleaner fuels. However, after 2011 data shows significant uptake of the cleaner fuels for the household cooking purposes. Results of the case study show that rural households depend on numerous approaches rather than relying on a particular source of household energy. This contradicts the energy ladder hypothesis of improvement in energy source with an increase in income. Cooking fuel preferences were found to be significantly determined by socio-economic and cultural factors. Thus, providing improved cookstoves or cleaner fuels are not sufficient to attain their sustained use. Hence, the current study highlights the need for effective user-behavior focused interventions to enhance the transition towards cleaner fuel for household energy. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.