Evaluating the Role of Energy in a Poorly Developed Rural Village: How Technology can Support Energy Services for Enhanced Quality of Life

Energy plays a significant role in elevating the lives of people all around the world. The prime purpose of this study was to investigate and assess the availability and quality of energy sources in their role in support of services imperative for stability in quality of life, health, livelihood, and education. We have focused our study on a small, impoverished village in Bihar, India. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with households, observational studies, meetings with government leaders, group meetings with Self Help Groups, and collecting quantitative data (income, number of appliances). Even though the power lines are available, the distribution point transformer has malfunctioned. Thus, the villagers did not have a proper power supply. They did not have many electrical appliances as well. All the villagers still depend on conventional lighting sources such as kerosene lanterns due to the lack of continuous power supply and biomass fuels, such as dung cakes, crop residue, and firewood for cooking, which negatively affect their lives. In addition, these fuels are causing health problems for the villagers. Using advanced technologies, it was determined that a modernized smokeless Chulha or smokeless stove could be designed that performs better than earlier models, which can be of meager cost. It also can reduce the use of biomass fuels. Furthermore, solar energy is a bottomless source of sustainable electricity, besides its limitless source of light and heat. These are demonstrated in the paper. Such interventions augment the quality of life and health of villagers in underdeveloped, impoverished communities.