Analysis of a Rural Northwestern China Household Energy Use Survey Focusing on Parabolic Solar Cooker Use for Water Purification

Background: Billions of people lack clean drinking water access. Many of the same people lack clean cooking systems, which can purify water by boiling, a viable form of decentralized water treatment. The combined health consequences of water scarcity, waterborne disease and smoke-related illnesses from burning solid fuels indoors can be addressed via clean cooking technologies such as parabolic solar cookers (PSCs). Methods: A household energy survey in rural Anding district, Gansu province, China found the majority of households utilized PSCs solely for water purification through boiling. Households were aggregated into four categories of PSC use: All Year, Summer Only, No PSC Use (own but do not use), or No PSC (do not own). Statistical comparison of differences between household groups’ means was carried out using Excel, JMP, and SPSS. Results: Anding households surveyed fit the multiple fuel model instead of energy ladder model for boiling water by shifting between different combinations of technologies and fuels, whether clean or solid fuels. Households that used PSCs year-round paid less for energy than households that did not own PSCs. Conclusions: Anding district households successfully adopted clean cooking technology for water treatment, which suggests that other impoverished rural residents with cultural preferences for drinking boiled water and sufficient solar irradiation may adopt PSCs for an environmental and economic win. Given the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to provide both clean water and clean cooking technology access, policies integrating PSC installation alongside water supply projects are a possible way to help achieve both goals.