New Version of the Water Boiling Test Released at ETHOS Conference
The Water Boiling Test (WBT) is used by many in the clean cooking sector as to measure how efficiently a stove uses fuel to heat water in a cooking pot and the quantity of emissions produced while cooking. This test can be used to evaluate stove changes during development, compare the effectiveness of different designs, select the most promising products for field trials, and ensure that manufactured stoves meet intended performance based on designs. While lab-based tests like the WBT allow for testing in a controlled setting and differentiation between stoves, field-based tests should be used to understand how stoves perform with local foods, cooking practices, and fuels. The Alliance and partners have been working over the last few months to finalize updates to the Water Boiling Test (WBT) to address comments from a public comment period on the WBT 4.1.2. The public comment period was organized by the US EPA’s Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA), and updates were coordinated by the PCIA and the Alliance.
At the ETHOS Conference in Kirkland, Washington, USA, we announced the release of WBT 4.2, which was updated to reflect the public comments and the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) International Workshop Agreement (IWA). In addition, calculation errors were corrected and the language and formatting were updated to improve clarity and readability.
Efforts to improve this and other protocols are ongoing, and the Alliance will continue to be a custodian for the most current versions. Please submit comments and suggestions for corrections to the Alliance, and we will facilitate, review, and share updates with all of our partners. WBT version 4.2.1 is now available (Data Calculation Sheet, Protocol Document). The most up-to-date version of the WBT can be found in the Testing Laboratories Community of Practice.
The Global Alliance website team is in the process of developing a Standards and Testing page on www.cleancookstoves.org to share protocols, information on international standards, and share information about Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers (RTKCs).
Other laboratory and field testing protocols will be shared as well, including drafts for review. We also encourage our partner organizations to share any additional protocols.