Did you know that over 800,000 Filipino households still rely on kerosene for their lighting and cooking needs? This is because many families in provinces with high poverty incidence rates still do not have access to the grid and have to depend on traditional fuel sources, including those that are damaging to human health and to the environment like kerosene.
Burning kerosene contributes to climate change
The usual Filipino family registers a kerosene consumption rate of 0.05 liters per hour per lamp, with three hours per day of average usage. Each liter of kerosene has a CO2 emission factor of 2.5 kg per liter of kerosene. This is affirmed by data from the Lumina Project which stated that a lit kerosene lamp releases 100 kilograms of CO2 and black carbon every year. This is the same kind of C02 production of five months’ worth of garbage when incinerated.
Not only does CO2 greatly contribute to global warming, its fumes are known to cause cancer and respiratory disease. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that inhaling the fumes of a kerosene lamp for four hours is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes. This is because the combustion products generated by many kerosene-burning devices including lamps include large amounts of fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitric oxides, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The last are compounds that can cause severe health conditions such as respiratory ailments, cancer, and death.
The WHO has also stated that household kerosene exposure is associated with low birth weight, and childhood pneumonia.
Black carbon as a kerosene by-product
Another product of burning kerosene is black carbon which can be argued to be even more dangerous. In the same way as carbon monoxide, it disrupts the respiratory system. Black carbon emissions also have serious effects on the environment. When kerosene is burnt in wick lamps, 9% of it is converted to particulate matter like black carbon. This can stay in the atmosphere for weeks, and can cause lake acidification. When mixed with moisture, it turns into acid rain.
Black carbon has already been determined to be a major driver of climate change next to C02. It is produced during the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass from diesel engines, cooking stoves, wood burning, and forest fires.
Another reason to stop the use of kerosene is the expense: as of May 2, 2022, kerosene costs P79 per liter and P299 per gallon. With regular use for lighting and cooking, a liter lasts three days at the most. Low-income families use up to 1/3 of their monthly budget to pay for fuel.
When households make the shift to solar-powered lights, they will be able to offset all the carbon emissions released by their kerosene lamps. Kerosene lamps can produce only poor quality light, and this limits educational and income-generating opportunities. The white light that a solar lantern produces is over ten times brighter than the flame of a kerosene lamp and much safer, too – no risk of causing burns or fires. Children and older adults will no longer risk getting a respiratory ailment or developing eye strain because of the weak light. The solar lamps are also safe for children to turn on and off, unlike the case with solar lamps.
Community Portable Power Charging Station
We can help households do away with kerosene lamps for their lighting needs by providing communities with solar PV systems. These systems can also be used during emergency situations. They are a cost-efficient and environmentally-sound alternative to kerosene lamps.
Off-grid rural poor or underserved urban poor communities can pool their resources to put together their own independent solar-powered power system comprised of solar panels with micro-inverters and portable power storage units with outlets. Each household can have a stand-alone, portable power storage unit that can be carried and charged in the main charging station that has solar PV panels and a bigger battery. The main charging station should be established on the most stable rooftop in the community.
Each portable solar-powered power storage unit with ports can power lights and basic electric appliances such as radios, TVs, and mobile phones. The unit has to be charged for five hours so it can store 230 volts of AC electricity.
Off-grid communities of the poor and marginalized sectors can really benefit from solar PV systems. Their lessened dependence on kerosene for their lighting and even cooking needs will be better for their health and better for the environment. WeGen hopes to reach out to different partners and institutions that share the same goal of helping more Filipinos increase their access to clean, renewable and sustainable power. #