Traditional cookstoves cause indoor concentrations of important
pollutants, such as small particles less than 10 m
(1 m = 10−6 m) in diameter, known as PM10, carbon monoxide,
benzene and formaldehyde, to be excessive compared to healthbased
standards or even to other common thermal applications.
Such exposures are linked to acute respiratory infections, chronic
obstructive lung diseases, low birth weights, lung cancer and eye
problems, primarily among women and children [30]. Similarly,
kerosene-based household lamps are inefficient, expensive, and a
source of health and fire hazards. These lamps produce unhealthy
fumes which in poorly ventilated homes pose serious health hazards
such as respiratory and eye problems; yet, lighting using
kerosene can be twice as expensive as and up to 19 times less efficient
per lumen of output than fluorescent lights using electricity
as the energy carrier [31]. Moreover, inefficient lighting services in
the home and in public areas are directly related to poor safety and
personal security.