scholarly journals Study on Household Energy Usage Patterns in Urban and Rural Areas of Nepal

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-410
Author(s):  
Dinesh Kumar Shahi ◽  
Hom Bahadur Rijal ◽  
Masanori Shukuya

In the last decades, the household’s energy demand has increased significantly in various countries including Nepal. In the case ofNepal, 94% of energy use is in the domestic sector. There is a possibility of a huge increase in electricity production, but we are stillsuffering from load shedding due to the high electricity demand. Electricity use is an important factor for the quality of life anddevelopment of a nation. There is not a sufficient number of researches done about electricity consumption in different climaticregions of Nepal which are analyzed by the income level of residents. This study gives descriptive information on the household’senergy uses patterns and investigates the electricity use rate, using electrical appliances in households. This study also identifies themajor source of energy use and awareness of energy use. The data were collected from 442 households in three regions in the winterseason of 2018. Kalikot is a rural area, Chitwan is a semi-urban, and Kathmandu is an urban area. We have collected electricity bills,family income, and family size, electricity using appliances, expenditure for energy and energy use for heating/cooling, cooking, andlighting. The electricity was used only for lighting purposes in the rural area, but other electrical appliances were used in semi-urbanand urban areas. The amount of electricity use has not affected by household income level in the rural area, but it has affected in semi-urban and urban areas. The level of education affects the use of the LED significantly. This study would be helpful to know theelectricity use patterns which is useful for energy saving and energy management of the rural and urban areas of Nepal.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4243
Author(s):  
Pokharel Tika Ram ◽  
Rijal Hom Bahadur

Energy is an important input for socioeconomic development and human well-being. The rationality of energy transitions toward cleaner energy resources is not only to improve individual living conditions, but also to enhance the economic growth of a nation. Nepal is considered to be one of the countries with a low per-capita electricity use, heavily relying on traditional energy resources such as firewood and agricultural residues. The country is rich in hydropower resources. However, various economic and socioeconomic constraints have left the significant potential for hydroelectricity untapped. This study describes the energy transition patterns in Nepal based on a literature review and field survey of household energy use in the winter. We collected data from 516 households in the Solukhumbu, Panchthar, and Jhapa districts of Nepal. The rate of per-capita electricity consumption was 330 kWh/capita/year, which is significantly lower than that of other contemporary global societies such as India 1000 and China 4900 kWh/capita/year. The increasing trend in hydroelectricity production has optimistically transformed the energy sector toward cleaner resources; this correlates with the GDP per capita. Solar home systems, mini- and micro-hydropower plants, biogas technology, and improved cook stoves have been widely used, which has lowered the health and environmental burdens in rural areas. By analysing the survey data, we found that 25% of the households only relied on traditional cooking fuel, while 67% and 8% of the households relied on mixed and commercial cooking fuels, respectively. Moreover, 77% and 48% of traditional and mixed-fuel-using households were unhappy with current cooking fuels while 40% and 66% of these households preferred to use clean cooking fuels. The share of traditional energy resources decreased from 78% to 68%, while that of commercial energy resources increased from 20% to 28% from 2014/15 to 2019/20. This study suggests that future energy policies and programs should acknowledge the reality of energy transition to achieve sustainability by establishing reliable and clean sources of energy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1077-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Fragkias ◽  
José Lobo ◽  
Karen C Seto

Urban areas contribute to about 75% of global fossil fuel CO2 emissions and are a primary driver of climate change. If greenhouse gas emissions for the top 20 emitting urban areas were aggregated into a one country, it would rank third behind China and the US. With urban areas forecasted to triple between 2010 and 2030 and urban population expected to increase by more than 2.5 billion, sustainable development will require a better understanding of how different types of urbanization affect energy use. However, there is a scarcity of data on energy use at the urban level that are available globally. Nighttime light satellite data have been shown to be related to energy use, but to date there has not been a systematic comparison of how well different sources of nighttime light data and their derived products can proxy electricity use. This paper fills this gap. First, we perform a comparative analysis of different types of nighttime light satellite data to proxy for electricity use for US cities. Second, we examine how the different types of nighttime light satellite data scale with the size of urban settlements and connect these findings to recent theoretical advances in scaling. We find that (1) all measures of nighttime light and urban electricity use in the US are strongly correlated and (2) different nighttime light-derived data can measure distinct urban energy characteristics such as energy infrastructure volume versus energy use. Our results do not show a clear best nighttime light proxy for total electricity consumption, despite of the use of higher spatial and temporal resolution data.


Author(s):  
Korkeakoski Mika ◽  
Mentula Minna ◽  
Vähäkari Noora ◽  
Luukkanen Jyrki ◽  
Kaivo-oja Jari ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this article is to analyse the current situation of access to energy (in relation to SDG 7) and energy usage behaviour in households in two provinces in Cambodia, namely Pursat and Kampong Cham. The analytical framework is based on the energy ladder model and the energy stacking model as a starting point for assessing the current household energy profiles. A quantitative survey carried out in late 2015 in 970 households revealed differences in access to electricity between urban, electrified rural, and non-electrified rural districts. In urban areas, households are using multiple (3–4) energy sources compared to rural areas (2–3). The use of electricity through batteries in the non-electrified rural areas remains notable (43%) despite no access to the national grid. The dependence on traditional biomass, especially firewood, remains high (91% of all respondents) for all the sampled households, especially so in rural non-electrified households. The study confirms that households’ energy mix is composed of various energy sources, even when modern energy sources are available as opposed to complete fuel switch. The results also show that electricity use does not automatically lead to increased household income, but is much more complex process than discussed in existing research. The article further discusses the possible causes behind the phenomenon, proposes recommendations for better-informed energy policy, and provides important insights towards sustainable energy transition in Cambodia in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulsan Ara Parvin ◽  
Nina Takashino ◽  
Md. Shahidul Islam ◽  
Md. Habibur Rahman ◽  
Md. Anwarul Abedin ◽  
...  

Purpose This study aims to explore whether socio-economic factors determine the level of menstrual knowledge and perceptions of schoolgirls in Bangladesh. The aim of this study is to understand how knowledge and perceptions vary with variations in the different socio-economic factors in a schoolgirl’s life such as place of residence, religion, age, grade, parents’ education, parents’ occupation, family income and even family size. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from four schools (two in urban areas and two in rural areas). A total of 450 schoolgirls from grades V–X were interviewed to examine how knowledge and perceptions varied with different socio-economic aspects. Multiple logistic regression models were used to measure the associations between various socio-economic variables and perceptions of and knowledge about menstruation. Findings Respondents from urban areas were 4.75 times more likely and those 14–16 years old were two times more likely to report higher levels of knowledge about menstruation compared to their counterparts. Based on the father’s occupation, respondents whose father was engaged in a professional occupation were 1.983 times more likely to have a higher level of knowledge on menstruation compared to those whose fathers were in an unskilled profession. Similarly, the odds of positive perceptions on menstruation were 1.456 and 1.987 times higher, respectively, among respondents living in urban areas and those 14–16 years old, compared to their counterparts. Originality/value This study provides evidence that different socio-economic and even demographic factors are important in the development of menstrual knowledge and perceptions. Policy formulation and development actions related to adolescent girls’ physical and reproductive health development need to consider these factors in Bangladesh and in other developing countries, where poor knowledge and perception related to menstruation are hindering girls’ mental and physical development. This is expected that better knowledge and perception will facilitate girls’ right to have better health and social lives.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Lucas ◽  
Giuseppe Prettico ◽  
Marco Flammini ◽  
Evangelos Kotsakis ◽  
Gianluca Fulli ◽  
...  

Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure rollout is well under way in several power systems, namely North America, Japan, Europe, and China. In order to support EV charging infrastructures design and operation, little attempt has been made to develop indicator-based methods characterising such networks across different regions. This study defines an assessment methodology, composed by eight indicators, allowing a comparison among EV public charging infrastructures. The proposed indicators capture the following: energy demand from EVs, energy use intensity, charger’s intensity distribution, the use time ratios, energy use ratios, the nearest neighbour distance between chargers and availability, the total service ratio, and the carbon intensity as an environmental impact indicator. We apply the methodology to a dataset from ElaadNL, a reference smart charging provider in The Netherlands, using open source geographic information system (GIS) and R software. The dataset reveals higher energy intensity in six urban areas and that 50% of energy supplied comes from 19.6% of chargers. Correlations of spatial density are strong and nearest neighbouring distances range from 1101 to 9462 m. Use time and energy use ratios are 11.21% and 3.56%. The average carbon intensity is 4.44 gCO2eq/MJ. Finally, the indicators are used to assess the impact of relevant public policies on the EV charging infrastructure use and roll-out.


1991 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang ◽  
Stan Becker ◽  
LP Chow ◽  
Shao-xian Wang

A survey of 12, 000 women in eight provinces of China was carried out in 1988. One urban and one rural area were selected purposively in each province; data on lifetime and recent pregnancies were collected from married women aged 20-44. Data on abortions included reasons, gestational age, and complications. During the five years before the survey, the number of abortions per 100 live births was 102 in urban areas and 62 in rural areas. For those with one or more previous live births in urban areas, nearly all subsequent pregnancies ended in abortion. Also in urban areas, 31% of women with a recent abortion reported the reason was contraceptive failure. Over 80% of women are contraceptive users; the high abortion rates then reflect relatively low use-effectiveness of contraception and that most unplanned pregnancies are aborted.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-635
Author(s):  
Adeleke NA ◽  
Adebimpe WO ◽  
Farinloye EO ◽  
Olowookere AS

Background: Sexual assault is about the most dehumanizing form of gender based violence against women worldwide. Nigeria and many other countries in Africa do not have National data on women sexual assault. This survey is aimed at generating data on sexual assault against women in Osun state, Nigeria. Objective: To determine the patterns of sexual assault against women in Urban and Rural areas of Osun State in South western Nigeria. Methodology: A cross section survey using interviewer administered questionnaire was carried out among selected 1,200 women aged 15 years and above in urban and rural areas, between August and December 2014. The questionnaire was patterned after WHO Multi-country study on women’s health and domestic violence data instrument. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0. Results: Mean age of the respondents was 23.75 ±(13.22) years in rural area, in the urban area it was 27.69 ±(10.23) years. 46 % and 54 % were married in urban and rural areas respectively. The prevalence of completed rape was 10.0 % in urban and 9.2 % in rural, while that of attempted rape was 31.4 % and 20.0 % in the urban and rural area respectively. Women in the rural areas experienced repeat sexual assault and suffered non-genital injuries more the in urban area. Having partner and living in urban area were associated with female sexual assault. Conclusions: Sexual assault against women constitutes public health issue in Osun state with rural women incurring greater negative health consequences. Primary prevention strategies should focus at young men and women in both rural and urban areas of the state. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.18(3) 2019 p.628-635


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7332
Author(s):  
Waheed Mobolaji Ashagidigbi ◽  
Bashirat Adenike Babatunde ◽  
Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi ◽  
Kehinde Oluseyi Olagunju ◽  
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo

The sustainable use of clean and safe sources of energy is indeed a global challenge. Traditional and unsafe forms of energy use is predominant among households in sub-Saharan Africa. This is not only a threat to the environment, but also constitutes health risk to the population. In the Nigeria context, this study provides the first attempt to estimate household energy poverty status and also investigate the driving factors of household energy poverty status using the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) dataset. The analytical techniques adopted in this study are based on Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) and Tobit regression model. Our results show that national average MEPI was 0.38, suggesting that majority of the households are energy poor. Energy poverty is however found to be higher in rural areas than in urban areas. We also found that male-headed households, age, rural sector and northeast residents are found to be the energy poverty enhancing factors, while household income and credit access are energy poverty inhibiting factors. The study concludes that income smoothening among other energy poverty reduction interventions should be prioritized, especially among rural households in order to help them exit energy poverty trap.


Author(s):  
M. Vijay Kumar ◽  
Indranil Acharya ◽  
Jayanti P. Acharya ◽  
Puligila Raj Shravani ◽  
Sabbineni Ramya

Background: Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 800 mothers from urban and rural areas of Rangareddy District. A pre designed pre tested questionnaire was used to interview the mothers. Questionnaire contained questions related to demographic factors and breast feeding practices. Institutional Ethical clearance was taken. Results: The overall prevalence of exclusive breast feeding was 65%, being comparatively more in rural area (68%) which was statistically significant. Colostrum was discarded by 15% mothers in urban and 9% in rural area. Breast feeding was initiated within 1 hour in 184 (46%) in urban area and in 148 (37%) in rural area. Conclusions: Though mothers from rural area had certain favorable breast feeding practices such as demand feeding, colostrum being given but still various inappropriate practices were prevalent in both rural and urban areas. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 75-82
Author(s):  
Mamoni Das

Indian economy is agricultural economy and real India lies in villages. Without the development of the rural economy, the objectives of economic planning cannot be achieved. Hence, banks and other financial institutions are considered to be a vital role for the development of the rural economy in India. NABARD are playing a pivotal role in the economy development of the rural India. In the Indian context rural development assumes greater significance as nearly 70% of its population lives in rural areas. Most of the people living in rural area draw their livelihood from agriculture and allied sectors. Such areas are distinct from more intensively settled urban and suburban areas. Life styles in rural area are different than those in urban areas, mainly because limited services are available. Governmental services like law enforcement, schools, fire departments may be distant, limited in scope, or unavailable. Rural development is a national necessity and has considerable importance in India. The main objective of the rural development programme is to raise the economic and social level of the rural people. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is set up as an apex institution by the Government of India with the main objective of providing and regulating credit and other facilities for the promotion of rural development. It is a single integrated organisation which looks after the credit requirements of all types of agricultural and rural development activities. The present study is a modest attempt to the credit potential for agriculture during the year 2021-22. The study covered aspects such as functions, objectives, management and organizational structure, sources of funds, activities achieved, loan assistance to various institutions, Methodology for preparation of potential linked credit plans (PLPs) and Development Projects in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Keywords: NABARD, Rural Development, RBI and SHGs..


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