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Heating and cooling · Hot water, cooking and refrigeration · thermal-24Plan cooking energy
Cooking is a daily load that must work in all weather. Most off-grid homes combine an efficient electric method with a fuel or solar option.
How
- Induction is up to about 3 times more efficient than gas and up to 10% more efficient than smooth-top electric (DOE), and produces no combustion pollutants indoors. It needs flat-bottomed pans that a magnet sticks to and a well-sized inverter.
- Cook with induction mainly during solar hours where possible.
- Keep LPG or biogas as a backup for cloudy spells, with a vented range hood and CO alarm.
- Use a solar cooker (box, panel or parabolic) for slow cooking and water pasteurisation on sunny days; parabolic types need watching to avoid burning.
- If cooking with wood, use a vented stove, never an open fire indoors. WHO links household solid fuel smoke to serious heart and lung disease.
Safety: Gas cooking produces nitrogen oxides, CO and formaldehyde. Always run a range hood vented outside.
Sources
- Making the Switch to Induction Stoves or Cooktops. U.S. Department of Energy, accessed 2026-11
- Food Security: Solar Cookers Supply Safer, Cleaner Energy. Institute of Food Technologists, accessed 2026-11