What is the typical thermal efficiency range for a traditional three-stone fire?
Answer
5 to 10 percent
The traditional three-stone fire serves as the baseline against which modern fuel-efficient technologies are measured, illustrating massive inherent waste. This basic cooking method possesses very low thermal efficiency, documented as being as low as 5 to 10 percent. This means that the overwhelming majority of the energy contained within the biomass fuel—90 to 95 percent—is wasted. This wasted energy typically manifests as heat that escapes into the surrounding environment without ever being transferred to the cooking pot, or as uncombusted fuel loss escaping in smoke and unburnt residue.

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