Komala H. P. and Devi Prasad A. G.
Biomass is the most prominent renewable energy resources. It plays a vital role in meeting the domestic energy needs among the rural households of developing countries. The present study has been made to assess the utilization pattern of fuel sources among the households of five selected villages of Chamarajanagar district. The calorific values of commonly used firewood species have been determined. The results have shown that there is a greater dependency on biomass energy for domestic needs as compared to commercial ones. Firewood is the primary energy source (98.62%) for cooking and heating purposes among the rural households. The investigation has revealed that about half of the households are using different fuel wood species without the awareness of thermal efficiency in their traditional biomass cook stoves. An attempt has been made to investigate the calorific values of the fuel wood species used by them. Based on the findings it has been suggested usage of species with greater heating efficiency with lesser quantity would be sufficient to meet their daily energy requirements
