Determinants of the sustained use of household clean fuels and technologies: Lessons from Vihiga county, Kenya

Abstract

Sustainable energy for household application is currently a top priority in developing countries with clean modern energy sources dominating the energy policy agenda. Nonetheless, more research evidence is required for policy and practise. This study’s objective was to evaluate the determinants of household cooking and lighting energy choices. In contrast to other studies, this study employed a holistic approach by considering all the energy technologies utilised by a household. It was hypothesised that socioeconomic and demographic characteristics influence household energy choices. Probit model was used to determine causation using data from a random sample of 487 households drawn from Vihiga county. The marginal effects indicate that the decision of a household to utilise clean cooking fuels is enhanced by income (0.14), access to credit (0.10), male as the household head (0.56), higher education attainment (0.22), increasing age (0.08), and increasing household size (0.02). In addition to these factors, room count (0.04) and marital status (0.06) also enhanced a household’s decision to utilise clean energy for lighting. These results emphasise the importance of socioeconomic and demographic factors in achieving sustainable household energy access. To a large extent, a household’s decision to utilise clean energy is determined by its income and level of education.

Keywords

• Clean energy
• Biomass
• Socio-economic
• Probit model