An oven for Vietnam

Niclas Gündel taking the measurements of a physical model of an oven.

The Vietnamese H'mong mountain people cook on an open fire within their homes. Their houses are therefore filled with smoke and in the winter, they are cold and damp despite the presence of a fire. The ELOTA Engineering Association offered to construct an oven for a local family, which  can be used for cooking and heating at the same time. The aim was to make improvements  to the prototype they had built.

Proceeding from the prototype, Niclas Gündel is currently developing a practical oven that is both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. To do this, he is recreating the oven in Switzerland and performing measurements on it. Thermocouples give him information about the temperatures at different points within the oven while  a  thermal imaging camera provides an overall picture of the surface temperature. The exhaust gases in the chimney are also analysed. The test results have given Niclas Gündel an indication of what the optimum design for the oven would be. The ELOTA Engineering Association is implementing his findings in Vietnam.

Project information

• Client: ELOTA Engineering Association
  
• Implementation: Niclas Gündel, BSc Energy and Environmental Technology
  
• Supervision: Professor Dr. Peter Stuber