CREEC: A KNOWLEDGE HUB FOR RESEARCH

CREEC has received a number of researchers and students from universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Leeds and University of Manchester visiting the centre. While visiting the CREEC Regional Testing and Knowledge Centre (RTKC), Agnes Naluwagga the CREEC RTKC coordinator spoke about testing standards and the importance of ensuring the efficiency of both stoves and solar equipment.

Agnes Naluwagga in a discussion with researchers visiting the Regional Testing and Knowledge Centre

Manufacturers estimate the efficiency of stoves without having a proper standard that they have measured against which makes it difficult for buyers to get good quality stoves on the market. Because of the inadequate skills among stove designers, the IDDS came in to help manufacturers to attain basic design knowledge. The three week summit was an eye opener which has now prompted innovation among stove manufacturers. If a standard comes with no innovation then the standard is stagnant which makes it very important to develop creative thinking.

Both students and researchers were interested in the diversity of the inventions most especially for stoves and biomass cooking fuels like pellets, briquettes and dry biomass. At the CREEC Regional Testing and Knowledge Centre, they had the opportunity to see the different stove samples in the stove library that range from the traditional metallic and clay stoves to a wide range of improved cookstoves with varying performance in terms of efficiency. CREEC as a centre is a knowledge hub with innovations and research information gained through her experience on renewable energy technologies that is available for both students and researchers alike so as to boost new innovations.