Impact
READ MOREIn 2026, Gold Standard introduced the new Digital Stove Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Tool (D-SMART), providing a clear framework for integrating digital MRV (dMRV) into clean cooking projects.
The new framework combines three major components:
• Continuous Stove Monitoring (CSM) using sensors installed on stoves
• Digital Kitchen Performance Tests (dKPT) using digital fuel-logging scales and sensors
• Digital project databases linking stove distributions, households, and monitoring records
Together, these tools aim to improve transparency, auditability, and the measurement of actual stove usage.
Here are an example of sensor deployment and data collection schedule for each of the 3 methods described above.
D-SMART requires:
• Minimum 50 households per operational age cohort
• Compliance with 90/10 confidence and precision requirements
Age-Cohort Weighting: Where multiple credited age cohorts are monitored, the sampling design shall reflect the credited age-cohort structure, and the resulting usage parameter shall be derived as a weighted average across operational age cohorts, in accordance with RECH V5.0.
One of the strongest incentives for digital monitoring comes from the latest RECH v5.0 requirements.
Projects using traditional monitoring approaches are subject to mandatory Hawthorne Effect deductions:
• 2026–2027: 90% of calculated emission reductions can be claimed
• 2028–2029: 85%
• 2030 onwards: 75%
In other words, projects may lose up to 25% of their potential credits due to uncertainty around actual stove usage.
Projects fully complying with digital monitoring requirements can qualify for a Hawthorne Effect exemption, avoiding these deductions.
Installing sensors does not automatically increase carbon credits.
In fact, continuous monitoring may reveal:
Low stove adoption rates
High stove stacking
Declining usage over time
In these cases, emission reductions could be lower than expected.
Projects with weak user engagement may discover that the challenge is not monitoring—it is adoption.
The release of D-SMART sends a clear signal about the future direction of the carbon market.
The industry is moving away from periodic surveys and toward continuous, data-driven monitoring.
Success will increasingly depend not on how many stoves are distributed, but on whether households actually use them consistently over time.
For project developers, the key question is no longer:
“How can we generate more carbon credits?”
Instead, it is:
“How can we deliver a high-quality stove that households genuinely want to use every day?”
Because in the era of digital MRV, real usage—not assumptions—will determine both environmental impact and project profitability.
With nearly 50 years of experience in cookstove design, SSM has remained committed to developing and manufacturing high-quality stoves—supporting project developers in reducing implementation risks while delivering reliable solutions to households.
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