GTZ Low Energy Technologies (LET) Initiative Pico PV:
Solar Lantern Field Survey
Baseline Questionnaire - Households
Instructions for Field Interviewer
Everything written in CAPITALS is information for the interviewer only and must not be read to
interviewee.
Everything written in lower case letters are questions or indications and must be read verbatim to
the respondent
DO NOT READ OUT means not to read out the following answer categories
READ OUT means to read out the following answer categories before coding the answer
IF YES adverts that if the answer is Yes the following questions in the table must be read to the
interviewee but must be skipped if the answer is No
Multiple answers are possible indicates that multiple answer categories can be chosen.
In case respondent is not willing or able to answer a question, put a clear slash ------ to
indicate that the question was posed but no answer was given.
At the end of the questionnaire the Interviewer must sit down and control if all questions
were answered in a correct way. If questions were skipped or obviously miss understood
the interviewer must go back to the interviewee and complete missing or wrong answers.
Introduction
SPEAK TO THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD, I.E. THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
OR JOINTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING HOUSEHOLD DECISIONS AND PURCHASES.
IF NOT AVAILABLE, ARRANGE TO COME BACK.

Hello, my name is __and I conduct a research for GTZ on lighting issues and requirements

Please be open because whatever you say is confidential - we are combining your views
with those of hundreds of others who are also being interviewed.

There are no right or wrong answers – it is just your honest views we are interested in.

Our questionnaire takes about 45-60 minutes to complete.

Are you ready? IF YES, - Great! Then we will now start with the questionnaire
FILL IN
No of Questionnaire
Date
Name of Interviewer
Country
District
Village
Address/Street
GPS
Name of Interviewee
a) HOUSING
Sex
How many people
live in your
household in total on
a permanent basis?
1. Under 16
2. Over 16
3. TOTAL
1.
Male
2.
Female
Which is the highest
level of education
one of the household
members received?
None, Primary,
Secondary,
Technician, University
5.
6.
7.
8.
3.
Male
4.
Female
Type of housing? 1. Mud, 2. Bricks, 3. Cement 4. Other____________
Type of roof? 1. Corrugated iron, 2. Straw, 3, Other_______________
How many houses belong to your household?____________
How many rooms in total are in your house(s)?___________
b) PERSONAL INFORAMTION
9. Head of
household
10. Spouse
11.Childre
n < 16
12. What is the average monthly income of your household?
8. Other
What?
7.
Domestic
work
6. Technician
5.
Construction
worker
3.
Commerc
e
4. Artisan
2. Agriculture
1. School
What is the regular occupation of each household member? (multiple
answers possible) CODE MAIN OCCUPATION=1 FURTHER OCCUPATION =2
13. What are your monthly expenditures for…
1. Food
2. Energy
3. Clothes
4. School
5. Health
6. Water
7. House (maintenance, renovation)
8. Savings
9. Other
14. If there were three things you could do to improve your household or
its facilities, what would these be?
DO NOT READ OUT. CODE 1 FOR FIRST, 2 FOR SECOND, 3 FOR THIRD
1. Better lighting
2. Better access to water
3. Better toilet facilities
4. Better bathing facilities
5. Better kitchen
6. Improved furniture (chairs, tables, etc)
7. Improved structure itself (upgrading the roof, walls, windows, doors)
8. Connect to power grid or improve power source like generator
9. Better communication
10. Better media access
11. Increase size of dwelling/home
12. Improve security
13. Other What?
c) ELECTRIC GRID
(NAME OF TOWN/VILLAGE)
15. What is your nearest town/village
connected to the electric grid?
16. How close is this town/village or your
(IN KM)
nearest mains power line?
17. Do you know of any extension plans to include your village to the grid? Or
do you know of other electrification projects (generator, photovoltaic...) of
your government or international donors?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
1. What kind of project? Project name?
2. When should the project start?
d) ENERGY SOURCES USED IN THE HOUSEHOLD
18. Are you connected to the electric grid?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
1. You have got
your own meter?
2. You are connected to
the neighbor?
Yes1
Yes1
No 0
3. How much do you paid last
month for your electricity?
No 0
19. Do you use a generator?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
1. How many
days a week?
2. How many hours per
day?
3. How much do you pay per
month in total for using the
generator?
20.
21.
Code the
Which of the
most
following Energy
important
sources do you
ones
use in your
1= most
household?
important
READ OUT
CIRCLE ALL
THAT APPLY
1.- Candles
2a.- Kerosene for
illumination
2b. Kerosene for
other
3a.- Dry cell
batteries for
lighting
3b.Dry cell
batteries for
radio
4.- Car battery
5.- Gas
6. Wood
7. Coal
8. Diesel/ fuel
(generator)
8. Electricity
(Grid)
9.- Other
22.
23.
24.
Quantity
per
typical
week
Unity
price
Expenditures Place of
per typical
purchase
week
One
_____Pieces candle
One liter
______Liters
25.
26.
27.
Distance to
the place of
purchase
Time of
purchase
per week
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
_____Pairs
______Km.
______h
_____Pairs
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h
______Km.
______h.
______Liters
One pair
_____Piece
______Liters
One pair
One bottle
One
_____Packa package
ge
One
_______Kg sac/kg
_____Liters
______Kwh
_____(
)
One liter
One Kwh
Unity___
e) HOUSEHOLD LIGHTING
28.
Which of the
following
lighting
devices do
you use?
USE
PHOTOS TO
IDENTIFY
LAMPS AND
CIRCLE ALL
THAT APPLY
1. Firelight
2. Candles
3. Paraffin
lamp with
glass cover
4. Paraffin
lamp with
simple wick
5. Pressure
lamp (gas)
6. Lamp to
gas bottle
7. Light bulb
in socket
8. Lantern
(battery)
9. Torch
(battery)
10. Electric
Incandescent
Watt?_____
11.Electric
Fluorescent.
Watt?_____
12. Solar
lamp WHICH
ONE_______
29.
How
many of
each
device
do you
use?
30.
Where is
the lighting
device
located
while using
it?
1.Floor
WRITE IN 2.Table
EXACT 3.Wall
NUMBER 4.Celing
5.Outside
6.Carried
31.
32.
33.
How
many
days a
week do
you use
each
type of
lighting
?
How
many
hours do
you light
each
source
the days
you use
them?
How
much
does the
lighting
devise
costs
itself?
34.
How much
do you
spend per
week to
light each
lighting
device
(running
costs per
week for
paraffin...)?
35.
What do
you
mainly
use the
lighting
for?
36. What, if anything, do you use to light the main room (what is your
main lighting source indoors)?_______________________________
37. What, if anything, do you use to light outside the house (what is your
main lighting source outdoors)?________________________
What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of your main lighting
sources Indoors/outdoors? RECORD EXACT VERBATIM RESPONSE
Use of lighting devices
38. Indoors
1. Strength
2. Weakness
39. Outdoors
40. On average, at what time in the
evening do you begin to use
lighting devices?
42. On average, at what time in the
morning do you begin to use
lighting devices?
41. On average, at what time in
the evening do you turn of the
last lighting device?
43. On average, at what time in
the morning do you turn off the
last lighting device?
Which activities do household members pursue mainly at night and in the morning
when it is dark outside? DO NOT READ OUT ONE CODE ONLY
Activity
44. Men
45. Women
46. Children<16
Morning
Night Morning
Night Morning
Night
1. Listening to the radio
2. Watching TV
3. Reading
4. Studying/Homework for
school
5. Productive work, What
kind of?________________
6. Domestic work
7. Socializing/reunions
8. Other What?
47. How many rooms in this dwelling were used after dark yesterday
evening? WRITE IN EXACT NUMBER INCLUDING SEPARATE
HOUSES, COOK-HOUSES, LAVATORIES_______________________
48. How many rooms in this dwelling were lit at all yesterday evening?
WRITE IN EXACT NUMBER INCLUDING SEPARATE HOUSES, COOKHOUSES, LAVATORIES, ETC.__________________________________
49. Did the use of one of the lighting devices have caused any accidents
in your household?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
1. What kind of lighting device?
2. What kind of accident?
50. Could the light in this
household be improved?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES 1. How might it be
improved? ONE CODE ONLY
READ OUT
1. Introduce lights
2. Add more lights
3. Increase the amount of light from each devise
4. Use a light which is less glaring (so I do not have to shield my eyes)
5. Operate the light for more hours
6. Use a light that can be placed in a different position
7.Other
51. Do you think there is a current lack of lighting in your household?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
1. What kind of problems/inconveniences does the current lack of lighting
cause? RECORD EXACT VERBATIM RESPONSE
52. Which activities could not be
done well or comfortably due
to lack of lighting? (multiple
mentions possible) DO NOT
READ OUT.
1. Listening to the radio
2. Watching TV
3. Reading
4. Studying/Homework for
school
5. Productive work (some
activity that will be
compensated in some way),
What kind of?___________
6. Domestic work (cooking,
cleaning etc.
7. Socializing
8.Resting
9. Other What?
What would you or other members of your
household do at night if you had better
light? (multiple mentions possible) DO
NOT READ OUT.
53.
54. Spouse 55. Children
Head of
under 16
household
For each of the following lighting devises you use how would you rate
them?
READ OUT DEVISES ONE BY ONE
INSERT RELEVANT CODE INTO BELOW GRID
Excellent
Very
4
4
easy
Good
3
3
Easy
4
3
Poor
2
2
Difficult
2
Very poor
1
1
Very
Difficult
1
56. Light
Quality
1. Paraffin lamp with glass cover
2. Paraffin lamp with simple wick – no
cover
3. Light bulb in socket or connected
to car battery
4. Candles
5. Pressure lamp
6. Lamp connected to a LPG or gas
bottle
7. Battery powered stand up lantern
8. Flashlight or torch
9. Incandescent electric light
10. Fluorescent electric light
11. Solar lamp FILL IN WHICH
ONE____________________
57. Adopted
to the
main use
58. Ease of
operation
59. What is your preferred type of light, excluding mains powered light
bulbs? ONE CODE ONLY
READ OUT ALL BEFORE THE ANSWER
Type of lighting
1. Why?
1. Nothing / moonlight / starlight / natural light
2. Firelight
3. Paraffin lamp with glass cover
4. Simple paraffin lamp with wick and no
cover
5. Pressure lamp
6. Lamp connected to a LPG bottle of gas
7. Light bulb in socket or a lamp connected to
a car battery or inverter
8. Candles
9. Battery powered stand up lantern
10. Flash-light / torch (usually hand held)
11. Other
12. SOLAR LAMP FILL IN WHICH
ONE_____________________
f) HEALTH EFFECTS
60. Do you ever worry about the health effects using paraffin/kerosene in
your home may have on you and your family?
Yes 1
IF YES
1. What kind of?
No 0
g) RADIO
61. Do you or some of the household members use a radio?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
62. How many
radios do
you use in
your
household?
63. What is the energy source of each radio?
1. Dry cell batteries, how many? Volt?
2. Grid
3. Generator
4. Solar panel
5. Other_________
1. Energy
source
2. How many
batteries
64.
On average,
for how
long do you
use each
radio per
day?
3. Volt
Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 3
Radio 4
1. How long do household
members listen to the radio on
average per day? (NOT LISTENING
CODE=0)
2. What do they mainly listen to?
ONE CODE ONLY
1. music
2. information
3. entertainment
4. other, what?
65.
66.
67.
Head of
household
Spouse
Children <16
h) CELL PHONE
68. Do you or some of the household members use a cell
phone?
Yes 1
No 0
IF YES
69.
How many cell
phones do you
use in your
household?
70. Where do you charge the cell phones?
1. Grid at home
2. Grid at neighbor
3. Generator
4. Solar panel
5. Other_________
Cell 1
Cell 2
Cell 3
Cell 4
Cell 5
1. On average, how much do you spend for
cell phone credits per week? (NO USE
CODE=0)
2. What do you use the cell phone mainly
for? ONE CODE ONLY
1. call friends/family
2. work
3. entertainment
4. other, what?
72.
73.
Head of
household
Spouse
71.
On average,
how much
do you pay
to charge
your
phone?