This project was built upon the question: ‘Can we replace single use barbecues with a more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative?’. The result of extensive wider and focused research into fuel efficiency and how we can maximise heat exchange within man made environments, led to opportunities of using Wood Pellets.

Wood Pellets produce less carbon emissions than regular barbecue coals and can be better sustainably sourced within the UK, also minimising the CO2 emissions you create from international transportation of alternative barbecue fuels. However, Wood Pellets burn very differently to other conventional cooking fuels, leading to some challenging design choices to allow for a consistent and safe cooking experience.

The design solution created from this project is the ‘Ned Kelly’ Wood Pellet Barbecue, which was conceived with sensitive judgement of sustainability and fuel efficiency. The Ned Kelly oven has been built to maintain a constant working temperature of up to 300℃ for two hours of cooking time, using as few Wood Pellets as possible (approximately 250g). This has been achieved using trial and error combinations of environmentally friendly designed insulations and carefully considered ignition processes. The 45x35cm grill gives ample space to cook food for family and friends, in a safe and easy to cook environment, whilst maintaining the sense of luxury barbecuing.