Abstract Cookstoves, where fuel is pyrolyzed or gasified, have received much attention due to their potential to reduce environmental and household air pollution (HAP). In this study, an indirect pyrolysis cookstove was investigated to determine how operating conditions influence carbon and nitrogen emission rates and heat input to the cooking water. Multiple linear regression models were developed based on time-resolved measurements. The rate of pyrolysis fuel consumption emerged as the primary driver for the production of CO and NO emissions and heating of water. This parameter alone explained over 70% of the variation in the models for CO, NO and the water heating rate. The CO emission rate had a non-linear dependency on the rate of pyrolysis fuel consumption (R2 = 0.70, p