With some trepidation, RunningOnSouler wades into the treacherous waters known as The Great Gas Stove Controversy of 2023. This is an opportunity to examine our collective love affair with one of the last survivors of the fossil fuel era—ranges that use natural gas to fuel the burners on the stovetop.
It is also a chance to evaluate the new electric alternative that advanced technology has given us: induction stoves.
Are gas stoves really still the best for cooking? Is there a better electric alternative—one that doesn’t emit nasty fumes inside and outside the house?
Here’s the short answer. Electric induction stoves have all the advantages of gas for cooking. They bring water to a boil even faster than gas, and they adjust cooking temperatures, up and down, just as quickly. As a bonus, they are much easier to clean.
Electric induction stoves have all the advantages of gas for cooking. They bring water to a boil even faster than gas, and they adjust cooking temperatures, up and down, just as quickly. As a bonus, they are much easier to clean.
Induction ranges cost a little more, but they are more energy efficient and do not emit hazardous pollutants into the home or the atmosphere. In a house that has converted to electric heat pumps for efficient space and water heating, an induction stove can be the last step in decarbonizing a home through electrification—cutting the gas line, and eliminating one of the last vestiges of the fossil fuel era.
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For anyone who has stopped reading the daily newspaper—something one could certainly be forgiven for doing—the gas stove controversy started in early 2023 when Richard Trumka, Jr, one of the commissioners of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), suggested in an interview that gas stoves are a “hidden hazard” and that banning them might be an option.
The gas stove controversy started when one of the commissioners of the Consumer Products Safety Commission suggested in an interview that gas stoves are a “hidden hazard” and that banning them might be an option.
Controversy immediately erupted. Even Stephen Colbert weighed in during his monologue with an expletive and a vow that anyone trying to take his gas stove “can have my gas range when you pry it from my hot, sizzling hams!”
To be fair to Commissioner Trumka, he only said that a ban on gas stoves was one option for dealing with their harmful effects on both human health and the environment. Stricter standards on emissions from new stoves were another possibility he mentioned. And he later clarified that he was talking only about new stoves made in the future—no one was coming to take away Stephen Colbert’s existing gas stove, or anyone else’s.
Nevertheless, the first shot in The Great Gas Stove War of 2023 had been fired. Many return volleys ensued.
To quell the controversy, the CPSC Chair later issued a statement saying that the commission was “not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.”
Leaving aside the issue of a future ban on new gas stoves, Commissioner Trumka had a point about their hazards to human health. In fact, earlier studies had highlighted the potential hazards to respiratory health, especially asthmas in children. Hazardous byproducts from burning natural gas indoors include nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as benzene, a known carcinogen.
Earlier studies had highlighted the potential hazards to respiratory health created by gas stoves.
In fact, I had heard about the risks highlighted in these studies a few years earlier. I realized that we should have been running the range hood exhaust vent above our gas stove every time we turned it on—a practice we subsequently adopted and have continued ever since then.
The controversy that erupted over the health hazards of gas stoves, together with talk of a possible ban, also highlighted the reasons people love their gas stoves so much.
The controversy that erupted over the health hazards of gas stoves, together with talk of a possible ban, also highlighted the reasons people love their gas stoves so much.
Gas stoves come to full power quickly, and they bring water to a boil rapidly. They also adjust cooking temperatures up and down quickly and responsively, giving cooks precise control, as well as visual cues of the cooking level.
Gas stoves come to full power quickly, and they bring water to a boil rapidly. They also adjust cooking temperatures up and down quickly and responsively, giving cooks precise control.
In contrast, traditional electric stoves use heating elements—coils that heat up when an electric current is sent to them. They work, and they are actually the most common type of range in America. But electric stovetops are slow to come to full power, and they do not adjust temperatures quickly—either up or down. And there’s a safety issue because the heating elements do not cool quickly and can burn a hand even after they have been turned off.
Traditonal electric stovetops are slow to come to full power, and they do not adjust temperatures quickly—either up or down.
Even ranges with gas cooktops typically have electric ovens, and they work well. The issue is the stovetop.
What’s the problem with gas stoves, and is there a good alternative?
There is a new alternative to gas stoves—electric induction stoves. Rather than use electricity to warm a heating coil that in turn warms the cookware placed on it, induction stoves use electricity to create a magnetic field that directly heats the cookware and the food in it.
There is a new alternative to gas stoves—electric induction stoves that use electricity to create a magnetic field that directly heats the cookware and the food in it.
A new range with an induction stove is pretty expensive, though they have been coming down in price in recent years. For example, the GE Café 30-inch range with a double oven and convection capability—comparable to our current gas range—costs about $4,600, or about $4,000 on sale. A new gas version is a few hundred dollars less. But we installed our current range in 2015, so replacing it is a few years in the future.
A new range with an induction stove is pretty expensive, though they have been coming down in price in recent years.
But to test induction stoves, I bought a portable, single-cooktop unit from Amazon. There are a variety of highly rated models available. I choose the Duxtop 1800W, which cost only $60. The portable unit can be placed on the countertop and can be plugged into a standard 120-volt outlet.
To test induction stoves, I bought a portable, single-cooktop unit. The portable unit can be placed on the countertop and can be plugged into a standard 120-volt outlet.
So how did the test go?
My experience with the portable unit showed that an induction stove definitely lives up to the advertised benefits, and it does indeed have the features that people value in their gas stoves. In fact, the unit I tested is as good or better than our gas stove.
My experience with the portable unit showed that an induction stove definitely lives up to the advertised benefits, and it does indeed have the features that people value in their gas stoves.
The induction cooktop immediately comes to full power and heats pots quickly. In fact, it is even faster than a gas stove—almost twice as fast in my tests of boiling water, which is my primary cooking skill.
The induction cooktop heats up and comes to full power immediately, even faster than a gas stove—almost twice as fast in my tests.
For my test, I cooked a one-cup serving of Ben’s rice. I used both the induction stove and our existing gas stove to bring to a boil a pot with two cups of cold water from the refrigerator’s water filter. The gas stove on high brought the water to a boil in about four and a half minutes. The induction unit had the water boiling in about two and a half minutes. The faster speed of the induction unit is consistent with reviews of induction stoves I have read.
The induction cooktop also responds immediately to changes in the power setting, quickly turning the heat up or down—again, just like a gas stove.
The induction cooktop also responds immediately to changes in the power setting, quickly turning the heat up or down—just like a gas stove.
The induction unit also avoids the problem associated with traditional electric heating coils. Its surface is not hot enough to burn a hand, even immediately after bringing a pot to boil.
The induction unit also avoids the problem associated with traditional electric heating coils. Its surface is not hot enough to burn a hand, even immediately after bringing a pot to boil.
The induction stovetop with its smooth, level surface is also much easier to clean than a gas cooktop, without its hard-to-reach recessed areas around the burners.
The induction stovetop with its smooth, level surface is also much easier to clean than a gas cooktop.
The one downside of the induction cooktop I tested is noise. I have also seen this mentioned in the reviews, though the fan in our portable unit may be worse than a built-in range.
One downside of the induction cooktop I tested is noise.
Induction cooktops also require cookware made of stainless steel or iron. Aluminum cookware will not respond to the magnetic field. There’s a simple way to test cookware for compatibility with an induction stove: see if a magnet is attracted to it. This proved to be mostly a non-issue for us. Our All-Clad pots and iron skillets all work fine, though a couple of older Revere Ware copper-bottom pots do not.
Induction cooktops also require cookware made of stainless steel or iron. Aluminum cookware will not respond to the magnetic field.
My favorable impressions from trying a portable induction stovetop track closely with reviews in Consumer Reports. Their January 2023 article on induction cooktops noted that induction ranges generally outperform every other kind of range in Consumer Reports tests. They noted that every induction range tested in their lab delivered fast cooktop heat and superb simmering.
My favorable impressions from trying a portable induction stovetop track closely with reviews in Consumer Reports.
The Consumer Reports article listed several pros of induction cooktops, including better indoor air quality and energy efficiency—about three times more than gas stoves. They also commented on the safety features of induction ranges, which won’t get hot if it is turned on when there is no pot on the cooktop. Like my tests, they noted the faster cooking—including boiling water in about half the time. And they praised the precise and even cooking and ease of cleaning.
The article also noted some potential cons, including higher purchase price and the potential for additional expense if a kitchen is not wired for sufficient electric power, though that may not be an issue in a kitchen that already has an electric oven. They mentioned the cookware issue—aluminum pans won’t work on induction. And they observed the noise issue—a buzz or hum at higher settings and the sound of the cooling fan, as I noted on my portal unit.
For more information, see Pros and Cons of Induction Cooktops and Ranges, January 12, 2023.
Of course, an induction stovetop is also all-electric. So there are no fuels being burned and no emissions coming into the house or being vented outside the house into the atmosphere. The potential health hazards from our existing gas stove are probably minimized by a consistent use of the exhaust vent in the hood above the range. But it would be even better to avoid the risk altogether by going electric and not burning fossil fuels inside our home.
Are gas stoves a big issue for climate change?
Cooking accounts less than 5 percent of residential energy use, and more than 60 percent of that is already electric. So eliminating gas stoves would have a relatively small impact on CO2 emissions. But we need to get to zero carbon emissions to head off the worst impacts of climate change. Even a reduction of 95 percent isn’t sufficient. So every step we take to eliminate emissions helps.
Cooking accounts less than 5 percent of residential energy use, and more than 60 percent of that is already electric. So eliminating gas stoves would have a relatively small impact on CO2 emissions. But we need to get to zero carbon emissions to head off the worst impacts of climate change. So every step we take to eliminate emissions helps.
There’s another reason to change the way we cook during the electrification transition. The big reductions from residential sources of emissions will come from converting furnaces and water heaters that use natural gas and other fossil fuels to electric heat pumps. Once we do that, stoves will be the only thing left that uses gas—they’ll be the last fossil fuel holdout. At that point, it wouldn’t make sense to keep gas service just for a small amount used for cooking.
The big reductions from residential sources of emissions will come from converting furnaces and water heaters that use natural gas to electric heat pumps. Once we do that, stoves will be the only thing left that uses gas—they’ll be the last fossil fuel holdout. At that point, it wouldn’t make sense to keep gas service just for a small amount used for cooking.
And it certainly won’t make sense to run gas lines into new homes just for a stove. Better to go all-electric at that point—and to get the natural gas totally out of the house—especially given the superior capabilities of induction cooktops.
Based on my research, and tests with a portable induction cooktop, I’m convinced that our next stove, when it comes time to replace our existing gas stove, should be an electric-powered induction range.
Based on my research, and tests with a portable induction cooktop, I’m convinced that our next stove, when it comes time to replace our existing gas stove, should be an electric-powered induction range.
The future is electric, and it will be better.