Long-term research has shown that gas stoves reduce indoor air quality by increasing the amount of soot and nitrous oxide present in the home.This year, a new study shows that the presence of gas stoves causes the same amount of methane emissions as 500,000 gasoline-powered cars a year.Even if you don’t use your stove, it continues to emit trace amounts of potent greenhouse gases that are harmful to health and the environment.
This has reignited the debate over gas stoves and added fuel to the fire on top of the known dangers of leaks from natural gas pipelines.Environmental researchers now have more ammunition, allowing homeowners to switch to cleaner electric stoves.
But from a homeowner’s perspective, throwing away a really good gas stove is often not economical, or even feasible.Going a step further, it’s not enough to just upgrade to a newer, purportedly cleaner gas range.Even the new high-efficiency models can cause methane leaks.
Amid rising inflation and the difficulty of applying scientific research to everyday life, many homeowners rightfully wonder if an immediate upgrade is worthwhile for health reasons.While it may not make a huge difference to your quality of life in the short term, there are compelling reasons why your next upgrade should be a radiant or induction stove.
A 2013 meta-analysis evaluated extensive prior research and determined that children who used gas stoves were nearly 25 percent more likely to be diagnosed with asthma.As many as 42% of children in households with gas stoves experience asthma symptoms even without a lasting diagnosis.That in itself is worrying.
The burning gas produces particulate matter called soot, which is harmful to the respiratory system.It also produces carbon dioxide and various types of nitrous oxide, which are harmful to health and contribute to the greenhouse effect that causes climate change.
Compounding the problem is a surprising number of households reporting insufficient ventilation or not using it at all when cooking.In other words, this is not a problem that a new range hood can solve.To make matters worse, indoor air pollution from using a gas stove can reach levels deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency in just a few minutes.
Environmental researchers gain more leverage as ongoing research shows danger to the entire natural gas ecosystem.This is the case despite the oil industry’s opposition to measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Still, the trend is to stay away from gas stoves and replace them with less polluting electrical options.
While there are many great new gas stoves to choose from, cities like Berkeley, California, have even banned gas lines in new construction.Cities like this are rare right now, but the percentage of gas stoves in use in the US continues to decline.With that in mind, it’s easy to guess that similar bans will be rolling out across the country soon.
Unless you’re completely remodeling your kitchen, you’ll have to stick with a range that fits your existing space.Most ranges and the spaces they fit in are 30 or 36 inches wide.
A stage range usually includes four burners, and many mid-range ranges and better have an expandable burner that can accommodate extra wide pans.Some cooktops have a fifth burner that can be extended to fit perfectly with the grill, turning your standard electric cooktop into a flat-top grill.
Integrated convection fans, sometimes combined with additional heating elements and thermostats to provide a constant temperature, are increasingly common.You used to have to spend a fortune to get reliable convection in a home oven, but today it’s relatively easy to find in mid-range options.
You can save a little money by choosing a range with an older exposed coil burner.However, cleaning, maintenance and reliability of these older elements can be difficult, and they are often not as robust as newer glass-covered burners.In addition, there are many excellent models with glass cooktops that are not expensive.
The main difference between the two is the installation and kitchen configuration.The freestanding range has finished sides and a built-in tailgate, often housing controls and timers.In contrast, the slide-in range has front controls, unfinished sides and no tailgate.You can simplify the look of your kitchen by moving to a slide-in model, but it may require some extra tile work and custom cabinetry.
Aside from a surprisingly complete feature set in the $1,000 range, it’s almost certainly from the most reliable manufacturer of these common appliances.
This is pretty much the most affordable electric range on the market.Although it lacks the superlatives, it’s fine for most people.
If you’re willing to invest, this premium dual oven and five-burner option can cook a lot of food at once.
No other inductive range costs this much, even without making too many sacrifices for features like high-power convection.
The slide-in design, fingerprint-resistant black finish, and easy-to-clean induction cooktop make it one of the best-looking options, whether it’s in use or not.
If you like the idea of controlling your oven remotely via Wi-Fi, this advanced option lets you do it for a surprisingly reasonable price.
If you’re on a tight budget, this no-frills model will last you a few years at least, albeit with a slightly underpowered burner.
Powerful true convection, handy digital controls and efficient induction technology make it one of the best mid-rangers you can find.
If you don’t need anything fancy and want to save money, it’s hard to go wrong with this low-cost model from a reliable manufacturer.It does not have convection cooking, but has five burners, including a 3.000 watt quick-boil element.
While it’s fairly expensive, it’s arguably part of the best-looking and most well-made consumer collection on the planet.It offers quite a bit of versatility, with 6.7 cubic feet of space between the two ovens.
It’s not cheap, but not expensive for a dual oven model.It also provides better convection than most others.
A. One area where the fossil fuel industry shines with gas stoves is operating costs.It correctly states that gas stoves are 10%-30% cheaper than electric ones, depending on where you live.However, depending on how you measure it, oil and gas companies receive hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars in subsidies each year.These subsidies ultimately make natural gas infrastructure cheaper and more attractive to businesses and homeowners alike.
Despite the lower cost, gas cooktops still consume more energy than electric cooktops.This is because of the inefficiency of burning the gas to generate cooking heat.Also, while it is currently cheaper to cook with natural gas, that may change in our lifetime.
A. In some ways, cooking with gas is much easier.That’s part of the reason why almost all restaurants use it.But electric stoves are simple and convenient and have no dirt, grit, smoke and fire risks, making them a great choice.It just got easier to clean up spilled food from a glass cooktop, and you don’t have to worry about a clogged burner when a boiling pot overflows.
There is also a growing selection of induction ranges and independent burners, which are more convenient than radiant electric stoves.
A. Radiant burners work by heating by conduction and transferring heat into the pot.However, the magnetic fields used by induction can cause iron-rich pans to heat up on their own.This virtually eliminates the heat waste guaranteed by radiant burners.In terms of operating costs, the induction range is about the same as gas.
A: While they are faster and more efficient than radiating electric ranges, they are also generally much more expensive.They also require some specialized cookware, as only magnetic pans with an almost completely flat bottom will work on induction burners.Buying a new range is expensive and often an unplanned expense.For these reasons, consumers are (understandably) hesitant to buy something they might need a brand new cookware to use.
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Chris Thomas writes for BestReviews.BestReviews helps millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
Post time: Jun-16-2022