Electrify Your Cooking
Do you use gas to cook your food? If you do, you are certainly not alone. In Wisconsin, around 34 percent of nearly 2.4 million homes use natural gas for cooking, according to federal data. Gas stoves have a rich history dating back to the 1800s, offering precise temperature control and even heat distribution. Many people, including professional chefs, prefer cooking with gas. On the other hand, an increasing number of households are switching from gas to electric stoves. Why? Electric stoves are better for indoor air quality and the environment.
Research has shown that gas stoves have a negative effect on indoor air quality—producing a range of emissions and pollutants within your home—and thus, health. Concerns over gas stoves have been around since the early 1900s, but several recent studies have confirmed the negative health impacts of these appliances. For example, studies have found that gas stoves can emit methane, nitrogen oxides, benzene, and other harmful gases into the home even when not in use. Exposure to such pollutants can lead to various health conditions, especially in those with pre-existing health issues, such as diabetes and cardiovascular and respiratory disease.
Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe faster than adults and their immune systems and respiratory systems are still developing. One recent study found that nearly 13 percent of childhood asthma is linked to the use of gas stoves. This is comparable to the impact from secondhand smoke exposure. An earlier study found that having a gas stove in the home can increase the risk of asthma in children by 42 percent.
Gas stoves are also harming our environment. They leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, even when they are off. When gas stoves are on, they produce carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas that is warming our planet. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas produced by human activities, but methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Gas stoves are responsible for more than 25 million tons of carbon pollution in the U.S. each year, equivalent to the annual emissions of six coal power plants.
If you own a gas stove, what can you do to limit the health risks to you and your family? When cooking with gas, you can increase ventilation by using a fan or opening a nearby window. Make sure the air is being pushed outside. You can install a carbon monoxide detector. You can use air purifiers with HEPA and carbon filters. Also, you can do more cooking with electric appliances you already have in your kitchen, such as a slow cooker, rice cooker, toaster oven, air fryer, microwave, or portable induction burner. And, of course, you can replace your gas stove with an electric one.
If you are ready to upgrade your gas stove to electric, you can choose either an electric or an induction stove. Both induction and electric stoves are more efficient than gas stoves and do not produce the harmful pollutants that gas stoves do. However, they use different types of heat to cook your food. An electric stove sends electricity into a resistive coil. Heat radiates from the coils to your pots and pans, and then to the food inside. An induction stove cooks using electromagnetism. The coils create a magnetic field, which induces a current in your pot and produces the heat that cooks your food. Induction stoves are faster and more efficient, but they are more expensive than electric stoves. Use this guide to help you decide which is the right choice for you.
The good news is that big rebates are coming to help you make the switch to electric. The Inflation Reduction Act includes $4.5 billion in funding for states to help people transition to electric appliances, including stoves. People can receive up to $840 for an electric or induction stove. Households with incomes that are below 80% of the area median income (AMI) can receive a rebate of 100% of the cost of a new stove. Households that are between 80% and 150% of the AMI can receive 50% of the cost. The law also provides up to $500 for installing an electric appliance. Wisconsin’s rebate program is still in development, but should be up and running later this summer. See Focus on Energy’s IRA Home Energy Rebates for more information and to sign up for updates.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in 2022, is the most significant investment in clean energy and climate action in our nation’s history. It includes financial incentives for all American households for energy efficiency, electrification, and renewable energy. If you would like to find out what incentives are available to you, Rewiring America’s Savings Calculator is a good place to start, and Focus on Energy is the place to go for more information on rebates and incentives in Wisconsin. For an overview of the clean energy, climate mitigation and resilience, agriculture, and conservation-related investment programs in the IRA, see the Inflation Reduction Act Guidebook.
Laurel Last is the Leader of the Green Bay chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots organization building the political will for fair and effective climate solutions. For more information about what we do and how you can help, see cclusa.org/chapters/WI_Green_Bay.
