Debunking gas versus electric stoves misinformation

The debate over the future of gas stoves has been raging for years, before last week, when it turned into a full-blown culture war.

Public health officials, researchers, and doctors have long taken note of the growing body of research linking pollution from gas stoves to respiratory problems, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced in December that it is reviewing health risks to determine what regulations to implement. suitable for gas stoves.

But after a member of the CPSC told Bloomberg in an interview last week that “products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” the fervor built quickly. Republicans (and some Democrats) interpreted the commissioner’s comments as a sign that the Biden administration is coming for the gas stove as the next attack on American freedoms. And many defenders of the gas stove out insist that it is a superior way to cook.

The fracas spawned some new myths about gas stove regulation — and perpetuated other long-standing misunderstandings. Here’s how to separate fact from fiction.

Myth 1: Biden — or federal regulators — want to take away your gas stove

The hysteria that ensued when the Consumer Product Safety Commission said it would investigate gas stoves can be summed up well tweet from Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). “I will not give up my gas stove. If the maniacs in the White House come for the stove, they can pry it from the cold dead hand. COME HERE!!”

Some confusion comes from the comments of CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., who told Bloomberg that “any option” is on the table because the independent agency considers the dangers posed by gas stoves: “Products that cannot be made safe can be banned. ,” he said. The CPSC later clarified its comments: The commission said no ban was contemplated, and that “CPSC is looking for ways to reduce the associated indoor air quality hazards.”

There are many other options, such as requiring hood vents to be sold together with gas stoves and warning labels, that the commission could consider before an outright ban. And CPSC regulations for stoves will apply to new products sold, not ones already in people’s homes.

What’s more, it’s not the White House that’s calling all the shots here. CPSC commissioners are appointed by the president, but otherwise, their regulations are not subject to investigation through the White House, unlike the Environmental Protection Agency process. States and cities have also taken action to minimize the climate and health risks associated with indoor gas burning.

The White House has said it does not support a ban, but is promoting incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act that help people voluntarily electrify their homes.

Myth 2: The dangers of “newly discovered” gas stoves

In a letter to the CPSC’s Trumka, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) called gas stoves a new “hidden danger” based on limited research. In another section, Vance said there was a “lack of solid evidence.”

A study that has drawn national attention estimates that nearly 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the U.S. are linked to the use of gas stoves, similar to the rate caused by cigarette smoke. The study is based on an evidence review from 2013, which examined 41 studies from many countries, dating back to 1977, to conclude that children living in households with gas stoves have a 42 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma. and a 24 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma at some point in life.

“Although the effects of gas cooking and indoor NO₂ in asthma and wheeze were found to be relatively small … the public health impact may be considerable as cooking gas spreads,” the authors of a 2013 evidence review concluded.

The study looked at the effects of special gas cooking. But there is longer research to look at the pollutant nitrogen dioxide, emitted by gas stoves, and the damage it does to people outdoors. In fact, outside of NO₂ pollution regulated by the EPA, which has completed its own thorough review NO₂ risk.

Myth 3: No other type of cooking can compare to a gas stove

The idea that natural gas is superior to all alternatives is widespread and enthusiastically pushed by equipment manufacturers and the natural gas industry. Whirlpool, which produces both gas and electricity, says matter-of-factly on its website, “If you like to cook food that requires rapid temperature changes, a gas range may be the way to go.”

The comparison between gas and electric is usually comparing apples and oranges: contemporary gas stoves versus dated electric stoves. The better modern equivalent is induction, which uses electromagnetic energy that makes the pot a source of heat, so the actual stove is relatively cool. This new model is equipped with a setting that allows you to cook precisely at a certain temperature and retain that heat, with a lower risk of burning. Other positive reviews note that induction stoves are easier to clean and boil water faster than gas stoves.

Chefs are also more divided on induction versus gas than the public realizes. In a Vox interview, Jon Kung, a Detroit-based chef, noted that he prefers induction because it improves indoor air quality and heats the home. He also notes that you can use a wok, a common complaint about switching from gas. Sierra Magazine has talked to other chefs who prefer induction. “To me, it’s an economic no-brainer,” says chef Michael Godlewski when he opens an all-induction restaurant in Pittsburgh in the spring of 2022 called EYV (Eat Your Veggies). “They asked me where I wanted the gas line, and I said, ‘No way.'”

Induction ranges are expensive; can run you in the thousands of dollars. But the cost is coming down. One program that some households may benefit from is the kitchen appliance tax credits and deductions from the Inflation Reduction Act. The 25C tax credit covers a number of energy saving products in the home, including some induction ones. Allowing you to reduce 30 percent of your home electricity costs (up to $1,200). Later this year, there will be rebates available, as well, under the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program. Households making up to 150 percent of the local median income will have lower up-front equipment and installation costs. Lower-income households (below 80 percent of the median income) can cover all costs in the program.

In the meantime, households that don’t want to wait or don’t qualify can also opt for portable plug-in induction stoves, which are cheaper and renter-friendly.

Myth 4: Most Americans use gas stoves

Gas stoves are common but not everywhere. According to the Energy Information Administration, on average, 38 percent of the state uses gas for cooking, or about 40 million stoves. But the number varies depending on where you are. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and California have the highest rate of gas stoves in the country, over 60 percent. Southeast states have some of the lowest rates in the country, at less than 20 percent.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) responded to the CPSC uproar by tweet“I can say the last thing that will leave my house is the gas stove that we cook on.”

Manchin himself may have a gas stove, but many in his country do not. In fact, a survey from the EIA in 2020 found that a quarter of West Virginia residents have gas cookware, while 73 percent use electric.

The consequences of gas appliances are also not evenly distributed. Children, who have smaller lungs, are at higher risk of developing complications from NO₂, and also the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions. Another risk factor is that people have been exposed to other sources of pollution besides stoves. They may live near highways, industrial sites, or even in areas with concentrated gas equipment all outside, so they breathe dirty air both outside and indoors.

Myth 5: As long as you use ventilation, the risk doesn’t matter

The American Gas Association website emphasizes that with ventilation like a working range hood, gas stoves are not a problem for indoor air quality. The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal noted this: “Studies carried out by the climate left do not cause the effect of ventilation. One even closed the test kitchen in a plastic tarpaulin to show that gas stoves increase pollution.

Kitchen ventilation is the only solution to reduce exposure to pollutants when the stove or oven is on. But in practice, some hoods do not release air outside but instead recirculate inside, or people may be in small spaces where pollution builds up faster. Some problems are behavioral – like people not using the hood they have, by not paying attention. Some problems are that not all hoods can filter NO₂ level. As journalist Michael Thomas explained, some hoods don’t always do well in the real world. Studies, like those at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have found that code-compliant hoods in California can still capture half of the NO.₂ pollution.

More recent research from LBNL found that gas stoves can also leak methane, a greenhouse gas, even when the appliance is turned off. Inside homes, methane levels can be so low that researchers don’t consider the leak to be a health threat. But methane is also a bigger problem, not only for climate risks, but because it contributes to ground-level ozone that endangers human health.