Why Electric?
When it comes to electric cooking, people tend to have a lack of awareness of the technology. Electric ranges have many advantages over gas models,
including being healthier and safer for your family, easier to install, more aesthetically pleasing, and better for the environment. Induction electric models offer additional advantages over standard electric ranges by virtue of their advanced technology. A recent study on induction cooking conducted by Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) illustrates the lack of awareness: customers rated their impression of the technology as overwhelmingly negative prior to trying it, but overwhelmingly positive after experiencing it for themselves.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
A recent study by UCLA shows that cooking on a gas range even for a short period of time raises the amount of nitrous oxide (NOx) in your
house to unhealthy levels that in the long run can cause asthma or other respiratory problems. The chart shows how the typical amount of NO2 emitted by the simultaneous use of a gas cooktop and oven exceeds both the National and California Ambient Air Quality Standards. Electric ranges eliminate this risk by removing the combustion of natural gas from your home.
Safer for Your Family
The removal of natural gas combustion from your home also keeps it and your family safe by ensuring that there is no flame or igniter that could start a fire, no gas leaks, and no gas line that could break in an earthquake.
Easier to Install
Installing a gas range in new construction requires connecting a gas line and working with three utilities (gas, electric, and water). In contrast, installing an electric range as part of an all-electric house only requires two utilities, simplifying the process and lowering costs for both the builder and homeowner.
Easier to Clean
The sleek design of smooth-top electric resistance and induction stoves allows for easier cleaning and is more aesthetically pleasing. They are much easier to clean with no nooks and crannies that food can fall into during cooking, making life easier for the homeowner.
Better for the Environment
Electric ranges are also more environmentally friendly than their gas counterparts. An electric range is a key component of an all-electric home, which has been found in a recent study to emit ~50% less greenhouse gases than a mixed fuel home as shown in the bar chart on the right. The combustion of natural gas emits CO2 and methane, both of which contribute to climate change. In addition, the upcoming 2022 California Title 24 energy code will require all gas systems to be fully electric retrofit ready and include a new carbon metric for new construction. These changes indicate that the state is headed towards all-electric homes, making installing electric appliances a smart investment.
Electric Range Options – Electric Resistance or Induction
There are two options for homeowners and builders to choose from when it comes to electric cooking. One is electric resistance, which has been on the market for years. You may think of your grandmother’s old electric stove with the coil-top when you think of electric cooking, but the technology has come a long way since then. The
coil-top has been superseded by smooth-top electric ranges. Using the same technology as your toaster, an electric current in your electric resistance stove activates the glass or ceramic top which then transfers the heat to your pot or pan. In a 2018 study by Consumer Reports comparing electric resistance and gas ranges, electric outperformed gas in all four criteria: high heat, low heat, baking, and broiling.
There are two options for homeowners and builders to choose from when it comes to electric cooking. One is electric resistance, which has been on the market for years. You may think of your grandmother’s old electric stove with the coil-top when you think of electric cooking, but the technology has come a long way since then. The
coil-top has been superseded by smooth-top electric ranges. Using the same technology as your toaster, an electric current in your electric resistance stove activates
the glass or ceramic top which then transfers the heat to your pot or pan. In a 2018 study by Consumer Reports comparing electric resistance and gas ranges, electric outperformed gas in all four criteria: high heat, low heat, baking, and broiling.
The newest option for electric cooking is induction. Induction ranges use electricity to power magnetic coils underneath the cooking surface. They create energy and heat by continuously reversing a magnetic field between the pan and the stovetop. This requires either steel or iron cookware, but induction-compatible cookware is affordable and easy to find. if you are not sure if your cookware will work you can test it with a magnet. If the magnet sticks to the bottom of the pot or pan, it will work for induction.
Compared to electric resistance, induction has additional benefits including more safety features, better responsiveness, and increased energy efficiency. Because induction stoves work through magnetism, there is very little residual heat that remains on the stovetop after removing the pan or pot. This makes for a cooler kitchen and safer cooking surfaces. Induction cooktops also come with standard auto shutoff functions and are much easier to clean up their smooth monolithic surfaces.
With induction, response times are now equal to or better than gas. Induction stoves have been proven to boil water two times as fast as a gas stove. The temperature can be raised or lowered virtually instantly and there is a wider range of temperatures available than with gas or electric resistance. Induction also tends to heat more evenly, because the whole pan is heated rather than just the parts that are directly over the gas flame. This also makes induction more energy efficient since no heat is wasted heating the air around the pot or pan. These are some of the reasons why induction ranges are becoming the top choice of many professional chefs.
Contrary to the opinion of those who have not tried them, electric ranges perform as well or better than gas and have additional health, safety, installation, aesthetic, and environmental benefits. Whether you select the popular electric resistance or the newer but superior induction technology, you are likely to never return to gas cooking.
