Switching to electric stoves can dramatically cut indoor air pollution (2025)
news.stanford.edu
news.stanford.edu
No idea if it's true or if it was just an impressively creative salesperson.
But it sucks. I've accidentally burned cookware by having parts of the stovetop turn on intentionally. And sometimes, if my fingers are moist while cooking (imagine that!), the touch controls just go completely insane and I have to spend time drying my hands and the controls before I regain control over the stove.
IMO the new design with touch buttons is way more dangerous.
I can’t wait for knobs to make a comeback.
Admittedly I have other complaints about the microwave controls (why is it so damn many button presses to vary the power output) but it's not because the buttons are hard to use.
The harder one is induction, where there are lots of touch controls, but I don’t see this issue on traditional resistive stovetops.
(This is in the US of course)
Resistive electric stoves suck and deserve their reputation, but induction is the best of both worlds: high power, accurate control, and you don't waste half of the energy due to the flame's heat going around the pot.
But the touch-sensitive controls are infuriating indeed. Nothing about induction requires them, it's just a dumb design fad.
So it is definitely a tradeoff, but I am happy I picked a stove with touch controls. Although I did pay attention that they were good touch controls (touch anywhere on the arc to set that temperature directly for example). Although there is a small annoying delay after turning on before you can set the temperature. Almost perfect.
their stove appears to solve all that. I cant wait for their competitors to respond and fix their beyter priced products
I'd wager anyone who opines otherwise in this thread barely cooks or doesn't cook in a serious fashion. A gas stove is a tradesman's tool.
Can’t char a pepper on an electric burner
Can’t heat a nabe on an electric burner
Also during hurricane season, my gas burner still works when the power goes out.
The list goes on of things that electric simply cannot do. To claim one is superior over the other ignores a lot of the ways people cook. They are just simply different cooking tools.
They may be different cooking tools but if one is ruining the quality of your life + possibly children, wouldn't you rather do it the safe way? Or are your habits more important than your health?
- Can't temper chocolate, cook a hollandaise, or do anything that requires low heat without using a double boiler.
- Can't boil a large pot of water in under 20 minutes (unless you have a high-power/commercial burner that will absolutely murder indoor air quality/conditioning).
- Can't set the temperature of the pan (or even the contents), rather than just the power level. Think, maintaining an oil temp for deep frying, or a surface temp for browning.
That last one is a really big deal. Imagine if ovens still just had power levels (low/med/high) instead of thermostats.
Induction is super awesome for maintaining temp. But one isn’t superior over the other in all cases. My point was purely, people need high BTU fire sometimes based off how they cook. I mean, you won’t see me cooking tagine, but surely someone in the world cooks tagine?
- I can temper on my 7k BTU burner
- I can boil water quick AF on my 18k BTU burner
- setting pan temp isn’t a thing, there are no recipes that call for a pan temp. Oil temp? Sure and that is why you have a thermometer, very solved problem. For browning etc you do it by time and feel, even if you could set a pan temp you wouldn’t just leave your meat on it for some temp x time amount.
For the last one, just because you're an elite chef and can cook a steak perfectly every time on feel, doesn't mean I am. :D I can buy a $40 steak and know I'm not going to ruin it because I can maintain my pan at 350f, which will brown it and not burn it. I can make pancakes without constantly adjusting the cook time and heat every single batch as the pan continually absorbs more and more heat throughout the cook. I can put a chili on, set it to 204 degrees, then just leave and come back in a few hours without babying the power knob for the first hour trying to get it to a stable, gentle simmer. I can braise meats without using my oven, because I can keep a liquid at 180 degrees. I can make a soup at 3pm, then put in on at 145 degrees for a few hours until dinner. It's not about having a "recipe", you learn 4-5 important temperatures after a couple weeks of using it.
Yes. Because of the quick reaction times, and being able to precisely set temperatures, and even temperature profiles over time with more advanced models.
Of the contents, in the pot or pan. Not just the outside.
For me it was a revelation. Needs much less experience and intuition. Eliminates much guesswork if you don't have much of the former.
Given you have a sufficient electric installation. If not, there are some crazies offering induction-cooktops with built-in battery, to compensate for the lack of that, boosting it up, sufficient for most cooking they claim.
I'd rather not ;->
My gas stovetop in japan has a temperature sensor, and can detect excess temperature (food or oil burning), maintain a temperature, etc. It's possible with gas.
That said, I miss my induction stovetop, and I'm building a house, and it'll have induction, rather than gas.
Can char pepper in the oven.
Can also get a portable gas stove.
> Also during hurricane season, my gas burner still works when the power goes out.
'Powerwall' or similar?
It's only here on HN, where I stumble upon the stubborn naysayers :-)
Induction is fantastic for boiling water, and good for many things, but there's too many shortcomings to declare "superior than gas".
I agree it’s not great to get rid of a pure copper pot but those (and even many of the Korean dolsot pots) seem to be easily available with induction bases now. The flip side was that our cheap $5 IKEA cast iron works even better so we use it more, and this was also true of some Costco ceramic skillets which weren’t trying to be so light that they didn’t have a hefty iron slug.
Between air quality and child safety, my general decision tree is simple: “are you a chef doing things like wok cooking?” Induction is probably better if you don’t have a specific technique requiring unusually high BTU output. I have had to learn to stop saying “come on” when we visit relatives with gas stoves, though.
It’s a smaller than advertised coil, 6”, causing the problem, which is endemic but not limited to portable hobs. Warped a Lodge carbon steel pan the first time I used induction (2mm thick). Then I dove deeper and saw the issues others had. Since then I moved to a larger coil (first a Max Burton, now a Nuwave PIC Titanium). On reddit, you can find any number of examples of shattered cast iron pans and warped pans and ruined seasoning, and it’s not just portable hobs causing the issues.
The issue with simmer is well-known and rears its head if you’re working with delicate sauces. Most people don’t.
Induction bases don’t fix that gas heats the sides too and if you’re able to use that feature it’s not something you want to give up. And actually, wok cooking on induction is pretty darn good if you have one of the specialty wok hobs, better than a wok ring on gas (but not better than a specialty wok burner).
Again, my point isn’t that induction sucks, it’s that it isn’t superior to gas across the board. My dream setup? One proper induction burner, one induction wok burner, a French top in the center, and two proper gas burners on the other side, all with a giant vent fan.
And that was an entry level thing, equivalent to the stuff you'd get at Ikea for about 50 to 60 bucks now. Mine was €25.
And still working, when I'm back where I lived at the time.
Regarding the coils thing, their segmentations and how they are driven? Can only be measured after buying, or trusting the raging reviews on Amazon, Ali(Express), or whatever Costco and the likes are offering, I guess?
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-coo...
75USD. Hm, time flies, inflation... But this wouldn't be good anyways, because 1800 Watts only, because 120V AC. You'd want 2500 Watts at least, better 3000. Which you won't get out of a standard US wall socket.
....and on a grill/smoker! :-D
Technically since it appears the effects are nebulous to you and if consciousness means informed then it seems a conscious decision is not possible
If your kitchen is in your living room (and nowadays they all are) I would definitely switch to induction.
Oh, and I disagree with the fire being more precise than induction etc.
It’s just what you’re used to.
Please explain how an induction cooktop doesn't give you the control and precision you need as compared to gas flame.
But yes, I've also basically given up on carbon steel with induction. Cast iron seasons really well though.
I kinda stopped caring after I got frustrated. I've gotten really good at cooking in stainless, and it's become my go-to for everything short of a french omelette.
You are right about the wok, it isn't quite the same on the induction stove (at least the flat ones, there are wok-shaped ones but these are generally only found in professional units). If you cook most of your meals in it then you are probably right to go gas (or get a gas burner).
I started my taxable life almost 30 years ago in a Chinese kitchen. I'm literally a born-in-the-fire professional cook first and foremost out of any other thing in life I do. Induction rocks, I don't know what your skill issue is. I get pots and pans hotter, way faster than gas, and the temperature control is as fast as the cooking implement can shed the excess heat. That is as fine a degree of control as you can possibly get, the only better thing would be instantaneous temperature and that's basically a thermodynamic impossibility.
Sure, the reaction time is slower. You learn to think ahead.
Nothing is optimal. The tenements that my kids lived in as students had gas stoves and zero ventilation. That couldn't have been a good idea.
Our latest stove is induction, made by LG, with control knobs. I love it. Best thing is it's easier to keep clean. I'm learning to be more reactive about turning the heat up and down, just because I can. Maybe I'll discover what I've been missing all these years.
Julia Child wrote that a home cook doesn't have to be a chef.
The induction rings aren’t a patch on the gas ring for “proper” cooking. There’s simply no competition between them in that regard. Mad for anyone to suggest otherwise.
I’d wager you won’t find many commercial kitchens, even at the low/mid end not running some gas rings as well. I’d be amazed if any at the top-end were not using gas rings. The inductions are great for boiling some pasta or veg up fast though!
We have a massive outside venting hood overhead as well (which must have been required in UK building regs since at least the 90s?!?) so I really don’t care about indoor “pollution” lol.
I eat only food that I cook myself from raw ingredients and I have switched years ago from cooking on an open flame to cooking with a microwave oven.
Regarding precision, a microwave oven does not have competition. Once I have established a sequence of powers and durations for each power that is appropriate for a certain recipe, the food will always be cooked identically, while freeing me to do other activities instead of handling the food.
I still have a gas stove with oven, but I have not opened it again for about 7 years.
It was done on people suffering from asthma - with all the reason in the world to improve air quality. Replacing gas stoves with electric stoves a huge effect, on the other hand "installation of a ventilation hood over an existing gas stove in 15 other homes did not significantly change NO2 levels".
In other words, it’s not propaganda. Since the researchers specifically called for prioritizing ventilation improvements in smaller / worse ventilated units, it seems like an odd line of criticism: they’re not saying it can never be safe for anyone ever but that in practice it isn’t safe for tens of millions of people.
You're not helping the air quality if all you do is move it around inside.
4 is the same as gas low. 7 is the same as gas high. 8 is wok hot. 9 is too hot. P is power - for heating up water. It's amazing.
It can melt your pan but it has a sensor to not let that happen. It does sometimes give the metal that blue color you get when you heat metal with a blow torch.
The sensor is also used for pan frying. It has presets for light to heavy frying and keeps the pan at the temp the whole time.
My guess is my cheap stove cycles, and the Control Freak applies power linearly, so whatever power level the stove uses didn't happen to make those pans buzz.
If the hood breaks down or the stove needs to be fully replaced, I will probably flip to induction. I had one in my old apartment and it was great
What is less obvious and what I would personally like to know is how much pollution remains if you have a hood above your gas stove that exhausts outdoors that is operating while cooking.
the craziest thing is no hood at all, if you cook once a day that stuff lingers all day unless you open a bunch of windows
Wood. That's where it's at, at least for those living like we do. I understand that it won't work for those living in densely populated areas but for those who live in the sticks I'd say get yourself a wood-burning stove and learn how to use it. I suppose Stanford won't approve but that's their problem...
Article: https://theconversation.com/replacing-gas-stoves-with-electr...
Underling Study: https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(26)00537-...
- This study is the source of LinkedIn ads from climate change where they try to convince people to move from gas to electric because of bad health effects
- But it doesn't invalidate the study, because of course burning something indoors creates some sort of emission, which may causes asthma in kids
- But its not relevant for me because I'm a single adult not a child and I don't cook that much anyway
- And even when I used to have a gas stove, I used my induction burner more often as its more powerful and makes less waste heat compared to my gas stove
- and the reason I bought an induction wok burner from aliexpress, it can go much hotter than my gas stove
- But one thing that gas stoves excel is even the cheapest gas stoves have a smooth analog control, making it possible to gently heat things, which is important for cooking omelette. For the induction burners I have, it uses on off control, which will scorch the food if your setup (food + cookware) have low thermal mass to smooth it out. You think with the advancement of power electronics because of EV, ebikes, drones and AI data center power supplies someone is able to make a cheap induction burner with analog power control
The numbers:
[...]
We estimate average total residential long-term NO2 exposure across the United States to be ∼10 ppbv for people who own a gas stove (∼18 ppbv or more for households in the top 5% of gas burned while cooking) and ∼8 ppbv from total outdoor exposure for those with electric stoves, which cause no additional NO2 exposure.
[...]
Stratifying exposure by gas stove use intensity (i.e. by amount of gas burned while cooking, [...]), we find that people in households burning the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles of fuel nationally on average are exposed to 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01–0.07) ppbv, 1.7 (95% CI: 0.8–3.5) ppbv, and 10.3 (95% CI: 4.8–21.7) ppbv, respectively, of additional NO2 exposure from using their gas or propane stoves.
[...]
Most of the problems I see with gas cooking is when it's done in a poorly ventilated space.
Deep frying is like a chemical vapor deposition machine. It doesn't matter how the oil got hot. The fumes need to be removed regardless. If you are cooking with gas, this extraction process will also handle the side effects of combustion quite well.
Asthma is clearly correlated to urban areas with exposure to various pollutants. We’d see those same clusters in suburban populations with gas stoves if these indoor pollutants were elevating risk.
I live in New York. The utility in my region successfully lobbied to hike delivery rates for electricity by 40%. My spring electric bill is $300/mo, as much as my peak August or January utility bill a decade ago. 3-5 years ago, various foundations were bussing hundreds of protestors to lobby for climate change legislation that is essentially outlawing new natural gas service. They also prevented construction of pipelines to serve NYC and New England with additional capacity. All new construction must be electric only.
I have an agenda to better my life. It’s important context, but it doesn’t make me inherently corrupt or untrustworthy, let alone wrong.
To really drive this home: You have an agenda to advance your career and better your life. I would never dismiss you outright simply because of that.
TL;DR: “It’s funded by a GROUP with an AGENDA” is a lame, invalid, hand wavy excuse to ignore substance. Context matters, but the substance is ultimately what should be assessed.
Edit: I’d also be curious to see sources for “New York can build electric only” and all these bussing claims (mind you bussing protestors is not a bad thing, it depends if they are actually involved or paid actors, which oil and gas companies have no problem using - https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/05/608785751...)
I don’t like environmental activists in general. They tend to attract well meaning people focused on a narrow aspect of an issue and pivot to a broader or specific policy goal.
I resent people in warm and cozy grandfathered in buildings in NYC making engineering decisions for me. Air side heat pumps are not ideal for upstate, and it’s making it impossible to build housing units.
But is this inherently a problem?
You’re getting mad at a caricature. Unless you have some sources showing there is some larger issue with “bussing in protesters,” I’m sorry I just don’t think your argument holds any water. An organization mounting resources to organize people who are legitimately interested in their cause is not a bad thing, and as someone who’s worked with a union I’m a surprised at this take. I’m sure people said the same thing about MLK JR’s million man march. Do you think those people all just paid for a ticket and showed up?
Obama’s campaign did “souls to the polls,” which was so effective republicans banned voting on Sunday in several states lol. But ultimately, it was a completely fair play and helped people exercise their vote. People oppose these things because they don’t want certain people voting, plain and simple. Same goes for protesting. Somehow protestors are always “doing it wrong,” it just so happens critics also disagree with the causes by total coincidence.
... Hold on, you're worried about the vast economic/influence powers of the domestic appliance industry... but not the oil and gas industry?
I have the Gasland IH77BFH. If someone has made a hack to modify this by adding physical dials, I'd be tickled.
It's weird that noone here mentions there are electric stoves between gas and induction.
This is also why the US doesn't have proper electric kettles (a US electric kettle is sometimes as little as 1kW and certainly no more than 1.5kW; a European one is typically 3kW) and why US dishwashers and washing machines usually have a hot water inlet. Generally, nearly anything weird/suboptimal about US home appliances to European eyes is down to this issue.