Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
Ease Rating: Ambitious
Carbon Emission Savings: 80 - 200 CO2e depending on how electricity is powered and size of household
5 - ~80% target progress (2,000+ kg CO2e)
4 - ~60% (1,000 - 2,000 kg CO2e)
3 - ~20% (500 - 1,000 kg CO2e)
2 - ~10% (100 - 500 kg CO2e)
1 - <10% (<100 kg CO2e)
0 - <1% (<30 kg CO2e)
No. of People Influenced Beyond You: hundreds of people
Amount of Savings: n/a
Impacts: 🔌 Save Energy
Categories: Energy
Description
Replace your gas cooktop, oven, or range with an electric one to shift away from polluting methane (natural gas). This is particularly impactful if your home is powered by clean energy already.
Many professional chefs prefer electric ovens. Gas burns at a hotter temperature than electric ovens, releasing moisture that is not great for roasting. In addition, you need to rotate your meals more often in a gas oven than in an electric to prevent burning.
Gas ovens and cooktops also create more indoor air pollution in the form of PM2.5 (one of the deadliest air pollutants), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and formaldehyde. Gas stoves are exposing tens of millions of people to levels of air pollution in their homes that would be illegal outdoors.
Soon, humanity will leave dirty fossil gas in the dustbin of history. Fossil gas (also known as natural gas) is primarily methane. Leaks at every stage of extraction and processing add to methane’s already high climate impact.
Many local governments around the world now require new construction to have no methane connections whatsoever. Make the switch to improve your air quality and eliminate worrying about leaky gas line explosions.
Tips
• Electric ovens tend to cost less than gas ones. They often come with little setup and adjustments needed in the kitchen. Depending on your kitchen setup, you can simply plug it into an existing outlet.• Consider newer technology induction stove tops. These offer the best cooking experience of any option thanks to the ability to adjust cooking temperatures and to quickly bring liquids to a boil. However, they tend to be more expensive and may require a new electrical wire to be run from your electrical box. They use magnetism, so if a magnet sticks to your current pots and pans they will work fine.
• Talk to friends in your community who already use electricity for cooking to find out the pros and cons, and get recommendations for local contractors if needed.
• After you switch out your appliance, if possible, have the gas pipes removed as well. This makes your house safer and ensures that potential future owners will not undo your pollution-reducing work.