Switch to Electric and Induction Cooking

Summary: Switch to Induction Cooking

Description

There are multiple ways to “clean up and green up” your cooking appliances. Electric stoves, especially induction stoves, can make a difference for health, safety, the environment, and the climate.

If you currently use gas for cooking, or have aging electric appliances, you can electrify and/or update your kitchen with new induction cooktops, ranges, and other electric appliances — and then you can zero out carbon emissions and air pollution when you power your home with renewable energy. 

Induction stoves can cook faster, more safely, and with more accurate control and easier cleanup — all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving indoor air quality. 

To get started, click on Steps to Take above. And to learn even more about your options, click on Deep Dive. 

Deep Dive

The benefits of choosing to cook with electricity instead of gas are described below and U.S. Department of Energy and Rewiring America articles. Climate, environmental, and health benefits are amplified when your electricity is renewably sourced. (See Green Your Electricity and Install Solar PV)

1. What is induction stovetop cooking and why do I need to know about it?

Induction cooktops do not involve an open flame, nor is the "burner" surface hot unless a pan is on it. On almost all counts, induction is faster, safer, cleaner, and more efficient than either gas or traditional electric. By making the cooking vessel the heat source, induction cooktops use roughly 10% less energy than electric burners and up to half the energy of gas. 

Induction cooktops can cook faster, more safely, and with more accurate control and easier cleanup — all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving indoor air quality. Let’s focus on how amazing induction cooking can be:

• Induction stoves are powered by electricity and electricity can be renewably sourced (See Green Your Electricity and Install Solar PV)

• Induction cooktops are extremely energy efficient, fast, and precise because induction technology transfers energy directly into magnetic cookware. According to Consumer Reports  induction cooktops can boil water 20-40% faster than tested gas and traditional electric cooktops.

• Induction has become the preferred choice of many chefs and restaurants, as shown in the post “Professional Chefs Love Induction Cooking and You Should Too!”

• Unlike gas, electric coil, or glass top radiant electric cooktops, induction cooktops heat the pot through the energy transferred between the metal pot and magnets beneath the smooth glass top — while the smooth cooktop surface itself remains relatively cool. And unlike other cooking methods, induction does not use flames or red-hot elements to cook. There is no loss of energy through radiating heat from the surface. Kitchens are cooler. 

• Induction cooking is safer for use around children, elders, and those who may forget to turn the stove off. There is less risk of burns from touching hot surfaces, as conductive heat does not heat cook surfaces, but rather pot/pan and cook surfaces remain relatively cool to the touch.

• Although induction technology has been around for 70 years or so, and has long been popular in Europe and Asia, it's been slow to catch on with U.S. consumers — until recently. First introduced at the World's Fair in Chicago in 1933, induction cooking now comprises 8% of the market share for cooktops and ranges, and that proportion is growing (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiegold/2024/03/12/induction-cooking-trend-soars-at-major-design-and-construction-expo/).

2. Are there concerns with using natural gas to cook? 

Natural gas burns relatively cleanly. However it still has health and environmental impacts. Gas leaks release methane, unburned, into the atmosphere where it has an enormous climate impact. Natural gas is largely methane (95%) and methane is a super potent greenhouse gas — with 86 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide (over the first 20 years, which is the period that matters for mitigating climate impacts). Leaking natural gas is neither clean, nor safe, nor efficient. 

3. What are the health effects of cooking with gas?

In May of 2020, a report titled Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution, by Brady Anne Seals and Andee Krasner, was released by the Rocky Mountain Institute, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Mothers Out Front, and Sierra Club. Mothers Out Front summarized the report as follows:

Over 40 years of evidence indicates that gas stoves, common in kitchens across the United States, can lead to unhealthy levels of indoor air pollution. This report synthesizes expert findings into eight key points: 

1. Indoor air is largely unregulated and is often more polluted than outdoor air. 

2. Gas stoves can be a large source of toxic pollutants indoors. 

3. Indoor pollution from gas stoves can reach levels that would be illegal outdoors. 

4. There are well-documented risks to respiratory health from gas stove pollution. 

5. Children are particularly at risk of respiratory illnesses associated with gas stove pollution.* 

6. Lower-income households may be at higher risk of gas stove pollution exposure. 

7. Ventilation is critical but is not the sole strategy to prevent exposure. 

Electric cooking is a cleaner household cooking option.

The study concluded that replacing gas stoves with electric stoves produces the greatest decrease in indoor NO2 concentrations. The results show that the simple intervention of replacing a stove may not only dramatically reduce indoor NO2 levels in the kitchen but also throughout the home. Unlike relying on exhaust hoods or other pollution control options that depend on people using them, replacing a gas stove with an electric (including induction) stove can decrease pollutants at the source.”

Children exposed to gas cooking have an increased odds of current asthma … and lifetime asthma, according to a 2013 study.

If you use a gas stove, it is important to provide and use adequate ventilation. See the research on Health Effects from Gas Stove Pollution.

4. Do I need to replace my current stove?

Portable induction cooktops are an option for those who are not ready to replace their stove. Portable induction cooktops are sleekly designed, reasonably priced, easy to clean, and safe to use. 

If you are curious to experience induction cooking at home, you can borrow a portable, single induction cook plate kit (pan included) for two weeks from the Milne LIbrary. Bring it home and see how amazing induction cooking can be!

5. Are there financial incentives?

Induction stoves can be more expensive to purchase than conventional electric stoves. Financial incentives help to bring costs down. You can get a rebate of up to $500 from Mass Save. Click here to learn more about Mass Save and other incentives.

6. What other options are available to electrify my kitchen?

There are plenty of other ways to expand electric appliance usage to reduce or eliminate your reliance on gas for cooking:

• use induction cooking by buying an inexpensive portable induction cooktop

• replace your gas stove with an induction, electric coil, or glass top stove/oven

• use small electric cooking appliances, when suitable, such as a crock pot, rice cooker, electric kettle, air fryer, and toaster oven.

7. Where can I purchase electric appliances?

Although appliances are available on the web or from big box stores, please consider going local and thrifty. Some of these items are commonly found at consignment stores, Goodwill, Savers, or the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. You can post your search (as an ISO/in search of) on local Facebook freebie pages, Freecycle networks, or Craigslist! For new items, consider shopping with local, independent retailers.

Additional resources:

A blog post from the Acadia Center, Hot Topic: Dispelling the Myths about Induction Stoves addresses several issues ranging from health to cost of induction stoves.

Steps to Take

1. Assess the age and condition of your current gas or electric stove. How much life is left in it? 

If your stove is reaching the end of its lifetime, or you are ready to stop using gas, are you willing to commit to getting an induction (or traditional electric) stove — now, soon, or when your current one fails? Either conventional coil or glass top radiant electric — or even better, the amazing induction cooktops that are becoming the preferred cooking method of chefs around the world — are great choices to reduce your kitchen's contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions and toxic air pollution caused by natural gas.

2. Try out induction cooking at home!! If you are curious to experience induction cooking, you can borrow a portable, single induction cook plate kit (pot and pan included) for two weeks from the  Milne LIbrary. Bring the kit home and see how amazing induction cooking can be!

3. Talk to friends with induction stoves to learn what local cooks think about induction technology. 

4. Check the Deep Dive section to learn more about how fast (boils water 20-40% faster than gas or conventional electric) and safe (less risk of burns since cooktop surfaces aren’t as hot) induction cooking can be - and find links to other resources. 

5. Check to see if your cooking pots and pans are induction ready. If a magnet sticks to the bottom of your pot/pan, that item of cookware is induction ready. (Flat-bottomed pots/pans yield the best results.)

6. Check out local appliance stores to see available options for induction cooking and counter top kettles, cookers, and other electric appliances. Local kitchen stores carry portable induction cooktops and appliance stores carry full induction stoves. 

7. Make your purchase(s) of an induction stove and/or other electric appliances. Be sure to apply for a rebate if eligible.

8. After you've bought an induction cooktop or stove, please add your Testimonial.