Gas stoves aren't going anywhere soon

January 12, 2023·Darcie

If you live in the United States, you might have seen a lot of posts about gas stoves in the past few days. That's because a commissioner with the U.S. Product Safety Commission, Richard Trumka Jr., mentioned them as a potential health hazard in an interview he gave a few days ago. He suggested that one day they might be banned, saying “This is a hidden hazard...Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

This set off a flurry of proclamations from gas stove aficionados expressing their love of the appliance - along with people with a certain political affiliation, who probably don't care at all about gas stoves but wanted to clap back at the mere suggestion of a ban on anything fossil-fuel related. While some major U.S. cities have passed a ban on gas appliances in new construction, there is no ban on them in older homes anywhere in the country as of now.

There is more than a grain of truth in what Trumka said about gas stoves being a health hazard. Recent research showed that some stoves leak methane even when they are turned off, and one study linked childhood asthma to gas cooktops. Many other studies have shown that gas appliances negatively affect indoor air quality, especially if there is inadequate ventilation. An extraction hood with sufficient CFM for the size of the room and strength of the stove, vented directly to the outdoors, is necessary to ensure safe functioning of gas stoves and cooktops.

So is a ban on gas stoves on the horizon? Not any time soon, according to the chairman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, Alex Hoehn-Saric. “I want to set the record straight. Contrary to recent media reports, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the @USCPSC has no proceeding to do so,” he said in a tweet. The Commission is studying the issue and will likely make recommendations to reduce any risks associated with gas appliances, but they are unlikely to be banned completely.

I have (and really like) a powerful gas cooktop, but if I did not own a large collection of pans that are incompatible with induction cooktops I would consider switching. Reading the tea leaves, I think eventually it will be the right move to make, especially as gas prices increase and more electricity is obtained from renewable resources. I predict that gas stoves will become a novelty in the near future, and in a couple of decades will be looked upon as quaint and out of touch, much as wood-fired stoves are viewed now.

18 comments

susan gJanuary 12, 2023

Reading the Washington Post article left me with questions. The first, exhaust hood fans, you have answered.
What about ignition? My stove, only about 4 years old, does not have the classic everburning flame like old ones would have.
I live in an area that has power outages, sometimes for days at a time. During a bad winter storm, we tried using the fireplace, but realized that it was sucking all the remaining warm out of the house. Fortunately I realized that all I needed to use the stove was a match: hot food, not possible with electric powered stoves.
The voice of reason quoted in your article will, hopefully, prevail, to find a balanced solution.

elizaJanuary 12, 2023

I love my gas cooktop, I have excellent ventilation, and like susan g, it’s part of my preparedness plan, along with a gas fireplace. We do have winter outages which have potential to cut power for several days also, so staying warm and cooking food are priorities. Also, most power generation where I live is nuclear so that comes with its own set of problems. I plan to keep the cooktop as is indefinitely.

FyretiggerJanuary 12, 2023

I love cooking on my gas range vs. cooking on a coil-element electric range. And J Kenji Lopez-Alt’s wok hack works with my gas range and it’s amazing!

But, as an allergy sufferer, I am well aware of the indoor pollution aspects of using a gas range. I have a good hood, and favor the back burners when I can and open the adjacent window when the wind allows.

That said, I bought an induction burner for use in my RV van conversion and now use it for many other purposes, like making a batch or stock on the patio in the middle of summer without heating up the house. And the induction burner will reliably hold a set temperature, which is awesome.

gamulhollandJanuary 12, 2023

Our daughter has a college radio show at her school, and I remember her joking one time on it that “My family has a carbon footprint of minus four”— not true, unfortunately, but we try. :) So, it’s kind of a bummer to find out that gas stoves are a risk like this, because we have one, and it’s great. It’s only from 2017, so maybe not that bad? I’m open to induction, though, if needed.

tinastableJanuary 13, 2023

I adore my gas range but live in Italy where induction is quite common. We are redoing our kitchen and have decided to get 2 domino hubs - 2 induction burners and 2 gas. To try the induction cooktop first, we bought a portable burner and worship it. It boils liquids in half the time, it easier to clean and responds to changes in temp faster than gas. I loathe electric stoves and although induction cooktops look the same, are completely different. I hope that induction becomes more popular in the US. I still love gas because I can use my stovetop pizzelle irons and terra cotta pots but find that we use the induction more than our gas range now. It will be good to have both.

Indio32January 13, 2023

Hasn't california banned gas stoves in new builds?

Going forward our next kitchen will go induction.

Emily HopeJanuary 13, 2023

When our gas stove started to die last year, we looked into the possibility of induction. Although I've always loved cooking on gas stoves and was worried about the switch, our desire to move away from fossil fuels and the research about indoor pollution motivated us to consider it. After extensive research we decided to make the leap, and overall I'm very happy. Water boils super fast, pans can be screaming hot or barely warm, and cleanup is a dream. It can pricey (I had to replace my beloved All-clad Masterchef and we had to run new electric), I can't use my clay pots on it, and the jury is still out on my flat bottom wok. But those drawbacks aside, induction is great!

rochkayJanuary 13, 2023

Love cooking with gas, so much easier to control the heat level. Also, living in a country where we have what's called "loadshedding (i.e., up to 9 hours a day without electricity), gas stoves are essential!

RinshinJanuary 13, 2023

Oh my, I like that hack using wok. Have to try that.

BarbaraAJJanuary 13, 2023

I'm looking to move across to gas because of power outages (see comment from @Rochkay above). We have "Loadshedding" where I live, hours at a time with no power. I do baking on the side to supplement my income, and no electricity means no income!

Motto14620January 14, 2023

The global climate alarmists are so out of touch with reality. Electric cars, electric stoves, electric everything -- powered by -- you guessed it -- fossil fuels!! Good grief.

jackQJanuary 14, 2023

Sorry Motto14620 the global climate denialists are out of touch with reality. Here in Australia my state is running on 100% renewable energy through government commissioned reverse auctions to provide solar, wind and battery stored power generation. Last month we had rooftop solar installed at our house and decommissioned our gas cooktop as part of the process. We are loving our new induction stove.

JaneJanuary 14, 2023

Motto14620 - the people who care about the future of our planet - and believe the science i.e. facts - are switching to electricity for transport, heating, cooking, etc because electricity can be run from renewable sources unlike fossil fuels. I run my entire home and my car on 100% renewable energy because I want my kids and grandkids to have a livable planet.

dmco6863January 14, 2023

Our house already had a gas stove connected to bottled gas. After the third stove, failing just after warranty expired, we switched to electric. Never going back. Induction is the best.

ldyndiukJanuary 15, 2023

I think Motto14620s point is that electricity also comes largely from fossil fuels, which we all seem to conveniently forget. It doesn’t have to, and I know we’re trying to shift to more sustainable sources for our electricity, but we’re not there yet.

SerenaYLeeJanuary 16, 2023

@Jane the problem with electric cars is the battery, which is so toxic that there is no safe way to dispose of it. This, according to the environmentalists I've spoken to. One even told me that she would drive a diesel car before she'd touch an electric one.

jackQJanuary 16, 2023

SerenaYLee a nice anecdote but it doesn’t match with the facts: lithium-ion batteries are used in many consumer products including cell phones and electric vehicles and there is a huge and growing demand and investment worldwide to recycle them. For example https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/us-dives-into-lithium-battery-recycling

TeresaReneeJanuary 16, 2023

Electricity is generated in a variety of ways and where you live makes a huge difference in how it’s generated. Not sure about other countries but in Canada it depends largely on province. In Quebec, it’s mostly hydro (water-based). Ontario: nuclear with some hydro. Alberta: fossil fuels. So the calculation of environmental cost also depends on where you live - just to make it even more complicated!

I was actually a bit relieved to read the ‘gas stoves are bad’ articles. My electric stove died recently and I had always planned to replace it with a gas one. The articles pushed me toward induction which meant I didn’t have to pay to run a gas line to the kitchen. Lots of money saved there! Jury is still out on whether I like cooking on induction better than gas - right now everything about the appliance seems mystifying after using the previous stove for 19 years.