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Posted on 09/04/2026 10:54:09 AM PDT by DoodleBob
More than one-third of American households rely on natural gas stoves to prepare their meals.
Burning natural gas generates carbon dioxide, which is the main driver of climate change. But cooking on gas stoves is also an under-recognized and important source of indoor air pollution. Combustion of natural gas creates nitrogen dioxide and other compounds that can irritate the lungs.
People with preexisting respiratory conditions, such as the 28 million Americans with asthma, may be especially susceptible. An analysis of more than 40 studies found a correlation between nitrogen dioxide levels and asthma symptoms.
I am a physician and medical researcher, and my colleagues and I recently completed the first study to examine whether replacing gas stoves with electric stoves can improve asthma symptoms.
How we conducted the study
Our study included 85 adults and children with poorly controlled asthma who lived in homes or apartments with gas stoves. Asthma control was determined from responses to a standard questionnaire that asked about specific asthma symptoms, activity limitations and use of rescue medication such as fast-acting inhalers.
Contractors removed the gas stoves, safely capped the gas lines, installed the necessary electrical outlets and replaced the stoves with electric induction models at no cost to participants. We chose electric induction stoves because they heat up and cool down rapidly, and they are safer and easier to clean than electric coil stoves.
Our research team assessed asthma control based on a questionnaire participants filled out before the stove replacement and again two to three months afterward. We used air quality monitors to measure indoor nitrogen dioxide levels for seven-day periods before and after stove replacement.
From moderate to mild symptoms
The results were striking: Improvements in asthma symptoms following stove change were similar to -- or even greater than -- those reported in clinical trials of commonly used asthma medications.
On average, participants went from having moderate asthma symptoms to having mild symptoms. Emergency room visits and hospitalizations for asthma fell by 70%. Missed days of work or school because of asthma dropped by about 80%. At the same time, indoor levels of nitrogen dioxide decreased by 70%.
These findings suggest that a relatively simple change in the home -- switching from a gas stove to an electric stove -- may lead to meaningful improvements in asthma control for people who are struggling with their symptoms.
And though the natural gas industry advertises gas stoves as being better for cooking, participants in our study preferred their electric stoves. Nearly all -- 98% -- said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their electric induction stove, compared with only 41% who felt that way about their gas stove.
That said, it is worth noting that our study included a relatively small number of participants and followed them for only a few months. The findings may not apply to people with milder asthma symptoms. We also did not include a comparison group that kept their gas stoves.
Potential obstacles
The cost of replacing gas stoves with electric stoves is likely to be a barrier for low-income communities, both in the U.S. and abroad.
In newer American homes, an electric stove and its installation typically costs about $1,500. Most of our study participants lived in homes that were built before 1960, and we spent an average of $7,000 per household to upgrade their electrical systems as part of the study.
But given the potential cost savings from reduced emergency room visits and hospitalizations, it might make sense for governments or health insurers to subsidize the costs of replacing gas stoves with electric ones for patients with poorly controlled asthma.
In developing countries, the high initial cost of new stoves can be a real impediment to switching. Inadequate home wiring and unreliable electrical grids present additional challenges in many places.
But countries with severe air pollution and a high prevalence of lung conditions may find it's worth the cost.
In Ecuador, one program demonstrated that providing subsidies could help the population transition from gas to electric stoves. From 2015 to 2021, the Ecuadorian government subsidized 750,000 households -- one-tenth of all households in the country -- to replace their gas stoves with electric induction stoves. Program uptake correlated with declines in hospitalizations for respiratory illnesses.
What patients and physicians can do
Switching stoves is not a cure for asthma and may not help everyone. People with asthma should continue working with their physicians, taking prescribed medications and reducing exposure to other asthma triggers, such as cigarette smoke, dust mites, pollen and viral respiratory infections.
But about 80% of our study participants experienced meaningful improvements. So people with poorly controlled asthma may consider transitioning away from gas stoves, depending on their resources and circumstances, to ease their symptoms.
Physicians may also want to ask asthma patients about the use of gas stoves and educate them about potential harms. And builders, landlords and restaurant owners may want to think about the types of stoves they install, as that may be a consideration for the future buyers, renters and employees who will cook in their kitchens.
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I do think it is more females that don’t understand the difference between natural gas and propane, natural gas is very safe, it is light and wants to escape into the atmosphere, propane is the heavy gas that puddles and collects in low spaces.
Cooks prefer natural gas.
Cannot be said enough.
53% of households use electric ranges because they mostly live in apartments.
What is the percent in single family homes? I bet it is overwhelmingly gas stoves.
Eat cereal and suck raw eggs and you will be in some kind of nirvana.
There are pros and cons to both. It seems libs only demand choice on issues THEY demand choice on. In many places around this country they take away a choice on this.
30 or 40 years ago big electricity was bad for you. I remember movies about high voltage overhead electric line towers causing all kinds of bad things like cancer and radiation sickness. Now that gas is bad I’m sure everything electric is good for you.
Only reason why that percentage went up that way is liberals banned install of gas appliances in major urban areas and states. That stat rose because one option was banned.
Oh but they have tomsuffer through gas burning fireplaces when its cold, even with the venting they do...
Using an (electric) microwave is even faster, 3 minutes.
I personally prefer glasstop cooktops because they look good and are clean. If you want gas, I think that is up to you.
I took fishing trips for many years. The cabins had propane fuels tanks for the water heater, refrigerator and stove. We were always told to keep several windows cracked at all times since there were no ventilation vents of significance.
How about people with asthma wear a mask when subjected to environmental contaminants that bother them?
It would be simple to add an interlock to an exhaust fan that vents out the roof. (We always turn the exhaust fan on before the burner lights.)
7kw is a LOT of electricty requiring large gauge wiring. We did not have that heavy wiring or a utilty transformer when operating two modest sized bulk milk coolers and the vacumn pump along with Mom cooking in the house on the electric (coil) stove.
Ɓurn I ng natural gas in the power plant to generate electricity wastes a LOT of the potential energy.
Accounting for conversion losses,transformer and line loss burning the gas in the home is sbout three times more efficient .
I’ve been cooking on an electric stove for over 30 years and have never had a problem but my friend has a gas stove and went into panic mode when it looked like gas stoves were about to be banned.
“There are pros and cons to both. It seems libs only demand choice on issues THEY demand choice on. In many places around this country they take away a choice on this.”
In this country we have the resources to figure out and implement good installation and appliances to minimize the emissions of toxics as well as proper management of same
Same as managing cases of Covid, prevention and treatment without doing what the government wants just because they want it. The government is religious order to some even though they run up 40 T in less than 20 years with no accountability
The government was certainly NOT there when we had single digit temps here the first time in 100 years and with precipitation and multiple day power outages. Gas stove and gas fireplace kept this place on human standards. Hand cranked coffee grinder but that’s a different issue
I’ll take 5 years of asthma over three days of 8 degrees in the house
That’s my choice as a free American
They can quit telling us what to do and reapond to the market
There’s a market for clean burning ovens and good ventilation
We saw them turn the brown smog pouring out of the Long Island Lighting Company smoke stacks from brow to white to clear in the 1970s
So they can stop the BS
“ went into panic mode when it looked like gas stoves were about to be banned.”
Ya. Part of that is the reaction to loss of freedom in a dictatorship once kniwn as free country - a term seldom used any more
We know they can fix gas emissions They want us to do what they want us to do
For me it would be the memory of getting the family up at 0600 on waking up to 40 degrees in a power outage when it’s 5 degrees outside knowing there’s gas inlets and a match
Total BS!
I’m uneasy about propane because it sinks to the low spots.
“Natural gas tends to rise into the air and scatter, whereas propane tends to collect in low-lying locations like basements, crawl spaces, and ditches.”
Natural gas wants to escape and get outside into the wind, while propane will puddle and set up an explosive environment.
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