Magnetic induction ranges (Photo – pxhere.com)
If you’re like me, you probably assume that the exhaust vent over your indoor gas cooktop stove is for getting rid of smoke or bad odors.
By Ethan Elkind
But most people are unaware that it’s actually for venting the poisonous fumes emitting from those blue flames that heat our water, sauces, and other foods at mealtime.
Brett Singer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was onto these ill effects back in 2013:
Singer’s group found that a significant portion of residences exceed outdoor air quality standards for several pollutants on a weekly basis as a result of cooking with gas burners. ‘If these were conditions that were outdoors the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] would be cracking down. But since it’s in people’s homes, there’s no regulation requiring anyone to fix it,’ Singer said. ‘Reducing people’s exposure to pollutants from gas stoves should be a public health priority.’
A better option
Fortunately there’s a better option, in terms of quality, overall price, and — most importantly — the health of those in the home: magnetic induction ranges. These technologies use an electromagnetic field below a glass cooktop surface that transfers current directly to magnetic cookware, causing it to heat up. And it can work quickly, as in boiling a pot of water in just seconds.
From an environmental perspective
From a larger environmental perspective, we’ll need buildings to move away from natural gas anyway — including for cooktops — and instead rely on electricity, produced largely from zero-emission sources like solar panels and wind turbines. These magnetic induction ranges are part of that transition, along with electric heat pumps to warm and cool buildings and electric water heaters.
So for those cooking indoors with gas, definitely use the vent function each time. And if you make the switch to magnetic induction, the planet — and your housemates — will be better off for it.
Ethan Elkind directs the climate program at UC Berkeley Law, with a joint appointment at UCLA Law. His book “Railtown” is published by the University of California Press.
I’ve been cooking with gas for over 40 years, off and on, and have only recently installed a working hood vent … so whatever damage may have been done has not been detected. That said, I was interested in switching to an induction top until I learned that my favorite aluminum and Magnalite pots and pans won’t work with one. The iron and steel ones will, but swapping out my favorites for stainless steel, which I loathe, is not gonna happen.