By Jonathan Ullman, Director, Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter Sierra Club
Before consuming what was on our Thanksgiving plates, my wife offered those around the table an opportunity to express gratitude. I said that I was grateful to be with all the friends and loved ones assembled around the table. That was true, but there was something else I really wanted to say as I my head lowered to feel the warmth of cranberries and stuffing.
I’m grateful for electromagnets.
I wanted everyone to know the plate in front of them was cooked on an induction stove, a machine so wonderous, it should be toasted with wine. I decided not delve into electronics in the midst of our humble display of appreciation, but I feel compelled to tell you in advance of the Holiday season.
In short, an induction stove is an electric-powered high-quality, reasonably-priced stove that won’t kill you.
This is not always easy to find.
Consumer Reports last October found “alarming” levels of NOx gas released in their testing of gas stoves. They advised consumers to open windows and doors in addition to using the vent fan while cooking. They said fans should be on even when boiling an egg. https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/indoor-air-quality/is-your-gas-range-a-health-risk-a6971504915/
This comes on the heels of studies by Stanford and Harvard scientists showing that indoor gas stoves are producing significant amounts of dangerous methane gas and 21 hazardous air pollutants like benzine hexane, and toluene at levels higher than second-hand smoke. Exposure to some VOCs raises risks for asthma, cancer, and other illnesses. "Did I turn off the Stove? Yes, but maybe not the gas," New York Times, Jan. 2022, and "Home is where the pipeline ends," Environmental Science and Technology, July 2022.
induction cooktop
The electromagnet induction stove for homes was first unveiled commercially at the Century of Progress Fair in 1933 by a General Motors subsidiary, Frigidaire. The electromagnet ovens had one drawback - they made an incredibly loud buzz. The technology was suitable for industrial plants, but not American kitchens. In Europe and Asia, the superior quality of cooking outweighed the buzzing sound and induction stoves took hold.
From the 1970s through 1990s companies like Westinghouse and Sears Kenmore still produced induction stoves, but couldn’t fix the buzzing sound. But in the 2000s, they did.
Today, Frigidaire, Samsung and LG make standard-sized four-top induction stoves for the U.S. market. Major retailers like Lowes, Home Depot, Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon sell induction stoves on line, even though big box retailers rarely put them on the display floor. The price of a standard-sized name brand induction stove/oven dropped to $1,000 this year.
Induction’s superpower is precision and speed. Water for tea or hot chocolate boils in less than a minute. Boiling water to cook pasta or corn on the cob takes half the time as before. The countertop stays cool to the touch.
Magnetic induction from the moment of its invention was always the best technology for cooking. It only needed to be perfected and mass produced. And now that it has, it can be yours.
Gas, it gets worse:
A December 2022 published peer review study found gas stoves responsible for 13 percent of nationwide childhood asthma cases (20 percent in California and 21 percent in Illinois.) The U.S. Consumer Protection Commission said it will be looking into gas stoves this year. One commissioner said everything is on the table including a gas ban. That statement launched a GOP "hands off my gas stove" campaign. The ensuing "kitchen controversy" generated heightened media coverage of gas stove health dangers.
There's plenty of money (not to) burn:
The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure bill offer billions of dollars rebates to cover much or all of the cost to convert houses, apartments and condos to all-electric buildings (that also charge EVs and are powered by the sun, wind and batteries. Email jonathan.ullman@sierraclub.org with the subject “clean power” to learn more.)
Central California Coast leads the way:
The City of Santa Barbara all-electric new building code began on Jan. 1, 2022. Ventura County required all-electric new buildings starting on Jan 1, 2023. Santa Barbara County, the cities of Goleta and Carpinteria are in the process of writing rules to phase out gas in new construction. Ask Santa Barbara County to Phase Out Gas https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/ask-santa-barbara-county-to-phase-out-gas
Nearly 70 California municipalities have already phased out gas in new construction: California's Cities Lead the Way on Pollution-Free Homes and Buildings.
Ask Santa Barbara County to Phase Out Gas https://addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/ask-santa-barbara-county-to-phase-out-gas