I just moved from a home with induction range to one with gas range and I feel like I am on crazy pills waiting for anything to happen now. I get that things like extreme control and wok cooking are a bit difficult on induction, but at least it's ~possible.<p>A consumer gas range simply doesnt put enough effective power into the cookware. This isnt only about boiling water quickly. This is about getting a pan hot enough fast enough to maintain a certain cooking style, even if its kind of half-assed. It might not be perfect, but I can make what I think is really good stir fry on a quality induction range (i.e. one that will actually tolerate movement of the pan without cutting power).<p>I had enough time to order an 1800w portable induction unit while I waited for my kettle to boil via fire this morning.<p>Even the cleanup is 10x better on induction.
This is surprising because gas cooking is considered a "premium" feature here in NC, and people look for it during their house search. Personally, it is a better cooking experience than electric. Induction might be the best, but it's still expensive.
Here in British Columbia, we replaced our gas furnace with a heat pump and received $11,000 in rebates from the provincial and federal governments for doing so. We also replaced our electric stove (that we hated) with induction, not gas (which we loved) due to the health concerns of gas cooking in homes.<p>I'm not surprised the gas industry is resorting to "inducements" to keep gas in vogue. Our last gas appliance is our water heater, and we're considering getting rid of it as well so we're gas free.
Natural gas supply companies incentivize their sales channel to install the connection which is needed in order to consume the gas product. This seems like business 101.<p>In many places, heating your home and your domestic hot water is still financially less expensive using natural gas. Sure, there's negatives to using natural gas, but being more expensive is not one of them.
I won't speak to cooking. But, gas central air heaters are much cheaper to operate than heat pumps in Phoenix, AZ. I wish it wasn't so environmentally speaking. But from a cost point of view, its better to use natural gas than electricity.
You wouldn't have to bribe me to opt for gas.<p>In the past 20 years I've lived through two natural disasters that disrupted residential electrical service for more than a week. While electric utilities struggled to restore service, our gas fireplace gave emergency heat, our gas stove top cooked our food, and our gas water heater made our home the destination for our neighbors to get a hot shower. (The neighbors had gas water heaters too, but the high-efficiency kind that won't light the pilot if 120v isn't present.)<p>Besides the practical benefits, gas energy is significantly cheaper than electric, a distinct advantage as prices inflate.
I don't have gas to my place--they just installed a line on the street, so I could get it relatively cheap now...<p>... but probably going to get a heat pump instead. Electric heat sucks money, so I'm keen to replace it with something. And now that we've gone from 1 too-hot day per year to 7-8 with smoke, it's a double win.
<i>The paid appearance came as part of a celebrity-focused program the American Gas Association launched in the 1970s, after the association had reportedly conducted its own research into the health dangers of gas appliances. After finding a link between gas stoves and indoor air pollution, the trade group sponsored shows hosted by Pépin’s frequent collaborator Julia Child, as well as actors Mary Tyler Moore and Doris Day, Rebecca Leber recently reported. (The industry still includes celebrity restaurateurs in its pro-gas campaigns.)</i><p>This reads like satire, like it could have been a throw away line in Thank You for Smoking, but no, this cartoonish level of villainy is real, and all too common.
You could rewrite this entire article about the drywall industry, or the plumbing industry, or the lumber industry and it would mostly be the same.<p>You already have to have decided that gas appliances are the bogeyman for this article to elicit any sort of outrage.