Our friends Nick and Holland have courageously ventured forth to retrofit their house into their Net Zero Nest. In the process they are asking great questions. One of them was about a Gas vs Electric cook-top. Our response follows:

The subject of gas vs electricity overall is a big one for us and something I covered in a TEDx we did recently. There are four reasons we chose to go all electric:

1. Health – The black soot that covers the Los Angeles basin is burnt carbon coming from our gas fired stoves, hot water heaters, dryers, cars…. That burnt carbon causes heart disease, lung disease and cancer that is not caught in the price of the gas you buy. Also, the indoor air quality is much improved by eliminating the burning anything in your home.
2. Safety – The elimination of the gas line significantly reduces the chance of fire and explosion in the event of an earthquake. Also, an induction cook-top also virtually eliminates the chance of a grease fire while cooking.
3. Money – I can make electricity on my roof – I can’t make gas. That means buying solar panels gives me a hedge against inflation for the next 40 years (the life of the solar panels) and fixes my cost with a very good return on investment.
4. Convenience – As you mentioned the induction in easier to clean and better looking. Having had experience with both, the induction cook-top also cooks faster and with better control than a gas cook-top

Hope that helps and please keep us posted on any thing else we can do to assist!

Robert and Monica

Tags: Air Quality, Case Study, Community, environmental, Net Zero Energy, solar, Zero Carbon

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