These are the Key Takeaways
- Stanford researchers discovered that gas stoves, ovens, and ovens can release methane even if they aren’t in use.
- A gas stove can produce a high level of nitrogen oxidesair pollutants that could be harmful to your health.
- Even though kitchen vents can help reduce nitrogen dioxide exposure, particularly in smaller homes it is not an ideal solution.
According to a Stanford University new study, gas stoves can emit dangerous levels of methane as well as other pollutants into residential homes.
Researchers measured methane emission from 53 California homes. They found that even though the ovens, broilers, and gas stoves were off, the greenhouse gas was still leaking from them.
According to the study, methane leakage from all U.S. stoves may have the same effect as carbon dioxide emissions from half of a million cars each year over a 20-year span.Over the course of two decades methane has become 86 times more potent. Warming Rather than carbon dioxide.
A gas stove is a stove that heats up. in use,Methane can be converted to carbon dioxide and remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to many thousands of years. It takes methane about a decade to be completely broken down. This means that methane emissions can be reduced in the near future to help curb global warming.
Eric Lebel, PhDPSE Healthy Energy’s lead author and senior scientist, Claude Davidson, first focused on methane emissions due to storage and tankless water heaters, before moving on and investigating kitchen appliances.
“Stoves can be found in homes. They don’t have to have a vent like other appliances,” Lebel said to Verywell.
Exposition to Nitrogen Oxide from Gas Stoves
Researchers also measured nitrogen dioxides, which are toxic gases that can cause asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, and heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic nitrogen oxide exposure can also increase the risk for permanent lung disease and other respiratory infections in children.
The researchers discovered that nitrogen oxide levels were proportional not to stove use, unlike methane. Lebel stated that the size, intensity and quantity of gas burners could all influence the output of nitrogen oxide.
The United States does not have any indoor air pollution exposure standards, but the Environmental Protection Agency has established a nitrogen dioxide limit. The EPA’s outdoor NO2 exposure limit is 100ppb as of 2018.
Study results showed that houses with poor ventilation can exceed the safety limit in just a few minutes of stove use, especially in smaller kitchens.
Safer Gas Stoves
Lebel suggested that nitrogen oxide concentrations can be controlled by turning on the vent if you have one. If not, opening a window or turning a fan on could also help.
Lebel explained that other studies have shown that kitchen vent hoods are not as effective as they claim. Exhaust fans, for example, are less effective than vent hoods in controlling pollutants.
Lebel stated, “A vent isn’t going to necessarily solve the problem.” “We need better vent standards to accommodate these stove-emitted levels.”
Researchers were not able take nitrogen oxide readings in multi-family homes due to COVID-19 precautions. However, tighter kitchens are more likely to produce higher levels of nitrogen oxide.
“People in lower-income neighborhoods typically have smaller kitchens and often lower quality ventilation systems,” Rob Jackson, PhDVerywell was informed by Professor Earth System Science at Stanford University and coauthor of the study.
While efficient vents can reduce the chance of exposure to nitrogen oxide, they cannot reduce methane emissions. Lebel stated that while the methane levels found in this study aren’t dangerous or harmful, they do have an impact on the environment.
Jackson stated, “We were systemically underestimating climate impact of gas appliances.” “We found that stoves emit more methane than the EPA estimates. Stoves can emit up to 1.3% of the gas that they consume.”
These methane emissions can be eliminated by switching to electric stoves. Some cities, such as Seattle, San Jose, New YorkIn an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heating units and stoves, some states have banned natural gas from new buildings.
Lebel stated that moving towards cleaner electricity is a crucial step in addressing the climate crisis. The U.S. is already trending towards this type of energy. Gas stoves can be a problem.Both climate and healthHe said so.
Lebel stated that it is not just a conversation about one topic but about both.
What does this mean for you?
The methane emissions measured in this study were not enough to cause a fire or affect health. To reduce the levels of nitrogen oxides, you should turn on the vent when you cook on a stove.