Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine January 2023

HVACR NewsMagazine January 2023

State National Chapter News

that disproportionately experience air pollution. To facilitate the change from gas stoves to electric, the Inflation Reduction Act includes rebates of up to $840 for the purchase of electric ranges. The Building Performance Institute, BPI, has long been teaching their students to test gas stoves for CO emissions with a threshold limit for an Oven/Boiler of 225 ppm. Exceeding that limit should require service by a qualified professional. The acceptable level of emission seems to be a point of concern and the number may vary from one source to another. Iowa State University has an excellent article at https://www.abe.iastate.edu/extension and-outreach/carbon-monoxide poisoning-gas-fired-kitchen-ranges-aen 205/ Click on this for easy access. Things that were common a generation ago are expressly forbidden today; i.e., opening the oven to help heat the house. Of course, back then houses leaked air so badly that we probably did not notice any problems. That brings up two important issues. Houses are much tighter. The unintended consequences of tight homes are that they are much more susceptible to indoor air quality problems. Also, many use stove exhaust hoods that don ’ t exhaust. They simply filter the air and blow it back into the kitchen. CO and high humidity is still present. While the big dogs debate the issue of gas stoves, just use common sense — exhaust vent to the outside whenever you are cooking whether you cook with gas or electric.

You ’ re Cooking with Gas

There was a time when Chefs and Granny ’ s alike thought cooking with gas was the ultimate. Gas was easily controlled and turned off immediately. Many a boil over was avoided by turning off the gas. Traditional electric range tops don ’ t offer that instant response. From woks to cast iron, gas just made it better — or so we believe. Looks like that may not have been completely true. The US Product Safety Commission plans to take action to address the pollution caused by gas stoves which can cause health and respiratory problems. “ This is a hidden hazard, ” says Richard Trumka, Jr., an Agency member. 40% of the homes in America use gas stoves. They can emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter. The EPA and World Health organization believe them to be unsafe and linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems and cancer. Who knew? “ There have been studies for 50 years showing gas stoves as bad for our health, ” said Brady Seals at RMI, a non-profit committed to carbon-free buildings. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Representative Don Beyer of Virginia urge action and call gas stove emissions a "cumulative burden ” on Black, Latino and low-income households