quickly they are generated by stoves, to see how quickly the concentrations would build up in a home, over time, depending on the ventilation and the size of the kitchen,” study lead author Eric Lebel says. He was a graduate student in Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences at the time of the research and is now a senior scientist for PSE Healthy Energy in Oakland, Calif.
“In some instances, we found that it exceeded the [outdoor] one-hour standard in just a matter of minutes,” Lebel shares. This was especially true in smaller kitchens, in homes with poor ventilation and where people were not using the range hoods.
These appliances warm the planet both by generating carbon dioxide when burning natural gas and by leaking unburned methane, according to the report, which noted that the impact from natural gas-burning stoves in the United States has a climate equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from over 500,000 gasoline-powered cars.
The paper is the second published by these researchers looking at the impact of natural gas emissions from household appliances. The previous study, published in 2020, looked at the difference in emissions between tankless and storage water heaters.
“This was a natural next step,” Lebel says. “Stoves are one of the biggest three appliance users of gas in residential homes. Furnaces and water heaters are number one and two, depending on where you live.”
Methane’s global warming potential is about 86 times greater over 20 years and 25 times greater a century after its release than carbon dioxide is, according to the study authors. While there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, methane’s relative concentration has grown twice as fast since the start of the Industrial Revolution.
Jackson says, “Anytime we’re replacing an appliance, it should be electric. Period.”
The findings were published Jan. 27 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
“This is definitely an important and emerging area of concern for both public health and for climate change,” says Katherine Pruitt, national senior director for policy at the American Lung Association.
Having a better understanding of where methane actually is being emitted is really important, she shares.
“I think one of the most significant findings in this study was the contribution to methane emissions from the stove, even when they’re not on,” Pruitt adds.
Nitrogen dioxide is a respiratory irritant, Pruitt notes. It can make it more difficult to breathe, can exacerbate asthma in people who have the condition and there is some evidence that it may actually cause asthma in young children. It has also been linked to cardiovascular harm, low birth weight and premature death.
READ: The Scary Chemicals Hiding In Your Couch
Tips for safely using gas appliances
Pruitt offered some practical suggestions for homeowners with gas appliances, including having them serviced to make sure they’re working properly and using kitchen hoods that are ventilating and not just recirculating the air.
Everyone has the right to a safe and healthy indoor environment in their homes, Pruitt says.
“That’s really been a tenet of our lung health position for many years,” she adds. “And like any public health protection, it’s a combination of educating the public about the steps that they can take to protect themselves and making sure that we have the policies in place to protect the population.”