Should I Replace My Gas Appliances With Electric?

About 7 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from fossil fuels burned inside homes for things like heating, cooking and cooling.

That’s bad for the climate and, sometimes, bad for your health. Gas stoves, in addition to those planet-warming emissions, release toxic pollutants directly into the home.

Depending on where you live, though, there could be an alternative. In many places, electricity increasingly comes from renewable sources like wind and solar rather than fossil fuels like coal. So, you might be able to lower your contribution to climate change, and save your lungs, by replacing natural gas appliances with electric ones.

When and how to do this, though, is a personal choice that depends on a number of factors. Here are some things to take into consideration.

What’s the goal?

Deciding whether to get rid of a gas appliance depends on the machine in question and on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Natural gas is used in 61 percent of U.S. homes, according to the Energy Information Administration. In those households, gas appliances produce about two tons of carbon dioxide per person per year.

Furnaces burn approximately 70 percent of the gas in those homes. So if you’re concerned about emissions, then one of the most effective things you can do in your home is to replace your gas furnace with an electric heat pump if you can afford it.

“You would never willingly stand over the tailpipe of a car breathing pollution, yet we stand over a gas stove breathing the same pollutants,” said Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Stanford University.

Stoves can be leaky, too, said Carlos Gould, an environmental health scientist at the University of California, San Diego. That means methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is the main component of natural gas, might be escaping from your stove, stove fittings or gas pipes into your kitchen.

“Even if you’re not using them, there’s some evidence that gas leaks out slowly,” Dr. Gould said of gas stoves.

Should I wait until gas appliances wear out?

In general it’s not a good idea, environmentally speaking, to replace perfectly functional products with new ones. “Goods come with embodied emissions from their production,” Dr. Gould said. “That’s why you hear the mantra, ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.’”

But every rule has exceptions.

Gas appliances can last for decades, but because of all of those emissions, they might be one of the rare cases where it makes sense, at least from an environmental and health point of view, to throw away machines before the end of their useful lives.

“We don’t have the luxury of continuing to use them if we want to save the climate,” Dr. Jackson said.

You should check to find out how much energy from your local grid comes from renewable sources. “Switching from a natural gas to an electric appliance only really makes sense if the electricity grid is sufficiently low in emissions intensity,” said Mara Hammerle, an economist who specializes in energy and climate at the Center for Policy Development in Sydney, Australia.

What about the money?

Gas furnaces are generally less efficient than electric heat pumps. Whether you save money in the longer term by switching depends on the price of electricity in your region, the climate and home efficiency.

Even if those calculations favor a heat pump, the upfront cost of switching can be prohibitive. Replacing a gas furnace usually runs into thousands of dollars. Sometimes, tens of thousands. And, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration might drive prices even higher.

There are some ways to defray costs, though. In the United States, homeowners who transition to electric can get tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, though Republicans in Congress are trying to repeal that measure. Electric appliances can also be paired with solar panels, further reducing energy bills.

But switching appliances may not be possible for everyone.

If you rent, your landlord probably isn’t enthusiastic about spending money. It could be complicated to change HVAC systems in a condo or co-op controlled by a board, too. Or maybe you just can’t afford it.

In these cases, “‘should you’ is quite different from ‘can you,’” Dr. Hammerle said.

There are still tricks to reduce your gas use without a complete overhaul. If your dryer runs on gas, consider air-drying your clothes. Electric space heaters and fans can supplement gas-powered heating and cooling systems. Gas stovetop cooking can likewise be reduced by using affordable electric appliances like rice cookers, toaster ovens and kettles. Check the energy efficiency rating.

“I’m a renter and don’t have the option to replace my gas appliances,” Dr. Gould said. But he’s put two electric induction burners directly on top of his gas stove. “I use them for almost all of my cooking,” he said.