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Food Storage/Cooking | ||||||||
For Your Home | ||||||||
Ovens and Ranges | ||||||||
Cooktops Ovens Electric versus Gas What is Involved in Switching from Electric to Gas Cooking There are many choices today with respect to cooking appliances. Ranges that combine an oven and cooktop remain very common, but separate oven (particularly built-in style) and cooktop units have become increasingly popular as kitchens have grown. These stand-alone units allow for multiple ovens, additional burners, or a space for grille or griddle inserts.
Cooktops DOE has estimated that coil elements are roughly 6% more energy efficient than smoothtop elements. However, a 1994 study by Arthur D. Little found that there is no clearly defined correlation between element type and efficiency. Neither DOE nor Arthur D. Little reported specific data on solid disks, but several tests have found the efficiency of solid disks to be significantly less than the other styles, perhaps by as much as 20%. The two common types of gas burners in the U.S. are conventional burners and sealed burners. Sealed burners are only available with electronic ignition, although even with conventional burners electronic ignition dominates the market. Sealed burners are fused to the cooking surface, the primary benefit to this being the absence of hard-to-clean spaces. As an additional benefit, DOE estimates that sealed burners are almost 5% more efficient than conventional gas burners. Ovens Based on DOE estimates, the typical cost of operating a gas oven is $22 annually with a pilot light or $13 with electronic ignition. For electric ovens, the cost is about $29 for a self-cleaning oven and $27 without the self-cleaning feature. This is based on national average fuel prices. Most ovens sold today are self-cleaning, even though this style adds about $70 to the cost of a typical oven. Interestingly, while the self-cleaning process is a heavy energy consumer that requires the oven to reach temperatures of 850 degrees, these high temperatures require better insulation that reduces the energy consumption during cooking. The result is that self-cleaning ovens use almost the same amount of energy as manual cleaning styles. Convection ovens circulate air throughout the cooking chamber in order to increase heat transfer to foods and reduce cooking times. Convection cooking is becoming more popular, but acceptance has been slowed by cost and the forced change in cooking habits (cooking times need to be reduced to account for faster heat transfer). The reported efficiency gains of convection cooking varies tremendously. DOE estimated that convection cooking would increase efficiency by 23%. However, Arthur D. Little reported the results of manufacturers' tests which showed an improved performance just over 2%. Such variances can be accounted for by the generally accepted theory that convection efficiency is largely dependent on the kind of food being cooked. Electric versus Gas What about performance characteristics? Each fuel has its benefits and limitations. Gas cooktops have instant temperature response, but many gas elements have difficulty maintaining a low flame. Electric can provide low level heat for very delicate cooking, and it is also better suited for high capacity such as boiling large pots of water. However, electric coil elements provide rather uneven temperature distribution, and warped-bottom pans are not well suited to electric cooking. What is involved in switching from electric to gas cooking? | ||||||||
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