Stoves are the most-used and important appliance in the kitchen, which only makes selecting between types all the more important. When shopping, which should you get—a gas or electric stove? To help you pick, we’re breaking down their differences, features, and other aspects to consider when buying a new stove.

Gas vs Electric Stove: Which is Better for Your Home?   

Stoves are the most-used and important appliance in the kitchen, which only makes selecting between types all the more important. When shopping, which should you get—a gas or electric stove? To help you pick, we’re breaking down their differences, features, and other aspects to consider when buying a new stove.

Differences Between Gas Stove vs Electric Stove

The main difference between an electric stove vs gas stove is the fuel source. Electric stoves use electricity to generate heat, using metal heating elements, such as exposed metal coils or glass-ceramic surfaces, to heat cookware. Gas ranges use a gas line to direct natural gas or propane to the stove before burning the fuel to form a flame.

Read more: How Often Should You Replace Your Appliances?

This difference sets both further apart in terms of appearance, cooking performance, energy efficiency, costs, maintenance, and safety. Let’s break everything down for a detailed scope.

Appearance

We all want an appliance that makes our kitchen look better. Between a gas stove vs electric stove, the latter offers modern minimalist aesthetics. While top culinary brands like Smeg and KitchenAid offer great kitchen looks for their gas stoves, electric ranges look sleeker. 

Let’s take the General Electric Stainless Steel 30” Electric Range as an example; its monochromatic colours fit well in any home kitchen setup. The flat cooktop can create a smooth transition to countertops, making your cooking area look more streamlined.

Cooking Performance

If you ask chefs and foodies if they prefer a gas or electric stove, they’ll unanimously vote for a gas stove. That’s because gas cooktops deliver fast, intense, and direct heat. They also offer great temperature control, enabling you to perform various cooking techniques. 

However, electric ranges nowadays can deliver even, consistent heating quickly which avoids hot spots. It can outperform gas stoves across cooking methods.

While we’re at it, let's compare gas vs electric oven in terms of baking performance. A gas oven preheats faster than an electric oven, but the latter offers heat precision and responsiveness to temperature changes. On top of that, an electric oven offers dry heat to produce nicely browned dishes that can make your dining experience memorable with every bite.

Energy Efficiency

Electric stoves transfer up to 80% of energy to food, much higher than gas stove’s 32%. This means more efficient energy use, which is highest in induction stoves. This type of electric cooktop heats pots and pans directly using electric currents through magnetic induction. 

The cookware is the energy source, so the temperature rapidly changes, all heating is transferred to the food, and dishes are cooked much faster. These make induction stoves the most energy-efficient stovetop.

Unlike gas and traditional electric stoves, induction ranges have a cooler surface and lessen heat lost to the air. It’s no surprise induction stoves have an 85% energy efficiency rating.

Costs

Before choosing a gas or electric stove, see first if they’re within your budget. Let’s look at the upfront and installation costs of these stove types:

Gas stoves are more affordable than their electric counterparts. However, they become an expensive choice when you don’t have a gas line installed at the home. Gas line installation costs start at $146 plus materials and harmonized sales tax. These versus the combined upfront and installation prices of electric stoves make the latter a more suitable choice for homes without a gas line. 

As for the gas vs electric stove monthly cost in Ontario, the electric is lower. Natural gas prices tend to fluctuate and change every three months based on current supply and demand, whereas electricity costs are more stable.

Maintenance

An electric stove’s flat cooktops make cleaning a breeze. They’re easy to wipe. Gas stoves are more challenging to clean. You need to remove their grates before scrubbing the surface. 

As for repairs, gas stoves require less maintenance since they have fewer mechanical parts compared to electric stoves. The same logic applies if we compare a gas vs electric oven.

Safety

Don’t forget to consider safety when choosing between an electric stove vs gas stove. Your choice can heavily affect your lifestyle. Gas stoves aren’t the safest option since their combustion promotes indoor air pollution. Every time gas burns, it releases toxic gasses like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and formaldehyde that cause detrimental respiratory effects.

On the other hand, electric ranges don’t burn anything to cook food so they’re safer. Their electrical plugs are often hidden from the reach of children, preventing chances of electrocution.

Electric vs Gas Stove: The Final Verdict

Gas or electric stove—which one is better? Overall, an electric stove offers better qualities compared to its gas counterpart. High costs often deter consumers from getting a cost-effective product, but, fortunately, you can get an electric range at factory-direct prices.

Surplus Furniture offers the best prices for quality appliances. Enjoy the various benefits of electric stoves with our One-Year No Payment and Free Layaway offers. Switch to electric by ordering one and have it delivered the same day. 

We have over 33 locations all over Canada! Visit the nearest one to you today.