Home inspectors check the burners on a gas stove in military housing in Fort Knox, Ky., in this photo from 2019. (Photo by Eric Pilgrim/U.S. Army)
Nitrogen oxide fumes pour into my kitchen when I turn on my gas stove. This happens every time I light a burner to boil water or fry an egg, and the pollution soon reaches levels which are harmful to my heart and lungs.
Most Maryland and Montgomery County homes using gas stoves have the same problem. Commercial kitchens are required to have huge exhaust fans but my typical home kitchen fan is way too small to do the job.
In 2025, Montgomery County has a great opportunity to phase out harmful gas appliances from multifamily buildings.
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Pollution from gas stoves causes asthma and heart disease and gas stoves should be a thing of the past. In 2022, the American Medical Association advised that all homes should change from gas to electric stoves because of the risks of asthma for children. Asthma is a leading reason for children missing school.
In addition to polluting the air in the home, gas appliances and pipes frequently leak methane, an important cause of global warming. Leaks can also lead to explosions.
In February, the Montgomery County Council will be voting to require existing multifamily and other large commercial buildings to become more energy efficient. Aging gas stoves, hot water heaters and furnaces would be replaced as they wear out with efficient electric induction stoves or heat pumps. These replacements will happen over 10 or more years, and building owners will get financial and technical help from county government.
Not only would getting rid of gas appliances bring health benefits, but highly efficient appliances will reduce energy costs for families living in multifamily buildings.
The county regulations, called the Building Energy Performance Standards, would apply to larger multifamily buildings as well as other commercial buildings. The health benefits to lower-income renters would be important.
Black children visit emergency rooms for asthma five times more often than do white children. Renters cannot replace gas stoves in their apartments so we need the BEPS regulations to help landlords make the transition from gas appliances.
Many cooks like their gas stoves, but modern electric induction stoves give excellent control for cooking and are extremely energy efficient. In 2022, Montgomery County passed a law requiring all new homes to be built with electric stoves, water heaters and HVAC systems.
I am lucky to own my own home in Bethesda. In 2024, I replaced my aging gas hot water heater with an efficient electric heat-pump water heater, with the financial and technical help of the Montgomery County “Electrify MC” program. As my gas stove and gas furnace age, I will be replacing them with modern electric units. We owe it to lower-income families that rent apartments to provide them these same health benefits.
The Montgomery County Council should pass the BEPS regulations to improve the health of our children and the environment.