Electric vs Gas

Electric vs Gas

Making the choice - Electricity or Gas?

Running costs

There are significant differences in the costs of cooking with gas or electricity. Electricity simply costs more than gas.

If you use an average size electric oven and cooktop (small plate only) for about 1 ½ hours per day for a year, an electric cooker will cost $416 to run based on an electricity cost of 0.25c per kWh.

Using a gas cooker in the same way will cost only $153 based on a natural gas cost of 2.5c per Mj. That represents an annual saving of $263.considering the alternatives:

LPG costs vary according to region. Consumption rates are usually lower than natural gas but the cost per MJ is usually higher.

Environmental impact In Australia, the majority of electricity is generated through the burning of coal. The Greenhouse emissions from electricity generated by burning coal are high. In comparison, using natural gas reduces greenhouse emissions by two thirds.

Gas leaves a much smaller environmental footprint.

There is a lot of information available through websites such as www.mygreenaustralia.com on the comparative greenhouse emissions between gas and electricity.

Temperature Stability

Cooking performance

The majority of professional chefs cook using a gas oven. While the differences may be subtle in cooking performance, and may come down to a personal preference, there is a significant difference when it comes to cooking certain foods using electricity or gas.

Electricity heats the food with a direct dry heat that tends to result in drier foods and therefore a product with a significantly reduced shelf life. Baked goods will normally stay fresh for 50% longer when baked in a gas oven versus an electric. When roasting meats there is much less shrinkage and roasts tend to be more succulent and juicy. A gas oven can produce a more consistent, superior quality result making them very rewarding to cook with.

The cooking performance advantage of an electric oven is that the dry heat can create a very crispy pastry as it reduces so much of the moisture. In most cases both electricity and gas ovens can perform well on all baking tasks. It comes down to preference and how sensitive the user is to achieving the best possible cooking result.