Benefits of Electric Heaters in Architecture

New York Governor Kathy Hochul, during her speech on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, that she is working on a proposal to urge New Yorkers to use electric stoves rather than gas ones, and eventually ban gas stoves in this State to reduce and control fossil fuel consumption.

This decision has pros and cons and too soon to completely ban gas stoves for all industries in New York. In December 2021, the former Mayor of NYC, Bill de Blasio, signed a proposal to reduce fossil-fuel heaters and burners for all new buildings to go electric. However, it had exemptions for commercial kitchens

Pros (In terms of architecture):

Using electric heaters, stoves, and burners for residential buildings is safer and needs less maintenance, nowadays residential investors prefer to use electric stoves, water heaters, dryers, and furnaces. because there is no risk of gas leakage, less sprinkler piping which reduces the sprinkler system cost, no need to provide a vent and fresh air intake, and fire-rated partitions that are more expensive than the regular ones.

Cons:

Electric stoves have benefits for residential and office units. when it comes to commercial/restaurants, there are no benefits at all, because electric stoves don’t have the same cooking quality as gas stoves, which is not acceptable for chefs and restaurant owners.

this decision can easily affect food taste, quality, and eventually the food industry. which leads to less attraction for tourists in the future.

besides restaurant owners, many homeowners, who are passionate about cooking at home, can be against this decision and still prefer to have a gas stove in their homes.

Governor Hochul clearly said we need to control climate change and protect the health, and safety of the next generation, and try to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that come from buildings.

From the architectural side, electric heaters are the best choice, but if you look at it from the business side, it can be a harmful decision and it is better before talking about these kinds of bold steps in people’s lifestyles, tries to find other alternatives

natural gas doesn’t have to be eliminated from our life entirely and always needs to remain as our backup source of energy, for instance during Hurricane Sandy, we lost electricity, if lawmakers just want to make decisions without any logic or supporting plan for people, what should we do as residents of New York?