Induction stoves help the planet stay cooler. You may qualify for help to get one

When it’s hot, it is not fun to cook, especially when you don’t have sufficient air conditioning like many of us here in southern California. Gas stoves also emit a lot of unhealthy, even cancer-causing, pollution. But some people are cooking cooler and cleaner with a new kind of stove — an induction stove — and fighting climate change too.

June Navarro is one of those people. I went to her home in Avocado Heights, an unincorporated community in the southeast San Gabriel Valley.

Navarro was born in East L.A., raised in the Inland Empire and moved to Avocado Heights with her husband and 10-year-old twins about four years ago.

“It's an equestrian area, so there's a lot of dirt, a lot of chickens, horses,” Navarro said with a smile. “There's a huge Latino culture here, very proud, generations of family. I love it for my children, being Mexican American, having that culture.”

A community with an outsized pollution burden

More than 80% of the residents in Avocado Heights are Latino, most with Mexican roots, and a majority speak Spanish. The median household income for a family of four is about $98,000.

Community members also live near a lot of heavy industry, which means more air pollution. There’s the Quemetco battery recycling plant in the neighboring City of Industry. You can see the huge mountain of the old Puente Hills Landfill down Navarro’s street. The neighborhood is bordered by freight rail lines and the 60 and 605 freeways.

The hill of the old Puente Hills landfill can be seen from June Navarro's street in Avocado Heights.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

The state’s cumulative pollution burden data mapping tool, CalEnviroScreen, rates the community as being mostly in the 90th to 100th percentile for disproportionate pollution impacts. (You can look up your community’s pollution burden here). State and local agencies use the data to allocate funding for programs that address the unequal impacts of pollution and climate change.

CalEnviroScreen maps the pollution burden of communities using environmental, health, and socioeconomic data for every census tract in the state. The highest pollution burden is ranked 100 and the lowest is ranked 0. Red indicates the highest pollution burden, or pollution burden in the 90th to 100th percentile. Orange indicates 80th to 90th percentile, and yellow indicates 70th to 80th percentile. The data is used to help allocate funding to address the unequal impacts of pollution and climate change.

(

CalEnviroScreen

/

LAist

)

Navarro’s son has asthma and she worries about the pollution’s impact on her whole family.

“I don't know what the air quality is…I don't know what the impact is going to be on us,” she said. “So I'm trying just anything that can help it. Anything that I can do to help my family.”

Do you qualify for free upgrades?

Live in Avocado Heights? You could be eligible for free solar and other home upgrades

• The Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community, or BAAEC, is a coalition of groups, led by the non-profit The Energy Coalition, implementing a $9 million grant from the state to electrify homes in the community. 
• Already they’ve retrofitted 34 homes with solar, and 19 of those homes have also been retrofitted with batteries. They’ve also installed 20 heat pump water heaters. There’s still funding available from this program through early 2025.
• You must own your home to qualify. You can find out how to participate here. 

Jump to information on more programs ▶

How induction stoves help with air quality

One way Navarro is improving air quality in her own home: Instead of a gas stove, she now has what’s called an induction stove. Induction stoves on average cost $600 to more than $9,000 (though you can get portable single induction cooktops often for less than $100).

Navarro got her stove free through a state-funded pilot program that has installed 18 induction stoves in her community. The $200,000 grant from the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, or LACI, was part of a public-private partnership led by local climate organizations including The Energy Coalition, Day One and the Bassett Avocado Heights Advanced Energy Community.

A sign outside June Navarro's home in Avocado Heights.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

Under that induction stove pilot program, the air quality of the home was measured before gas stoves were replaced, and after induction stoves were installed.

Mayte Sanchez, senior energy director with LACI, said gas stoves caused a shocking amount of pollution in the homes they measured.

“Our results varied from anywhere from 200 up to 800 parts per billion of nitrogen dioxide,” she said.

Sanchez added that the highest levels of pollution were around head height above the stove.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined inhaling more than 50 parts per billion of nitrogen dioxide can be harmful to health. Research has also found that gas stoves often leak the cancer-causing chemical benzene.

But induction stoves don’t emit that pollution. Sanchez said they found that in the Avocado Heights homes retrofitted with induction stoves, nitrogen dioxide levels were between 20 to 50 parts per billion.

How induction stoves help with heat

At first, Navarro was skeptical about switching to induction.

“I was like, I'm not going from gas cooking to electric,” she said. But after doing her own research, she changed her mind.

“That's the biggest misconception,” Navarro said. “It's not electric cooking, for sure.”

June Navarro's induction stove.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

A burner on the induction stove.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

Induction stoves look kind of like nice electric stoves, with a sleek, flat top. But they work very differently.

Induction stoves use electromagnetic waves to heat cookware. So the heat goes directly into the pan, instead of the whole house.

That’s been a game changer for Navarro, particularly because she only has fans and a window air conditioning unit to cool the house.

She said, with her gas stove, the heat was “unbearable."

"I'm, like, you're having chicken salad because I am not cooking in the middle of the heat," Navarro said. "But what's been different this past summer, it just does not get hot.”

That’s because of her induction stove. Navarro doesn’t generally love to cook, but it’s something she has to do with two kids and a husband who works full time. The induction stove has made her enjoy making meals more.

“I love to cook carne con papa and Mexican rice. It's so easy to do on that,” Navarro said. “I cook them at the same time. And if you can imagine in the summer, if you have like multiple burners going, it gets hotter. And what's great is [the induction stove] doesn't.”

June Navarro in her kitchen at her home in Avocado Heights.

(

Erin Stone

/

LAist

)

How to cook with induction stoves

Because they use electromagnetic waves, induction stoves require pans with a bottom that a magnet can stick to.

“You don't have to get anything that is expensive,” Navarro said.

Cast iron works too. Just don’t drag pans over the glass top of the stove, or you could ruin the magnet (and scratch up that beautiful smooth surface), Navarro said.

Instead of sparking the gas flame, the stove turns on with the touch of a button. Little red lights and numbers blink on.

“This is where the learning curve comes in,” Navarro said. “Because gas is more predictable because you can see the flame. But with this, you have to see, okay, what's a four? A four is actually like mid range.”

And because the heat goes directly into the pan, the kitchen — and the burner itself — stays cool.

“So if you touch it, you could feel the pan is hot, but it's the pan,” Navarro demonstrated. “And then if you take it off, look…”

She touched the burner directly with her hand — it’s not hot. The burner will eventually get hot if it’s left on long enough, but it’s a lot safer than a gas stove.

They’re also super efficient and get to a precise temperature quickly. That means they can boil water in half the time of gas.

And another big perk? Navarro said they’re a lot easier to clean.

“My husband loves to cook on the weekends. The man loves to cook, but he does not know how to clean the stove,” she said with a chuckle. “And the nice thing about [the induction stove] is, you just have to wipe it. It's all even surface. I mean, honestly, that has been so fantastic.”

The broader energy transition movement

California continues to push for cleaner sources of energy across the state.

(

lokapik/Getty Images

/

iStockphoto

)

Sanchez with LACI said more access to environmentally cleaner appliances is an essential piece of the larger effort to unhook society from planet-heating fossil fuels like gas.

“We're trying to create healthier homes,” Sanchez said. “It's not an isolated thing that we're providing you this induction stove. This is part of a broader transition.”

As the state transitions its power grid to majority renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, electrifying homes and buildings will be key to actually lowering emissions. These appliances are also increasingly paired with battery storage (in fact, there are companies that already make induction stoves and other appliances with batteries), so they can help folks ride out power outages while lessening the demand on the broader grid.

Equity, Sanchez said, needs to be at center of the transition to cleaner energy. She's seen inequity firsthand — she grew up in Montebello, which has some of the worst air quality in the LA area.

“We need to rectify what's been done in the past,” she said. “Communities like the city that I grew up have been disproportionately affected by the air pollution from diesel trucks as well as polluting industries.”

For Navarro, while one induction stove may not seem like much in the face of massive polluting industries, she sees it as a brick in the foundation that’s needed to build a cleaner future for everyone.

And the induction stove was another step in her own family’s journey to create a more climate-friendly home. They already have solar, so they’re saving a lot on their electric bills. They have an electric and hybrid vehicle. They compost their food scraps.

Navarro joked now she’s just waiting for her washer, dryer and gas furnace to give out so they can go electric there too.

“Even if you're just doing one little part in your corner of the world, imagine if many people did their little part in their corner of the world,” Navarro said. “I just remind myself, there's certain things that I can control. I try to remember choices that I make will affect my kids futures. One day I won't be here, but how is the world going to look for them?”

Help with climate-friendly upgrades

The easiest way to find rebates for induction stoves in your area is by searching switchison.org. It’s the most comprehensive site available of vetted rebates and other financial incentives for everything from induction stoves to solar to electric vehicles.

Southern California Edison will also lend free induction cooktops to customers who are renters or homeowners.

Many city utilities also have rebates and lending programs for induction stoves and other appliances, including Burbank, Santa Monica, and Pasadena.

As for federal funding, the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act has awarded the state of California more than $580 million to help renters, homeowners and businesses transition to cleaner technology, including induction stoves, heat pumps and solar and storage. However, the state is still in the process of launching that program. The instant rebate program will be rolled out in phases, and is expected to launch this fall. You can stay updated on the process and submit public comments here.

You can also consider purchasing a single or double burner standalone induction cooktop, or “hob.” You can find those for around $100.

For more breakdown on available financial incentives, read our LAist guide. You can also read more of our efficient appliance coverage below:

• Want To Cut Your Bills And Fight Climate Change? Dump Your AC And Buy A Heat Pump
• Why Switching To A Heat Pump Water Heater Matters For Your Pocket and the Planet