Food is an essential part of our lives. The ability to cook that food is just as essential. Food born illnesses abound and can have detrimental health effects so cooking foods to the correct internal temperature becomes a necessity.

Enter the Range. The Range allows us to cook everything from simple things like biscuits from a can to elaborate multi-course meals. Ranges come in a variety of shapes and sizes but knowing which one suits your needs can prove to be problematic with so many choices on the market. If you live in a small house or apartment you may be limited in space but some brands, such as GE, make a smaller range measuring only 24 or 27 inches compared to the standard 30″. If the size of the range isn’t a big thing for you then you would need to look at other aspects of the range such as traditional knobs vs. push buttons or even touch screen and smart technologies.

You may have other deciding factors besides space and choice of knobs/buttons. One such factor is the cost to operate. If you live in a region that has higher propane or liquid natural gas costs but lower electrical costs then it would be prudent to consider an electric range. There are also health concerns and environmental impacts to consider. A study published Jan. 27, 2022 by Stanford University stated, “Natural gas stoves release methane – a potent greenhouse gas – and other pollutants through leaks and incomplete combustion. Stanford researchers estimate that methane leaking from stoves inside U.S. homes has the same climate impact as about 500,000 gasoline-powered cars and the stoves can expose people to respiratory disease-triggering pollutants.”

We break down the pros and cons of the different types of ranges in two separate articles where we compare multiple electric and gas ranges respectively.