If your restaurant kitchen could do with some new equipment for cooking, you may want to look at a situation that is becoming increasingly important, especially in certain cities. Gas cooking equipment like stoves and ovens produce nitrogen oxide and contribute to poor air quality, and some cities are now outright banning gas appliances in new construction. For restaurant owners in these places, that means that after a certain year, all the equipment they have has to be electric and not gas-based. Even if you're not in these cities, the idea of reducing poor air quality by switching equipment-fuel types can be attractive. So, is this the time when you should convert your kitchen and get all-electric restaurant equipment?
Emissions, Leaks, Fumes, and Fires
If you want to eliminate the pollution that gas equipment can emit, then you would want to replace your gas kitchen equipment with electric equipment. Gas equipment like stoves can also leak gas, create fumes, and lead to fires. While electric has its risks, too, it's not as blatantly risky as gas.
No Guesswork With Gas
A point against switching to electric appliances and equipment, however, is that the lack of visual clues in electric cooking makes it harder to control the heat. The burner takes time to warm up, and while you can eventually figure out how hot a burner gets, it's still a matter of guesswork. With gas, there's no guessing. You see the size of the burner flames and know exactly how much heat there is.
Try Adding Electric for the Time Being
There's no doubt that there are some disadvantages to using gas, but so much cooking is based on a chef's knowledge of how the gas flame affects the pans and food that making a sudden and total replacement may be too disruptive. Not only would cooking times and techniques have to be adjusted, but the conversion from gas piping to electric wiring may take days. That's not good for business. Instead, you may want to consider keeping your gas equipment for now and adding electric versions. That way, wiring can be added gradually without stopping the restaurant from functioning. Add in an electric stove and see what you can cook on that. If you're interested in converting most or all of your cooking and heating to electric, this gives you a chance to adjust at your own pace. Gas stoves would still be available for cooks who couldn't adjust or for recipes that really needed control over the heating, while electric burners would be available for recipes that didn't require gas cooking.
Depending on where you're located, the availability of gas-run equipment could change within the next few years. Adding electric-run equipment now could very well be necessary. For those in places that are not banning gas equipment, adding electric stoves and ovens can still reduce emissions. And every little bit helps when you're trying to cut down on pollution.