Powering the shift: A pathway for transitioning to electric cooking in the UK

Clean Air

In partnership with CLASP, Global Action Plan have developed a policy pathway for transitioning from gas to electric cooking in the UK and have conducted a social housing cooking retrofit pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of these policies.

Gas cooking is a major, often-overlooked source of indoor air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the home, posing risks to both human health and the planet:

Health: Cooking on gas releases harmful gases, such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as the known human carcinogen benzene. Exposure to air pollution from gas cooking is linked to a range of health conditions including asthma, heart and lung disease, and cancer.
Environment: Gas is a fossil fuel, and cooking with it produces greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide and methane, even when the hob isn’t in use. Gas hobs and ovens are also less efficient than electric alternatives, contributing to increased household energy consumption.

Transitioning from gas to electric cooking across the UK will improve public health through better air quality, as well as reduce household emissions and, over time, bring costs down for families and the wider healthcare system.

Government support is essential to unlock the benefits of electric cooking and make cleaner and more efficient cooking a reality for everyone. Download key resources below or continue reading to find out more.

"When this scheme came along I thought why not try it, and I'm so glad I did, it is better than the gas."
- Project participant

Policy pathway Executive summary
Local authority checklist Case study

A gas to electric retrofit in social housing

Global Action Plan ran a pilot project in early 2025 to demonstrate how local authorities can conduct social housing retrofits and support households in transitioning to healthier, cleaner and more efficient induction cooking appliances.

In partnership with CLASP, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Southway Housing, along with the support of Beko, B&Q and Electrolux, we removed gas cookers from ten social housing properties in Manchester. We replaced them with new electric ovens and induction hobs to gain practical insights for supporting the delivery of future cooking retrofit projects across the UK. The households selected for this pilot had previously taken part in a home heating retrofit, so switching to electric cookers was the final step toward fully decarbonising these properties.

We carried out in-depth surveys and interviews with the residents before and after the retrofit to capture their first-hand experiences, exploring everything from the transition process to how they’ve adapted to using their new electric cookers. We also measured the air quality inside the properties before and after installation.

See how the households experienced the switch to electric cooking:

Residents of Southway Housing tell us about the experience of having their gas cookers replaced with electric

100% of households involved in our pilot project prefer their new induction hobs to their previous gas hobs.
85% of participating households found the transition from gas to electric cooking equipment easy or very easy.
Awareness of the air quality impacts of gas cooking rose from 40% to 100% among the households who took part in the pilot project.

Michelin-star chef Tom Shepherd visited some of the households involved in the pilot to chat to them about their experiences and show them how to get the most out of their new electric cookers.

Find out what happened in the video:

Chef Tom Shepherd visits homes to demonstrate cooking with electric rather than gas

Farrah

Case study:

Farrah and her son both have asthma, and she found that her asthma got worse when she was cooking on her gas hob for long periods of time – often having to take a break and use her inhaler.

Gas cooking produces nitrogen dioxide air pollution, which research links to increased severity of asthma symptoms and the development of asthma in children.

Since her gas cooker has been removed and replaced with an induction hob, Farrah has noticed that it’s much easier for her to breathe while cooking. 

"The gas used to make smells and used to irritate my lungs, and I think with the induction it’s better. I really enjoy it. It's good and it's quick and easy.”

Research has found that levels of nitrogen dioxide air pollution are on average almost twice as high in homes that cook on gas, compared to those that use electric appliances.

Case study:

June was initially quite attached to her gas hob – it’s all she’s ever used since moving into her first home.

June was initially hesitant about using a new technology and struggled with the touchscreen display on the induction hob. However, once she was shown how to navigate it, she quickly adapted and now finds her hob easy to use and clean.

“It's been a godsend - I've got arthritis, so I need things to be a bit easier.”

Case study:

Stacie, who lives with her two children, was always worried about the safety of her youngest child around the gas cooker. To keep her children safe, she used baby gates to keep them out of the kitchen.

Since switching to induction, she feels much safer having her children in the kitchen and is relieved to have removed gas from her home, reducing risks like gas leaks.

“It’s a lot safer with the little one…with the gas cooker, she could go in and and just turn the knob and that would release gas into the kitchen. Kids get inquisitive and they start playing with things that they shouldn't, and she was playing with the ignition sometimes. Obviously, there's no risk of that now, and [it’s good] that [the induction hob] doesn't get hot to touch as well.”

How local authorities can help communities transition to electric cooking

Based on insights from this pilot project, we have developed a guide to support local authorities who want to carry out a social housing cooking retrofit project in their local area.

"We hope what’s happening here in the trial and the few homes that have had the conversions can be rolled out across Greater Manchester more broadly to really improve indoor air quality, and hopefully more widely across the country as a whole as well.”

- Rory Mathews, Senior Policy and Partnerships Officer (Low Carbon), Greater Manchester Combined Authority

From planning the retrofit through to engaging households, this checklist will help you to unlock the benefits of electric cooking for your communities. Download it now:

An old gas cooker being removed from a house by two men in high vis vests

Local authority checklist guide Retrofit methodology Baseline survey Follow-up survey

Plotting a path towards electric cooking in the UK

As the UK works towards a net zero future, a managed transition from gas to electric cooking in homes across the UK could deliver a range of benefits – including improved air quality and public health, reduced household emissions and household energy bills in the long term.

There are a range of challenges that policy interventions should address to enable the UK to transition towards electric cooking, from low public awareness of the health impacts of gas cooking to cooking being excluded from existing home decarbonisation schemes.

Applying insights from academic research, policy analysis and real-world industry practise, we have developed a policy pathway for the transition to electric cooking in the UK.