There's a reason restaurants use gas stoves almost exclusively: there are a number of advantages to using a gas range as opposed to an electric range. Although home cooks don't require quite the same performance that a professional chef needs from a stove, they may find that gas stoves are easier to work with and that they produce more dependable results than their electric counterparts. There are an assortment of reasons to opt for gas over electric.
For people concerned about the bottom line, it tends to be cheaper to operate a gas stove, depending on the type of gas used to fuel it and the prevailing prices for gas. Gas stoves tend to be a bit more expensive to buy and install, but people may feel that this is worth it when viewing costs in the long term.
A gas stove offers immensely more control over what is going on at the stove top. When temperature adjustments are made with a gas stove, the stove changes immediately, rather than taking time to heat up or cool off, as is the case with an electric range. For finicky dishes, this level of control can be critical. It's also easy to gauge how much heat a pot or pan is getting by looking at the flame, allowing for more accuracy when working with gas. In addition, electric stoves require specific glass top stove cookware while you can almost use any cookware for gas stoves.
Gas stoves also tend to contribute less to ambient temperatures in the kitchen. After a day of slogging over the stove, the kitchen should not be significantly warmer as a result of lost heat from the stove, a common problem with electric stoves. Gas stoves also work when the power is out, a definite plus for people in regions with unreliable power supplies, and the stove top tends to be cooler than that of an electric stove, reducing the risk of burns.
Historically, gas ovens have been criticized as being slightly less accurate and harder to handle than electric ovens. However, modern gas stoves offer ovens with excellent performance on par with that of an electric oven if not better, and they are often more suitable for tasks like broiling and baking bread. A gas stove/oven combination can take up less space than a separate range and oven.
People who want to make the switch from an electric to a gas stove should consider switching to gas for their hot water heaters and their heating systems. As long as one is going to go to the expense of installing a gas line, it pays to convert several systems at once. Switching to gas for heating can also save a significant amount of money.
