Dutch increasingly switching from cooking on gas to electricity

People in the Netherlands increasingly opt for cooking on electric stoves instead of gas ones. Of the hobs that were sold last year, only 27 percent were gas, the other 73 percent were electric. A year earlier 58 percent of hobs sold were electric, according to research by environmental organization Natuur & Milieu, NU.nl reports.

Electric hobs include induction, halogen and ceramic hobs. Induction is the most economical and therefore also the most popular currently. Last year a total of 210,447 electric hobs were sold and 78,338 gas hobs. Dutch have been buying more electric hobs than gas ones since 2016.

"In the kitchen, the switch has happened", Rob van Tilburg of Natuur & Milieu said. "The Dutch opt for electric, natural gas is out. The next step now is heating."

When it comes to buying new heating, gas boilers are still the most popular, though the number of heat pumps sold is on the rise. Sales of heat pumps increased by 27 percent to 108 thousand units last year. These electric pumps extract heat from the air, soil or groundwater to heat homes in a more sustainable way. That emits a lot less CO2. The devices cost thousands of euros and is only effective in well-insulated buildings, but the price can be reduced with a government subsidy. Last year 430 thousand gas boilers were sold in the Netherlands.

According to the environmental organization, the majority of newly built neighborhoods in the Netherlands are now built without connection to the gas network. In the second quarter of this year it was 70 percent. The government's goal is to have all houses and buildings switched to sustainable sources of energy by 2050.