Electrification for Health

Electrification for Health Program

Burning fossil fuels releases pollutants that increase the risk of asthma, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. Every day, millions of people are exposed to this toxic air pollution not only outdoors, but indoors when used for cooking, heating, and meeting other daily needs. And people spend 90% of their time indoors, on average.

Transitioning from gas to electricity can significantly reduce indoor and outdoor air pollution, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improve human health. Despite these benefits, adoption remains slow due to barriers that include cost, limited awareness, and policy gaps.

The Electrification for Health Program seeks to closes this gap by accelerating the shift to clean electric systems, particularly appliances, that power everyday life, to improve health and reduce climate pollution.

Vision

Clean air and power for all.

Mission

To protect human health through clean electric systems that reduce air pollution indoors and outdoors and meet people’s energy needs.

Approach

Achieving this transition requires more than technology. It requires research, policy and people.

Research
- We generate rigorous, interdisciplinary research and communicate it clearly to strengthen public understanding.
Policy
- We turn evidence into action - by engaging with decision-makers and informing public policy that supports access to clean electric systems.
Partnerships
- We build cross-sector collaborations and conduct community-engaged research with health experts, engineers, policymakers, and communities.

Accelerating electrification is one of the fastest, most effective ways to protect health and reduce climate pollution.

People

The interdisciplinary program unites experts across Stanford’s Stanford Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Law and Sustainability, and the Woods Institute for the Environment.

Rob Jackson, Faculty Director

Brady Seals, Director

Fiona Mooney, Research Assistant

Adam Boies, Stanford School of Engineering

Allison Phillips, Center for Human and Planetary Health

Kari Nadeau, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Lisa Patel, Stanford School of Medicine

Steve Luby, Stanford School of Medicine

We also collaborate with external partners, from community groups to government agencies, to accelerate electrification in practice, not just in theory.

Funders

The program was founded in late 2025 by a gift of prize money from Sally and Rob Jackson, with matching gift funds from the Stanford Doerr School for Sustainability.

"I was fortunate to win the 2025 Blue Planet Prize,” said Rob Jackson, Faculty Director of the Electrification for Health Program. “Donating the prize funds to found a new Electrification for Health program felt like the perfect way to honor the spirit of the award for the benefit of all."

The first external awards for the program include a grant from the Wellcome Trust and support from additional funders.

Current Focus Areas

Health and outdoor air quality modeling of residential and commercial buildings to help inform U.S. state and regional policies related to furnace and water heater standards.
Partnership building and convening as tools for accelerating electrification policies and electric appliance adoption.
Research on indoor gas-powered space heaters as an understudied source of indoor air pollution.
Education and awareness about the benefits of electrification targeting policymakers, health professionals, and the general public.
Supporting community (citizen) science efforts on indoor air quality testing.

New Projects

Particle X: Ultrafines: Tiny ultrafine particles travel deep into the lungs and bloodstream, yet remain unregulated despite growing evidence of harm. This project identifies and measures which particles and sources are most harmful to better guide future protections.

Potential Future Work

From Sensors to Symptoms: Many asthma triggers are indoors, yet they often go unmeasured. Using sensors and smart inhalers, the project could track pollution in real time and connect it to asthma symptoms - making hidden risks visible and actionable.
Safer Cooling for a Warming World: Cooling systems, including heat pumps, rely on refrigerants (chemicals) that can harm the climate and potentially human health if they leak. This project measures real-world leaks from air conditioners and heat pumps and evaluates safer alternatives to inform better heating and cooling policies.
Household Electrification Roadmap: More than 2 billion people still cook with polluting fuels like wood and charcoal. This project will identify where electric cooking can scale fastest by assessing infrastructure, costs, and readiness across countries to guide future action.

Select Publications

Kashtan et al. 2025. “Integrating indoor and outdoor nitrogen dioxide exposures in US homes nationally by ZIP code”
Kashtan et al. 2024. “Nitrogen dioxide exposure, health outcomes, and associated demographic disparities due to gas and propane combustion by U.S. stoves”
Kashtan et al. 2023. “Gas and Propane Combustion from Stoves Emits Benzene and Increases Indoor Air Pollution”
Garg et al. 2025 “Exposure and health risks of benzene from combustion by gas stoves: A modelling approach in U.S. homes”.
Lebel et al. 2022. “Methane and NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Stoves, Cooktops, and Ovens in Residential Homes”
Gruenwald et al. 2022. “Population Attributable Fraction of Gas Stoves and Childhood Asthma in the United States”