Any problems with Induction Hobs?

silmer

How about consumption compared to gas?

irishcol

silmer wrote: »

How about consumption compared to gas?

Well, induction hobs definitely use less gas than a gas hob!
But they use more electricity, obviously.

If you want a proper answer:
An induction hob will heat up quicker than a gas hob, so you should use fewer kWh of electricity compared to the kWh of gas you'd use for the same amount of cooking. Costwise, it depends on your tariff, but generally gas is cheaper than electric.

Unless your house is mega-efficient, I suspect most people will find that energy consumption for cooking on the hob is only a tiny percentage of their monthly bills, compared to heating, hot water etc.

I wouldn't recommend buying one of other type of hob to save money on your bills - you should decide based on the convenience of the cooking method, together with overall cost - including any changes to your kitchen utility supplies (e.g. a typical induction hob will need a 7.5kW supply)

markdavey

You should also note that induction hobs heat the Pans directly so there is no loss of heat into the room as with Gas.

drzeus

It's definitely more efficient on paper at least, I haven't actually measured what our single ring one uses (but I always unplug it after use because it has a faint hum so must be using some power - but this is Lidl el cheapo unit so not expecting great things).

As for practical efficiency, we rented a flat in Lisbon a couple of years ago and they had a full induction hob ... I was already convinced by the technology, there I fell in love with the practicality. Lisbon gets hot, where I live gets hot. The last thing you need is a hob that gets hot too. Since buying the single ring unit I have not used the conventional solid hot plates on my old free standing cooker. I'm in love! Forgive me!

For me, the fact that heat is produced only where you need it (the pot) is THE selling point. Take off pot, some heat remains in the glass hob of course, but nothing like the heat a solid or ordinary ceramic hob continues to put out for the next hour.

I just hope the one I am planning on getting (NEFF T44T43) will be reliable. I think still at the moment the reliability issue (assoiated with power spikes, overheating etc.) is the only downside. Other ones about having to change your pots, noisy pots (usually beause the pot is poor quality or of several layers) etc. are just slight annoyances or myths (watches going crazy etc., my watch is quartz and works just fine whilst I cook).

Fred_Bear_2

We purchased a Belling FSE60i induction cooker six weeks ago to replace a gas cooker. I expected a jump in our electricity consumption but surprisingly have detected no increase (Impossible I know.) I intend to connect a meter in the cooker circuit soon to measure the actual consumption. However I can confirm that the induction system is very efficient.

BTW Mrs Bear loves her new cooker so much that I have slipped down to 4th place in her affections:
1st. DD
2nd. Induction cooker
3rd. Cat
4th. Me

lindos90

Fred_Bear wrote: »

We purchased a Belling FSE60i induction cooker six weeks ago to replace a gas cooker. I expected a jump in our electricity consumption but surprisingly have detected no increase (Impossible I know.) I intend to connect a meter in the cooker circuit soon to measure the actual consumption. However I can confirm that the induction system is very efficient.

BTW Mrs Bear loves her new cooker so much that I have slipped down to 4th place in her affections:
1st. DD
2nd. Induction cooker
3rd. Cat
4th. Me

I would agree with this. Others say gas is cheaper than electricity and is a reason for not buying induction, and initially this was my only worry when we considered an induction, however the induction hob is much more efficient, as although leccy might be more expensive per 'unit' or whatever, it only needs to heat directly to the underside of the saucepan, no wasted energy or heat going up around the outside of the pan and into your kitchen! I LOVE my induction hob and wouldnt go back to Gas.

Woody39

Im having a new kitchen fitted in about 6 weeks and need to get new appliances. Having given it much thought I have decided to stick with a gas hob, even though I would love an induction. The reason being is we keep having power cuts. This is now happening on a regular basis and we are without power for quite a few hours. At least with gas you can have a brew! Just need to keep a lighter handy as the ignition doesn't work.

katejo

avantra wrote: »

We are putting a new kitchen in for the next 15-20 years and with that view we decided to go for a good quality Whirpool gas hob.

1. Gas is still cheaper than elec to cook on (this might change in the future).
2. Had an induction hob (Bosch) that after 6 years gave us Errors and other problems.
Yes it's a bit easier to clean but that's not a good enough reason for us to go for induction.

I think if you are going to have your kitchen for a very long time gas is tried and tested, cooking with computers on board will always expose some weakness at some point.

I know that this is a fairly old contribution to the discussion but I noticed it because it reflected my thoughts. I am in the process of choosing a new kitchen. I had only intended going for gas because I have virtually always had a gas hob (occasionally electric for short periods).
I noticed on Which reviews that the induction/ceramic hobs had more best buy awards. JL also had more of these on sale but i still feel inclined to go with what I'm used to and which I know will work well for me.

chickenist

I have just bought a Stoves induction hob and was really looking forward to using it - but this morning I boiled an egg on it - it came to the boil, then boiled for 3 seconds, then the temperature dropped for about 3 seconds, then back up to fast boil, and so on.

Can this be right? The customer services woman said it was regulating the temperature but does this mean a steady simmer is impossible? This was on 6 or 7 power.

Has anyone else had this problem?

aliasojo

chickenist wrote: »

I have just bought a Stoves induction hob and was really looking forward to using it - but this morning I boiled an egg on it - it came to the boil, then boiled for 3 seconds, then the temperature dropped for about 3 seconds, then back up to fast boil, and so on.

Can this be right? The customer services woman said it was regulating the temperature but does this mean a steady simmer is impossible? This was on 6 or 7 power.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Some induction hobs do this, especially the (dare I say it) lower spec brands or models. (Not casting any aspersions on your Stoves purchase, I don't know anything about them, just commenting generally.)

My Lidl single induction does this whereas my Siemens all singing top of the range 5 'ring' hob does not.

Either way, you can still simmer quite successfully, it's just trial and error finding the right setting.