Gas v Electric Cooking

Robin9

Has anyone any comparative running costs for the larger cookers - 6 ring type 90cm wide.?

Use is infrequent - weekly rather than daily.

couriervanman

well gas is cheaper per kwh

matelodave

Most burners of equal size will use around the same amount of energy so it will only use more if you use all six at the same time. If you only use one then it'll use the same energy as one.

Comparing gas with leccy is more complex. Gas is cheaper per kwh but less efficient as it's also heating up the surroundings and producing a lot of water vapour that goes into the atmosphere.

So a 2kw gas burner might use 3-4kw to produce the same amount of heat into the pan as a 2kw electric hotplate. As gas is cheaper than leccy per kwh then it could be argued that gas is cheaper.

Different types of electric hotplate also have their advantages and disadvantages as some are more controllable than others.

The same with ovens, a gas oven has to have plenty of ventilation to let cool combustion air in and the products of combustion out whereas a leccy oven can use all the heat to cook the food. A Gas oven is hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom compared with a leccy oven where the heat is more evenly spread - especially if its a fan oven.Fan ovens cook faster than gas.

Gas is also dirtier and less easy to clean than electric and the condensation produced does spread grease around the kitchen more than leccy does.

So in the end there's probably not a great deal of difference so it's down to preference.

We've had gas, electric (ceramic & halogen) and now electric induction and there's no way we'd ever go back to anything else than induction. It by far the most efficient we've ever had and the easiest to clean by far.

Robin9

Thankyou Matelodave.

One potential issue that's driving me to electric is that of fume extraction. As far as I can tell there's no requirement in the domestic environment but take the same gas cooker into a commercial one eg a pub kitchen there is.

matelodave

Robin9 wrote: »

Thankyou Matelodave.

One potential issue that's driving me to electric is that of fume extraction. As far as I can tell there's no requirement in the domestic environment but take the same gas cooker into a commercial one eg a pub kitchen there is.

We get significantly less condensation and dust/dirt around the kitchen and the cooker hood/extractor doesn't need to be decrudded anywhere near as often as when we had gas.

The hob is still as good as when we installed it eight years ago, food doesn't stick or get burnt on to either it or the pans.It just takes a wipe over with a kitchen towel to pick up the grease and then a damp cloth with polish with a tea towel if you want it nice and shiny.

Having induction does mean that pans have to be induction compatible but they are so much easier to clean (ours are Tesco's Stainless Steel - other are available). It's also the fastest cooker we've ever had in 50 years of marriage.

It's just as fast as the electric kettle to boil a litre of water as all the heat is in the pan. It's also as controllable as gas unlike some of the older electric hotplates - virtually instant response to control settings.

Misslayed

Another vote for induction from me, I've cooked on mains and bottled gas, electric rings, ceramic and halogen hobs and I'm a complete fan of induction. It's just as quick as gas - to heat up and reduce temp, SO easy to clean (nothing ever burns onto it) and you can turn it down so low it acts like a slow cooker. All my pans are from Aldi/Lidl.