Induction vs Gas Hob?

Raitken70

Four-hob portable Induction set costs about £100 so maybe handy back up in case of any supply issues for gas? Not  a historic problem but with potential current geo-political impact on gas supply, who knows? Though more likely to be an issue for mainland Europe than UK.

matelodave

One thing that's really difficult to do with an induction hob is to cause a fire, unless you really overheat a pan. Whereas the naked flame from a gas hob can ignite any combustible object it comes into contact with, like clothing, your hair or even cooking oil.

It's also impossible to have a gas leak with the resultant possibility of an explosion. Pretty rare I'd grant you but not unheard of. The hob power also shuts down when a pan is removed unlike a gas hob

In the end, like most things, we've all got our favourites and there are many who will promulgate hearsay without any first hand knowledge. As I said, we've tried them all and induction beats them all, hands down, except if there's a power cut where gas usually keeps going.

You don't have to spend silly money on pans despite what some people say and as said above you can get a single plate hob for not a lot of money. If you really want to keep your old aluminium pans then you can even use one of these between the pan and the hob - https://www.amazon.co.uk/induction-plates/s?k=induction+plates

Ultrasonic

If trying to save on energy bills is the main driver here then bear in mind that hob use is likely to make up a tiny proportion of total energy use no matter what choice is made. Unless you run a restaurant I guess!

Uxb1

Try and find out (next to impossible probably) what the idle consumption of the induction hob is.

When the gas controls are all off on a cooker you are using no gas - but when the controls on an induction hob are off you will certainly still be using electric unless you switch the entire unit off at the wall isolator (if such one exists)

They are difficult to use with a wok I'm told and I can see why - as soon as you lift off the pan from the surface it switches off

matelodave

This bloke rambles on a bit but it does help you understand which is most efficient (and BTW its an induction hob) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c

ispookie666

Long term induction user, but if given a choice - I'd go back to gas 

Induction is fantastic - quick to heat up, boil and cleaning is very very easy,  but had its downsides, especially with large pans or crepe pans (cast iron types) and have struggled with steak (probably my cooking skills!).  
When its cold, inefficient gas does provide space heating

Zandoni

We love our induction, as controllable as gas and so easy to clean.

You have to ensure that your pans contain iron in some form to make them compatible which is very easy to do now.

Leodogger

I have an electric hob and it is a nightmare, it constantly switches off when it gets to temperature and then switches back on about 10 seconds later, so things "on the boil" stop boiling and have to be brought back up to the boiling point so I fail to see how these electric hobs save money !

mmmmikey

Leodogger said:

I have an electric hob and it is a nightmare, it constantly switches off when it gets to temperature and then switches back on about 10 seconds later, so things "on the boil" stop boiling and have to be brought back up to the boiling point so I fail to see how these electric hobs save money !

My expensive Zanussi electric double oven with induction hob lasted for 4 years before the hob packed in. It cost far less to buy a simple, conventional gas cooker than to repair the Zanussi, which I did about a year ago. Energy efficient the hob might be but it certainly wasn't either a money saving or green given the short lifespan of the thing. Gas for me anytime - I much prefer the controllability of the hob and also the oven gets hotter at the top which makes it great for cooking a Sunday roast. Also, on a time of use tariff, the electric hob uses expensive peak rate electricity at dinner time which closes the gap between electricity and gas costs.

debitcardmayhem

Leodogger said:

I have an electric hob and it is a nightmare, it constantly switches off when it gets to temperature and then switches back on about 10 seconds later, so things "on the boil" stop boiling and have to be brought back up to the boiling point so I fail to see how these electric hobs save money !

My induction hob doesn’t exhibit those tendencies, if I set it for simmering it does just that, if set for a rolling boil it never drops below boiling point.