New Cooker, Gas or Electric?

jonnydeppiwish!

For me it will be electric oven and induction hob as we intend to disconnect the gas supply to property. I think we worked out we could offset the savings on daily charges against solar (not much but every little helps!).

WhoisDannie

The gas pipe to the gas cooker supply was upgraded when I got new gas central heating and the electric supply is a separate switched supply for an electric cooker 

Eldi_Dos

CliveOfIndia said:

It's personal preference, really (assuming you have both gas and electricity available).  My preference has always been an electric oven with a gas hob.  Professional kitchens always have gas hobs, so there must be a reason !

That may have been the case previously, but when professional kitchens have refurbishment done nowadays many are opting for induction hobs.
Apart from the improved working environment for staff it is good advertising being able to say that their electricity is ethically sourced, in a industry where image is important it can give them a edge over competitors.

Albermarle

CapricornLass said:

It's your personal choice at the end of the day.  I didn't go for gas because I burnt boiled water on it - I had been brought up in the country and the only choices available were solid fuel, calor gas and electric, and electric was what I was used to.  DS1, on the other hand had his gas hob changed to electric by his landlord, and he would go back to a gas hob tomorrow if he could.

I also have an induction hob on my stove.  It's my second induction stove in 12 years, and I had a ceramic hob before that.  Both are good, but induction is faster and uses less electric than a ceramic.  Its also fairly instant, whereas I could cook on residual heat with a ceramic stove.  All my electric stoves, regardless of what they were, had their own dedicated circuit. and most houses have one of these installed in the kitchen when they are built.  I think their amperage is a higher rating than the normal 13 amp.  Its worth having a quiet rootle in your kitchen to see if you have one, because if you do, then it means that a far greater choice of electric stove is available to you if you decide to go this route.

Although the OP has now said they have a 'Cooker circuit' it is worth saying that there are a few normal size/power fan ovens that you can just plug in to a normal 13A plug. We have a Bosch oven like this.
In fact when choosing a cooker you need to check the details to see what the connection is, so it suits your set up. 

macman

If you mean a freestanding cooker, then the choice of those with induction hobs is very limited. AEG and Zanussi are about the only ones left in the market.
If electric, induction is a must. But gas will of course be much cheaper to run.

FFHillbilly

CliveOfIndia said:

Professional kitchens always have gas hobs, so there must be a reason !

the reasons are available power and running costs, you can get 30kw commercial gas hobs, I've never seen equivalent powered electric hobs but even if they were available they would be difficult/expensive to install, anything above 10kw you really need  3phase which not everywhere has. also they are used for a lot more time in commercial applications as the lower unit price of gas makes it a better deal vs electric
I think for domestic you can't beat induction, super easy to keep clean, very responsive, most have built in timers (mechanical gas ones don't). only thing they can't do as well as a gas hob is a stir fry using a wok, but I have found a sautee pan to be the next best alternative. I know they sell induction woks but they don't work, the sides don't get hot enough. I've tried 2 and none of them come close

Eldi_Dos

We just use stainless steel Paella pan for stirfry,works ok and can go on table for serving.

Oh_Baubles

Gas. Far cheaper than lekkie and so easy to control. Plus you won't have to fork out for new pans like you would for induction. It is interesting to note that all the comparison sites compare an air fryer with an electric hob to prove it is cheaper. I have not managed to find one comparing it to a gas hob. No doubt because it would show gas to be far cheaper!

jimi_man

I've used gas, normal electric and induction. Gas is the easy choice if you enjoy cooking and want easy and effective control. Do not go for induction, you'll regret it. A nice idea which was totally ruined by the user interface. Instead of having a dial to control each 'ring', which would actually make induction an acceptable - but not better - alternative to gas, someone saw fit to make the most irritating and nonuserfriendly control surface. On the ones that I've used and have seen in the shops, you have to first switch it on, then select the ring that you want then press either the '+' or the '-' to increase/decrease the power. So when you want to turn it down quickly you have to think which one you want, then repeatedly press the minus button on the (not very) touch sensitive buttons. Any water around your fingers then good luck!

If you enjoy wok cooking then induction is a complete no no, as not only does it not get anywhere near hot enough, you have to have a flat bottomed wok (????) and using the wok normally (as in 'wok tossing') is not possible as every time you lift it up it disconnects with the induction ring. (Tbh a lot of gas hobs also don't get hot enough but at least you can move them around to give some semblance of control. And you can use a round bottomed wok and the sides get hotter than with induction).

As far as I can see the major attraction is that they are easy to clean, (undoubtedly), and they are quicker to boil water than a kettle. Again true, however  once the water has boiled then the cooking time of whatever it is remains exactly the same no matter what energy source is used. We are only talking a few seconds and if time is that much of an issue then get a microwave meal. I struggle to see any other benefits as the control aspect is worse than the old electric cookers. 

As someone said it depends on your cooking preference. If you're a 'set and forget' style of cook who does pretty much the same stuff, then it will probably be ok to get induction - if you can live with the stupid interface. But if you enjoy a range of cooking styles and use a range of cooking pots (we have some aluminium pans, as well as non metal casserole dishes) then you'll hate induction. I'd never go back to induction unless the house we buy doesn't have it, in which case I'd give serious thought to installing a gas bottle/hob affair.

If they came up with a better system for controlling induction then I'd be more inclined to accept it if there was no other alternative. Sadly mechanical dials costs money. 

It's also far cheaper (in cost rather than energy) to use gas. 

silvercar

 On the ones that I've used and have seen in the shops, you have to first switch it on, then select the ring that you want then press either the '+' or the '-' to increase/decrease the power. So when you want to turn it down quickly you have to think which one you want, then repeatedly press the minus button on the (not very) touch sensitive buttons.

On my Neff induction, switch it on and it detects which ring has a pan in place. One press of the + and it sets the temp at the max, one press of the - and it sets the temp at the half way point. 

I had been a gas hob user for 20+ years until having my induction hob fitted a few months ago.