Portable induction table top hob vs. trad. electric cooker

rbelcham

Here's my conundrum...

We have a traditional electric cooker (hob and oven combined) - it's a range style cooker.

We mainly cook on the hob during the week - pasta, sauces, curries etc.

Would I cut down my electricity bill by getting a portable induction cooker (like the Kenwood IH100) and using that instead of the main cooker?

phill99

If your elec bill is high you need to look at a wide range of things. Figures show that the biggest electrtical appliance in the home is the immersion heater. Maybe you could look at gas heating of your water, insulate your tank or go on to Economy 7 perhaps? You could turn the thermostat down on the immersion (but not below 55 degrees c as this temp is needed to kill bacteria). Have you gone over to low energy light bulbs and are you and your family discplined to make sure appliances, lights etc are properly turned off when not being used? Can you use natural warmth to dry your clothes (ie hanging them outside) instead of the tumble drier? In terms of your cooking are you getting the best value from the way you cook. Ie do you use a steamer so that one ring will cook potatoes and veg at once? Do you always make sure lids are on saucepans so that the heat is retained? Do you optimise the oven when it is being used ie roast meat and do roast veg as well? I'm not sure an indection hob will save much and you will have to do a lot of cooking to recoup the initial cost. Slow cookers are very cost effective in terms of elec and produce some excellent meals.

rbelcham

Thanks Phil99.

We're pretty lucky to live in a rural area, which means we're on oil central heating, so can't make any dual fuel savings with the utility companies. We don't use the immersion heater at all, because we're in such a hard water area the elements only last about 12-18 months so it's not worth it.

We're pretty energy conscious - all energy saving light bulbs, nothing on standby etc etc - we also use a slow cooker too. I was just wondering if we could cut things down even more. Just being stingy really. For example, if we did a pasta sauce in the slow cooker, would it be more economical to cook the pasta on the hob or on an induction cooker? Or are the differences negligible.

I discounted the original cost as I have been given some vouchers which I could use to buy the induction cooker....

ic

I would have thought that the cost of buying the induction hob would far outweigh any savings made by using it. Induction hobs are still high powered, at up to 3Kw per ring, the same as other electric tops. I'm waiting for delivery of my own new induction hob, and one thing I had noticed was that ovens are sold with energy ratings, hobs aren't. Also don't forget that most pans don't work with induction hobs, so you may also need buy new pans too!

knightstyle

Main problem we have had with an induction hob is controling it, it heats up quickly but to simmer is not that easy, you have to vary the setting to suit saucepan size and contents. Plus we can't use thin pans such as a jam pan.

fitshase

We bought an induction hob when fitting out our new kitchen (it was part of a kit with an oven). It is absolutely fantastic. Each ring has 9 increment settings and changing between them is instantaneous (i.e., I can set the highest setting to bring something to the boil, turn it down to simmer and it works amazingly).

The induction hobs are more efficient than normal ones as they do not lose energy through wasted heat. They cause the pan to heat up while keeping the hob surface mildly warm and the "heat" is instantaneous.

I would never go back to another kind of hob now.