Induction hobs are very different to all the other hobs on the market, as they directly heat the pan and not the hob ring. When you turn on an induction hob, a magnetic field underneath the surface is activated. When you place a pan on the hob, the circuit is completed and the base of the pan gets heated. This is why induction cooking is so fast and efficient. All other hobs heat the ring, which then heats the pan, which then heats the food. But with induction, a whole step is taken out of the process.
Advantages of Induction
1. Speed
As we’ve just touched on, induction is the fastest cooking method available on the market. It’s significantly faster than gas and can even beat a kettle when boiling a small amount of water!
2. Responsiveness
We’ve all been there. You’re cooking pasta in some boiling water with the lid askew, you turn away for two minutes and before you know it your hob is covered with water! Since induction heats the pan directly, as soon as you turn that heat down or up the effect is almost immediate. Induction more than rivals gas for precision and responsiveness.
3. Energy Efficiency
We’ve all heard the phrase “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”. This saying alludes to the fact that there is so much wasted heat with gas appliances. The flame doesn’t just heat the pan or even just the ring but everything around it. You have a similar situation with ceramic and solid plate hobs too as once the ring is heated, it takes a very long time to cool down.
With induction though, you’re only heating the pan. You can place your hand right next to the saucepan and won’t get burned. In the showroom we did an experiment with a frying pan cut in half.
As you can see, half the egg in the frying pan is cooking away nicely but the half on the hob is absolutely stone cold! This means that you will only ever use as much energy as you need to heat your food and a much smaller amount of energy is wasted. This isn’t just good for the environment, but it’s good news for your wallet too!
4. Easy to Clean
As induction hobs are a flat surface, they are very easy to clean. All you need is some soapy water and a cloth. Job done!
5. Ease of Use
Induction is incredibly easy to use – you simply select the power level you require at the touch of the button. Plus, if you invest in a flexinduction hob you don’t even have to put your pans on the rings. Let me explain. With a flexinduction or zoneless hob, you can activate the whole surface. This means you can place your pans, griddles, teppan yakis and even kettles anywhere at all on the surface of the hob and they’ll heat up perfectly.
Disadvantages of Induction
1. Cost
Naturally, all this wonderful technology comes at a price which means that induction hobs are currently the most expensive on the market. However, when you weigh this up against the benefits and the potential energy costs, you may end up agreeing with the thousands of our customers who believe that it’s worth the extra money.
2. Pans
Yes, you do need to have a compatible pan set for induction. However, your pan set may already be suitable for use with induction if it’s made from magnetic stainless steel or cast iron.
3. Installation
Most induction hobs do have a specific electrical requirement, and you will need to hire an electrician to install the hob. They need to be connection to a suitable 6mm cable with a 31 amp breaker, or a 10mm cable with a 45 amp breaker (providing the isolator switch does not incorporate a 13 amp socket).
Conclusion
Induction really is the best heating method on the market at the moment but all this technology does mean that you will need to pay a little bit extra for it. That being said, the energy and time savings could mean that the extra expense will easily pay for itself over the lifetime of the hob.
You can view all the induction hobs we sell from top manufacturers like Neff on our website.