Ceramic HOB V Induction HOB

Ljmscooter

Hi,

looking to replace / upgrade some appliances, as part of a whole house revamp for cost savings and efficiency.

Wondering on opinions of the cost savings of induction versus traditional electric hob, if any one has comments.

Alun

Induction hob all the way, they're a completely different animal to the traditional ceramic hob.

As far as efficiency goes, the thing about induction hobs is that a much greater percentage of the energy input goes into heating the pan itself rather than heating the ring itself and the surrounding air, so by definition it's more efficient.

However the biggest difference is that they're infinitely more controllable than a normal electric hob, ceramic or otherwise. Traditional and ceramic hobs have a much greater thermal mass, so when you turn them down they remain hot and take a long time to cool down, so if something's boiling over and you turn them down, nothing happens for quite a while. With an induction hob, when you turn them down, the effect is instantaneous, and also seeing as the ring itself doesn't get anywhere near as hot as on a traditional hob (it's only really heat conducted back to the area under the pan from the pan itself) anything that does overflow onto the hob doesn't burn. If you have a pan on a ring you can even put your hand on the hob right up next to the edge of the pan and you'll hardly feel a thing.

https://hobguide.com/induction-vs-ceramic-hob-running-costs/

magicbastarder

second vote for induction; for reasons mentioned above. we have a 15 or 20 year old induction hob and it's so much better to use than the one on my parent's new cooker.

just bear in mind that some of your pots and pans may not work on an induction hob.

Ljmscooter

Thanks both

BraveDonut

You can buy a plate to put under any non-induction pots and pans.

glen123

I had traditional one and switched to induction one and love it. It heats the contents but not the actual pot. I find the water boils quicker for example. Also when you are reducing the heat it reacts instantly, like what you get with the gas. It's cheaper to run too.

Only thing would be that not all pots work with it. I bought one that said Induction on it and still didn't work for some reason. Otherwise they are definitely better than ceramic ones.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121350524#Comment_121350524

true, but it reintroduces some of the drawbacks of traditional hobs. you need to get that plate extremely hot for it to work.

Alun

It's easy to check your existing pans. Either look on the bottom and there'll be a symbol to indicate compatibility, either the word Induction, or a coil shaped symbol, or else just get a magnet and see if it sticks firmly to the base. If it does you're good to go. Stainless steel pans that have a separate ferromagnetic base attached to the bottom are OK as are any cast iron pots like Le Creuset or similar. Most roasting tins are OK too if you need to brown something in it or de-glaze the tin, but be careful as the thin bases on these heat up extremely quickly.

On that note, one thing you'll have to be careful with is making sure you don't heat up empty pans on too high a setting. I once accidentally left a pan on a ring with nothing in it on high, thinking I was boiling some water, walked away, and after a very short time the base of the pan actually got so hot it separated from the rest of the pan!