What to Consider Before Purchasing An Induction Cooktop

If you’re in the market for a range or cooktop upgrade, chances are you have come across the option of an induction range. Induction ranges have become increasingly popular for homeowners due to its physical modern appeal and many functional benefits, including energy efficiency and allowing for a safer cooking environment for both children and pets. Induction ranges stand out from traditional ranges because of their unique cooktop surface and cooking method.

How does it work?

Induction ranges use electromagnetism technology to heat up your pots and pans on the cooktop. This technology heats much faster than traditional stoves - able to bring a pot of water to a boil 2-4 minutes faster. The power and precision of this are due to the electromagnetic field below the surface that transfers the electricity directly to the pan. To create this reaction, the stovetop needs to interact with specific cookware with a stainless steel magnetic or cast iron material. If the burner is turned on and neither of these materials is on the stovetop, it will not heat up.

Benefits of Induction

Energy Efficient

Since induction ranges use this technology, it will only use energy to heat up the cookware and food inside, creating a faster and more convenient cooking experience. While improving your timeframe with meal prepping, you’re also improving the environment with this feature.

Safety

Gas and electric stoves have the danger of an open flame, gas leaks, and more that can be potentially life-threatening for your household and guests. With an induction range, these worries go away. You can even place your hand on the stovetop without the worry of burning yourself. For households with children or pets running around, this benefit is especially important.

Easy to Clean

The seamless glass surface allows for easy cleaning, with just a swipe of a towel. With this added convenience, there’s no need to take apart cast iron grills, get between the nooks and crannies of each gas burner, etc. This makes for a much more enjoyable cooking and cleaning experience.

Aesthetics

The seamless, black surface of an induction range has a sophisticated and sleek appeal, giving any kitchen a beautiful modern upgrade. This is sure to impress your dinner guests while entertaining!

Drawbacks of Induction

Since induction range technology is newer to the kitchen industry, they are typically more expensive than the average gas range. If you decide an induction range is the best fit for your kitchen, be willing to spend the extra buck.

Specific Cookware Is Needed

As mentioned above, specific cookware including magnetic stainless steel or cast iron is needed to operate the induction cooktop. This means the common cookware with the material of copper, glass, etc. is deemed useless when using on this cooktop. To test if your pots and pans can be used with this technology, you can place a magnet at the bottom of the kitchenware and see if it pulls to it and/or sticks. If it is magnetized to the cookware, it is compatible with the induction cooktop. When shopping for induction cookware, look for the induction symbol on the packaging. Many manufacturers are beginning to include this on induction-approved cookware.

Not Power Outage Compatible

Many homeowners look for the practical feature of being able to manually light their cooktop in the case of a power outage. In the event of a power outage, your induction range would not work.

Higher Decibel Rating

Some homeowners have stated that the induction cooktop makes a noise when operating on higher heat settings. However, you can combat this by using lighter weight stainless steel magnetic cookware.

For any major appliance upgrade, it’s important to assess all factors and features and decide based what works best for your household. There’s a reason why induction ranges have become increasingly popular amongst homeowners, and our team at Appliance Educator certainly puts our stamp of approval on this modern and professional cooking upgrade!

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