If one compares only stovetops, induction is obviously safer, and none of the statistics you cite isolate stovetop comparisons–and they can’t, because there are not enough induction stovetops in use to make a valid comparison. Your “facts” are a distraction.
Getting back to why there are so few induction units in use–cost and availability. The consumer seldom has induction available as a cost effective option. If the consumer is renting, something else is already installed. A switch to induction also involves new expenses for magnetic pots and pans. Then there’s the “exotic” factor: something new and “out there” to learn.
Despite these factors, I believe induction is catching on–especially through the use of portable units at home–and as new additions to commercial cooking.
You mean it’s not aluminum? I went on the website but it wasn’t easy to confirm the composition. And it used to be made of aluminum. Didn’t the AL in TeFAL stand for aluminum?
I disagree with you Ray. We’re talking about a high current draw appliance. That puts fixed induction cooktops in the same category as clothes dryers, ovens, water heaters, heat pumps etc. It puts portable induction burners in the same category as portable electric heaters. The numbers are clear. E = IR. P = IE. The science and the statistics support one another.
Again - there are benefits to induction (not as many as the Kool-Aid drinkers purport) but home safety is NOT one. Do you KNOW there are no wire nuts between you breaker box and a hardwired cooktop? Have you examined the outlet you plug your portable into? Do you know what you are looking at and for? Are you tracking temperature at the connections? Safety is not a characteristic of induction.
I love the idea of induction ovens but for me price is a deal breaker. I can’t let go of many pots I love, and I don’t have the space for yet another kitchen tool I don’t truly need. The pluses for me around safety is really for my crazy cats who love to hop near the stove to access the window sill next to it, not so much about house fires. The electricity vs gas I think is a real consideration for many is is with already high electricity bills.
They do agree, except they don’t support your claim.
Actually, no. V = IR and P=IV. And E ≠ V. Electrical field is not electric potential.
No. Because most cooking fires are not started from power failures. Appliance power failure is not even the top 3 or top 5 reasons for a cooking fire. Most cooking fires start from cooking oil, grease and fat catch on fires, not electrical malfunctions. Induction cooking eliminates the risk of cooking oil, grease and fat catch on fire outside the cookware because induction cooktops are cooler.
As for your fear for portable cooktops, they constitute a minor factor of the fire incidents (granted also they are in smaller percentage in use). Portable cooking (both electric and gas portable stoves) plus warming device (e.g. electrical crockpots) only account for 5% of the cooking fires.
Even NFPA National Fire Protection Association (the site you like to site) has mentioned induction cooktop as a mean to reduce kitchen fires:
"Unlike gas burners and electric coils, induction cooktops use a magnetic field that produces an electric current to heat cast iron or stainless steel cookware. Only the cookware — not the cooking surface — gets hot, reducing the potential of the ignition of nearby materials. Moreover, burners cannot be accidently turned on, since the stovetop operates only when a piece of ferrous cookware is placed atop the burner. "
I’m not challenging your overall broad concerns about electrical usage. Large induction stovetop units potentially pull the same load as an electric, and portable induction units differ little from electric hotplates. However, the induction units are much more efficient, so the energy draw is typically less–and the induction units have automatic turnoff to prevent overheating. Induction units are safer in use than comparable electric units.
The comparison to gas is more complex, bt induction is more efficient and has no open flame for the stovetop. The portable propane units are usually used outside–due to lack of ventilation–so there is no direct comparison.
All of the questions you raise for ranges apply both to electric and induction; issues for portable induction units also apply to electric hot plates. Ventilation is not optional for gas.
Improved cooking safety is always a benefit of switching to induction.
I fully agree. A Watt is a Watt. Yes induction is more efficient at 84% than resistive electric at 74%. That has an impact at the food but drawing 1800 W is the same regardless.
My hot (ha!) button is those who proclaim that induction (or any electric) is safer than gas. It simply isn’t. Heat in walls, attics, and basements at connections (why wire nuts are still allowed is beyond me) and in undersized wires is a problem.
Distribution voltage is nominally 117VAC 60 Hz in the US. I think the spec is +/- 10%. That 1800 W induction hotplate draws a tad over 15A at that voltage (which means more current if you have 14 AWG vice 12 on your kitchen circuit, are at the end of the block from the distribution transformer, or for any one of a number of other reasons). So you better not plug anything else into the same circuit and you better not run your burner at full steam for very long or you’ll trip a breaker. Note that circuit breakers tripping is NOT an inconvenience. It’s a message that you are drawing more power than is sustainable.
On the subject of connections the plug for a portable burner or for a built-in that doesn’t use proper hardwire terminations with sliding wipers (“plugs” in the public lexicon) are relatively high resistance connections at high loads. Resistance = heat which leads to fire either directly or by melting insulation and short circuits.
The thermal protection in an induction unit is for and at the burner. It addresses the “boil dry” problem, not the circuit protection of the line from the breaker panel to the outlet or junction box. That is up to the old fashioned generally slow-blow breaker in your basement.
Induction over resistive I agree. Not compared to gas. Your point on ventilation (and fire suppression, which you did not mention) is well taken. I would prefer not to cook over electric of any sort without a hood so in the practical application I don’t think it matters other than how big a fan is chosen.
@Chemicalkinetics - E=IR and P=IE. sigh E is for electromotive force, measured in volts (V), just as I is for current measured in amperes (A) and R is for resistance measured in ohms (Ω). P is for power measured in Watts (W). Some vocational material uses non-standard abbreviations; that doesn’t make it correct. Check IEEE, ISO, and likely the PE exams in the state of your choice.
Note that many abbreviations are overloaded (<- a specific technical term, by the way). E in E=mc^2 is a different E than E in E=IR. Scientists and engineers are expected to understand context and most peer reviewed journals and good texts will have a legend to avoid confusion. If someone writes about a topic that forces duplicative abbreviations a non-standard abbreviation is usually called out.
Thanks for sharing. This may be digging a little deeper than the original question. When discussing science, people do not usually use E to abbreviate electric potential. One main reason is that electric field is abbreviated by E (with an arrow or bold). I cannot imagine the hardship/confusion anyone has to go through physics or chemistry writing E for electric potential.
“V” is an international standard abbreviation for electrical potential. “φ” is also often used as well. Historically, Georg Ohm himself used “U”.
vs
Back to fire safety.
To say that induction cooktops are less safe than gas stoves because of potential electric fire from induction cooktops is the same as saying that gas stoves are less safe than induction because of the gas leak. Of course, gas stoves have no electric fire and of course induction stoves have no gas leak. The important point is the total fire, not electric fire. Electric fire play a small role in the total fire.
Most fires happen because the grease or oil got too hot and ignite. They happen at the stoves. One reason is that oil/grease spill out of the pan and catch fire on the stove. Induction cooktop significantly reduce this risk compare to the coil and gas stoves. Let me quote again from NFPA: “Fires beginning with cooking oil, grease or fat accounted for half of the fires and three quarters of the losses from the cooking fires that began with cooking materials or food. Not surprisingly, two-thirds (66%) of home structure fires involving cooking equipment began with the ignition of cooking materials, including food. Fat, grease, cooking oil and related substances that could be associated with grease were first ignited in half (52%) of the home cooking fires that began with cooking materials. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the civilian deaths and three-quarters of the civilian injuries (78%), and direct property damage (76%) associated with cooking material or food ignitions resulted from these fat, grease or cooking oil fires.”
I’m amazed at how technically arcane this question has become–electricity efficiency, etc. To be clear: I admire and enjoy knowledge, but the idea that American consumers are calculating energy efficiency when buying a stove does not pass the sniff test. If I ask, why do I not use induction?, the answer has these parts: (1) I’m not dissatisfied with my gas range; (2) I don’t really understand induction’s advantages, which goes to the point that some have made here about lacks in marketing it. I don’t know why I need it, and I’m a pretty serious and curious cook. Induction’s just not a topic in the USA, for some reason.
Which I think goes back to my original point. There is no safety advantage. There is no cooking advantage relative to gas. “Marketing” is just selling us stuff we don’t need.
You can certainly make a good case that induction is better than resistive heat. Better than gas? Not so much.
I agree with much of your post. If you have been cooking with gas–no need to switch. For new users, it’s a different world. Electric hot plates have been almost totally supplanted by induction units, and most cookware is now made induction compatible.
Energy efficiency has not been a major factor here, but in countries like Germany, induction has been helpful enough in reducing energy use, that induction is beginning to be required in homes. We’re not so far behind.
When I switched to induction four years ago, I took a magnet along to purchase cookware. Now, there are little symbols on most boxes that indicate induction compatibility. Induction ranges were exotic and expensive, with installers frequently bungling the installation. Prices have dropped noticeably, retailers are beginning to promote induction, and installers have gotten up to speed.
Users have come to realize that induction is about control–not boiling a pot of water fast. My Vollrath Mirage Pro has 100 levels of energy compared to 10, or at most 20 on gas or electric. I have temperature modes as well as energy. The Breville Control Freak has an external sensor to measure temperature inside and outside of the pan at the same time:
Even the simplified home induction units have many features that delight new users. As to marketing:
When I was looking for a new range 2 years ago, I tried hard to find an affordable combination gas/induction model, but could not. Hopefully someone comes out with such a thing so we don’t have to choose one over the other.
I have induction, my “intro” induction cookware is t fal professional. A set was ~$90. The cookware was recommended by one of the cooking magazines I subscribe to.
