For those who are faced with a choice, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the comparison table. It summarizes the main factors that will allow you to see the differences between the two types kitchen panels for cooking.

Note: you should not choose a hob based on just one feature. It's quite complicated electrical appliance, so you need to take into account all the features and characteristics in order to get a complete picture of the model.

Comparison criteria	Electric	Induction
Principle of operation	Built-in a heating element heats up the work surface, which then transfers heat to the dishes.	An induction coil located under the surface of the stove heats the cookware using electromagnetic waves, while the temperature of the working area does not change.
Heating element type	Spiral, ribbon, halogen lamp	Induction unit
Dishes	Can be used kitchen utensils from various materials: enameled, ceramic, made of of stainless steel etc.	You will need special dishes with a magnetic bottom. As an option - ferromagnetic stickers on the bottom of ordinary containers.
Diameter of cookware	Doesn't matter.	More than 12 cm, the panel simply does not recognize smaller dishes. So, you won’t be able to brew coffee in a Turk. And one more thing - the surface of the burner must be covered by 70%, otherwise the stove will not work.
Heating rate of the working area	It will take 5 minutes to heat up the burner. The liquid will boil in 10 minutes.	The burner will heat up in 1 minute, and after 3 minutes the water will already be boiling.
Burner heating level	Up to 400 °C.	Not higher than 60 °C.
Electricity consumption	Electricity consumption is 1.5 times higher than that of the induction model.	Electricity consumption is lower due to instant shutdown, which automatically occurs as soon as the dishes are removed from the surface.
Safety	Possibility of getting burned from heated work surface. In addition, the disconnected panel cools down for about 15 minutes.	Even during the cooking process, the panel remains cold, which completely eliminates the risk of burns or melting of carelessly left objects. A couple of minutes are enough for the hob to cool down.
Automatic shutdown	The panel will work even if the cookware takes a long time to heat over low heat.	The hob will not start working or heat the cookware if it is empty. When the liquid has completely evaporated from the pan, the panel will automatically turn off. With slight heating, constant monitoring and adjustment of the temperature is required so that the device does not turn off when the set temperature is reached.
Effect on household appliances	The minimum distance to other household appliances should be maintained, since during operation hob heats up and releases environment warm. This may cause nearby objects to heat up. This issue is especially relevant for the location of the refrigerator.	It is advisable to install hobs that use the principle of electromagnetic influence in their operation as far as possible from the rest of the equipment. This concerns washing machine, microwaves, ovens, etc. Otherwise, the devices are likely to fail due to the influence magnetic field.

At first glance, it may seem that the electrical panel is inferior to the induction model in many respects. In fact, and electrical surfaces there are advantages:

• Price component

An electric cooking panel costs an order of magnitude cheaper than an electromagnetic one.

• Silent operation

When the electrical unit is turned on, it does not make any sounds. An induction panel must have a fan that is constantly running to cool the stove. So he makes monotonous, incessant noises.

• Wide product range

You can choose a slab that satisfies all your needs and requirements. This applies to color, design, number of burners, their configuration, and a set of additional functions.

Finally

When answering the question of which hob - induction or electric - to prefer, everyone must decide for themselves what is more important to them. To buy a budget model, with a standard set of functions and an instruction manual, you should choose the classic electric version.

If you value convenience, safety, like to master technical innovations, and also have space in the kitchen for rational placement of an induction cooker, then this is your option.

Choice hob- one of those questions that both happy new residents and those whose old stove has become unusable have to solve. Today, the choice is usually made between electric and induction hobs: gas stoves are also good in their own way, but many new buildings now don’t even have gas installed. And this choice, for all its inevitability, is not too obvious. So which stove is better - electric or induction?..

I have long planned to write an article about the pros and cons of electric and induction hobs, but I wanted to do it from a practical point of view, which I now have every right to do: I have been cooking for six years electric stove, which I recently replaced with the Pyramida IFEA 640 B induction hob, and now I can talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both solutions from my own experience.

How is an induction cooker different from an electric cooker?

Before answering the question of which stove is better - induction or electric - let’s figure out how they differ. Let's start with electric hobs as the older ones. Their operating principle is quite simple: electricity passes through a resistor, which releases thermal energy, which, in turn, is transferred to the dishes placed on the heating element. Modern electric stoves mainly have a surface made of glass ceramics, but in terms of their design they are not so far removed from the old electric stoves with metal burners.

An induction hob operates differently: under each burner there is a high-frequency generator that creates eddy induction currents in the metal cookware placed on the burner. In this case, the cookware acts as a conductor, and it is it that heats up, and not the coil or the surface of the stove - provided that the cookware has conductive properties. If all this doesn’t sound very clear to you, don’t worry about theory, let’s better find out what this means for us in practice.

So, let's compare induction and electric cookers according to various parameters, and then display the final score. For each indicator, both types of slabs will be awarded from 0 to 2 points, depending on how well they perform in one aspect or another.

Suitable cookware

The first thing I did when I became the proud owner of an induction cooker was to go to the store and buy an adapter, this steel pancake, which costs much more than you might expect by looking at its shape. As mentioned above, an induction cooker is capable of heating only cookware that has ferromagnetic properties, of which there were surprisingly few of the pans and pots that served me faithfully.

The adapter is capable of turning an induction cooker into a regular electric one, heating up and transferring its heat to the cookware placed on it, but it deprives it of all the advantages that will be discussed below. If you place the wrong frying pan on the induction burner, it won’t even turn on.

To understand whether a cookware is suitable for an induction cooker, attach a magnet to it or simply turn it over; the following pictogram is usually placed on compatible cookware:

At first glance, electric stoves lack this deficiency, however, in practice they are far from ideal. An electric hob can only provide even heating if the cookware has a perfectly flat bottom, but even the most reliable pot or pan will warp over the years when exposed to intense heat. For the same reason, it is inconvenient or simply impossible to cook on an electric stove, using a regular wok or cauldron with rounded walls and bottom, you will have to use utensils adapted specifically for electric hobs.

Induction hob – 0 points
Electric hob – 1 point

Ease of use

The main virtue you will need when using an electric stove is patience. The burner heats up quite quickly, almost instantly, but it takes time to transfer its heat to the cookware. A lot of time. It takes about 7 minutes to heat a frying pan to a temperature suitable for frying, and 15-20 minutes to bring a pan of water to a boil.

In order to change the temperature of already heated dishes, everything is also not easy - quickly increasing the “fire” from low to maximum simply will not work, and the most reliable way quickly reduce the heat - remove the dishes from the stove. Perhaps this is the most important disadvantage of an electric hob - it is slow, inert, and this makes it terribly inconvenient.

This is not the case with an induction hob. The source of heat in its case is the bottom of the cookware itself, so the increase or decrease in heating occurs literally instantly: if your previous stove was gas, you won’t even notice the difference.

I specifically conducted an experiment and recorded the time it took my Pyramida IFEA 640 B to bring 2 liters of water to a boil in a saucepan without a lid. It took 9.5 minutes - more than half as much time as I would have spent using an electric stove. In addition, the induction hob has other advantages arising from its operating principle.

Firstly, this high efficiency — thermal energy does not go “into the air”, but is almost completely used to heat food.

Secondly, its efficiency - since almost all the energy is used for its intended purpose, an induction cooker, all other things being equal, consumes less electricity and costs you less. Considering that electric and induction hobs cost approximately the same, this is an extremely useful feature in these times.

Thirdly, the stove will automatically turn off if you remove the dishes from the burner, which also contributes to savings and natural resources, and your money. In general, in terms of convenience, the induction hob deserves a solid five (which on our scale corresponds to a solid two).

Noise

During its operation, the induction hob makes various sounds, which was a discovery for me, because the electric stove is absolutely silent. This cannot be said about induction; it crackles quietly, turns on a fan hidden in its depths to cool the coil and the transistor radiator, in a word, it lives its own life.

Do not in any way think that these sounds irritate, frighten or somehow interfere with my life, but they exist, and after the electric stove has not made the slightest sound for several years, this is surprising. To the credit of the induction cooker, I can assure you that these sounds are quite quiet, and you stop noticing them quite quickly.

Induction hob – 1 point
Electric hob – 2 points

Heating the hob

The operating principle of an electric stove is that heat is transferred to the cookware by contact with a heated burner. In other words, an electric stove simply must be hot, heat up quickly and not cool down too quickly, which entails several not very pleasant consequences.

Firstly, such a stove poses a risk of burns, especially for children and pets, and also, albeit a moderate, but still a fire safety threat.

Secondly, as the stove cools down, it releases residual heat into the surrounding air, and if it happens in the hot summer, and you also don’t have air conditioning, you can imagine what an inferno the kitchen turns into when preparing several dishes at the same time.

Thirdly, any liquid, like sauce or soup, when dropped onto a heated burner, instantly turns into acrid smoke, leaving a hard-to-remove black spot on the surface. Of course, there is a wide selection of products available for sale to combat such pollution, but the very fact of the appearance unpleasant odors And I can’t be happier with an additional headache.

An induction hob is a different matter! As mentioned above, it does not heat itself, but generates heat directly in the cookware placed on it - and this alone creates a huge gap between electric and induction cookers. Yes, an induction hob can get hot, but this will be from the heat of the cookware placed on it, and if you remove the pan from the stove, the hob will quickly cool down. There will be no burns, there will be no overheating of the air, and stains, if any, will be wiped off with much less difficulty. In short, in terms of this parameter, an induction cooker is ahead of an electric cooker by a large margin.

Induction hob – 2 points
Electric hob – 0 points

Verdict

Of course, I haven’t listed all the differences between induction and electric cookers, but I’ve listed the most basic ones, so it’s time to sum it up. Let's calculate the points scored:

Induction hob – 5/8
Electric hob – 3/8

What does this mean? The fact that an electric hob is quite suitable for use, which I have proven from my own experience, and you can check for yourself, because 99% of the recipes from this site over the past 6 years have been prepared on an electric stove.

In turn, an induction cooker cannot be called ideal either - and if you can turn a blind eye to such a trifle as a little noise, then the incompatibility with a large number of otherwise good cookware is much more saddening. This means that technology has room to grow, and we can hope to see hobs and stoves without these shortcomings in the foreseeable future.

However, at the moment, an induction cooker is a thing of today, and an electric cooker is already yesterday. Does this mean that an induction cooker is definitely better than an electric one? I think I’m ready to answer this question in the affirmative, because the advantages of my new Pyramida stove outweigh its disadvantages, and there is no shortage of cookware suitable for induction stoves.

For those who managed to acquire their favorite dishes and do not want to send them to the dustbin of history along with old stove, there are quite working solutions - the already mentioned adapter for induction cookers or combined hobs, some of the burners of which are conventional electric, and the rest work on the induction principle. This will allow you not to part with your favorite dishes, but at the same time open the door to the future - since you are still afraid to open it wide open.

An electric heating panel can be used to heat up any utensils or objects. At the same time, the induction panel heats only cookware with a magnetic bottom. Despite this induction heaters enjoy special love and popularity. What is the reason?

Heating Differences

The induction hob consumes significantly less electricity and this makes it different better side from its electric brother. It's all about the basic principles of heating.

In any, even the most advanced, electric stove, the burner heats up from the action of electric current. The current passes through the heating element, heats it up, after which the element itself (burner) gives off heat to the dishes and all surrounding objects. So that you don't bet on electrical panel, everything will warm up.

An induction hob works completely differently. The stove itself does not heat up. It has a built-in coil through which alternating current passes. As a result, according to the laws of physics, a magnetic field is generated. If a dish with a magnetic bottom is placed on top, currents begin to be generated (induced) in it, which heat the material.

It turns out that energy is spent only on heating one pot or frying pan, and all other objects around are not subject to heating. From the calculations it follows that an induction hob consumes on average one and a half times less electricity than an electric one, and for this reason it is undeniably better.

Properties of the induction device

If it seems to you that an induction stove will require large expenses for the purchase of special containers for cooking, then this is not entirely true. Many dishes that every home has are suitable for heating on it. It could be everything enamel cookware and some steel pans. Of course, you will have to buy a special frying pan or an additional saucepan with a spiral icon on the bottom.

An induction cooker is safer than any other. It will not start working until you close the burner at least 70%. This way, if a spoon or fork hits the panel, it will not heat it up. Even while working, you can touch the tiles with your hand and not get burned. And if you set a special mode, then the milk will never run away and the borscht frying will not burn.

The heating speed is also dependent on induction. While the electric hob is just warming up, the induction hob is already heating the food.

It is a mistaken belief that the induction panel affects the operation of the electrical appliances that surround it.

Firstly, not a single such case has been recorded, and secondly, the magnetic field is almost completely concentrated inside the hob and only slightly comes out of it, so it has an extremely weak effect on surrounding objects. As for harm to humans, in order to minimize it it is necessary:

• make sure that the dishes with a ferrimagnetic bottom completely cover the area that is heated;
• do not press your body against the tile when it is on;
• Do not use metal objects for mixing.

The main disadvantages of an induction cooker, perhaps, include the noise it makes. This noise is caused by the cooling fan. The stove must be constantly cooled, because due to overheating it simply turns off.

Advantages of an electric stove

Although an induction hob is considered to be better than an electric hob in many respects, the latter also has its advantages.

1. Price. On average, electrical panels are cheaper than induction panels. A simple single-burner electric stove will always cost less than its induction counterpart.
2. Silence. The infrared or electric stove operates silently. When it's on, you don't hear any annoying monotonous sounds.
3. Big choice. During its existence, the electric stove has undergone many changes. You can find a wide variety of models on the market, and choose the tiles that suit your home based on configuration, color, number of burners and price.

An electric stove is more inertial. Even the most advanced model takes longer to warm up, but then it takes longer to cool down and you can still cook something on it while the electricity is already turned off.

Today, it is not worth saying unequivocally that some tiles are better. For some, it is more common to use the good old electric stove, while others choose innovative devices.

However, there is another alternative - to purchase a tile on which several burners with different operating principles are placed. This entire device is connected to the power supply, and then during the work process you decide for yourself what and when it is more convenient for you to use.

Despite the abundance of information, home appliance buyers still have many misconceptions and prejudices that sometimes prevent them from making right choice and enjoy all the functions and capabilities that modern technology provides.

First of all, the experts decided to dispel doubts about purchasing induction (induction hobs). This technology has already conquered Europe, but still remains unpopular in Russia.

Myth #1: Induction is not safe for your health.

When induction operates, it is not the glass ceramics that heats up, but the cookware, which then transfers the heat to the surface. In conventional stoves there is a Hi Light heating element, while in induction stoves it is replaced by an electromagnetic coil, which generates heat in the cookware itself due to the action of an electromagnetic field. However, it disappears as soon as the dishes are raised even a centimeter from the surface.

To confirm the safety of the stove, an experiment was conducted comparing the voltage level of the magnetic field of induction and a conventional hair dryer. According to testing results, this figure for a hair dryer was 2000 µT, and for a hob - only 22 µT (91 times less!). Such a magnetic field cannot harm human health.

Myth No. 2: When buying induction, you will have to change all the cookware.

This myth is exactly as old as induction hobs have existed on the household appliances market in Russia. Many of those who purchased an induction hob had no idea that, for example, their old enamel cookware, which is 15-20 years old, has ferromagnetic properties and is suitable for an induction hob. How can one not remember the story about aluminum cookware and the housewife who threw it away without thinking that the bottom of such a cookware could be made of another ferromagnetic material and it could be suitable for cooking on an induction hob?

This myth is very easy to refute. In order not to throw away all the old cookware that you are used to cooking with, you need to check its bottom for ferromagnetic properties. This is done very simply: remove the magnet from the refrigerator and attach it to the bottom of the dish from the outside. If the magnet sticks, then the pot or pan is suitable for induction cooking.

Myth #3: Induction heats up like a regular glass-ceramic stove.

One of the most common myths, although the induction hob was created so that the glass ceramics do not heat up to high temperatures, but the dish was still being prepared. When destroying the first myth, it was found that when induction works, it is the cookware that heats up, not the surface. You can make sure that induction is much colder than glass ceramics using ice: just put it on the surface. The ice will melt much slower than regular stove. This means that culinary masterpieces are no longer in danger of burning.

Myth No. 4: Any metal object that comes into contact with a working induction unit will become very hot.

Some induction surfaces there are minimum requirements for the diameter of the cookware - 8 cm. If the diameter is lower, or the total heating area is smaller, the hob will not turn on. It is also worth noting that if the cookware is not suitable for use, then it will not heat up. And some induction hobs have a sensor: they won’t turn on without the cookware - just like children, if they decide to press the buttons of the new “machine.”

Myth No. 5: Induction cannot be installed above ovens, dishwashers, or washing machines and other devices with metal surfaces.

Indeed, the electromagnetic coils are located parallel to the tabletop. And theoretically, the magnetic field should act both on objects located above the hob and below it. But there are hob manufacturers who have taken care of this. When creating them, the developers used a special insulating magnetic “heat sink”. Thus, nothing threatens the equipment located near the induction.

Myth #6: Induction cooktops are expensive.

This myth is easy to refute if you just study the market. According to statistics, in 2012, 42% of consumers in Europe chose induction heating technology. On Russian market you can find induction hobs starting from 11 thousand rubles. As a result, the difference with traditional glass ceramic panels it comes out small.

Discussion

Studies only confirm the harm of magnetic fields (in microwave ovens, from induction cookers, etc.) “After irradiation, radiation signals appear in the samples different shapes, of different amplitudes at the same radiation dose and differently “superimposed” on the original signal. Based on this, it can be assumed that the starting materials initially contained a small amount of free radicals. Under the influence of electromagnetic irradiation, the number of such paramagnetic centers in samples increases or new ones are formed. The concentration of paramagnetic centers or free radicals is directly proportional to the time and (or) the power of exposure.” In Russian: the accumulation of free radicals in the body with food altered by magnetic waves causes cancerous tumors.

12/14/2018 09:50:19, Pro

Induction rules! You just get used to it a little - and it’s a thrill; I don’t like a regular stove at all. We were given induction indesite as a wedding gift, I thought I would never get used to it, but no, I adapted very quickly, and now I just enjoy it.

We also use hotpoint, I can say that our electricity bill hasn’t changed much either, and the fact that we need special dishes, we’ve already gotten used to it, we bought a sufficient number of the necessary containers and now we can easily use our panel)

What I like about my Indesit induction is that now even in the worst dishes, neither porridge nor scrambled eggs burn! and the water boils, on the contrary, faster

We’ve been using induction for almost two years now. I haven’t noticed at all from my electricity bills that it consumes a lot, as you say, maybe it depends on the model and manufacturer? I have a hotpoint model, by the way, which I am very pleased with, very easy to use and no problems with cleaning

06/24/2017 12:23:19, Mare

Hi all! I would like to say a few words about the savings of induction cookers. I myself have such a stove from Maxwell. The fact is that such stoves operate differently in different modes. IN in this case For me it works as follows - at temperatures of 180 and 220 degrees it works constantly without turning off, and at temperatures of 120, 140 and 160 it works intermittently for a small amount of time and the lower the temperature, the longer the interruption in time. Thus, turning on and off saves energy. And the lower the temperature, the greater the savings. The maximum consumption of such stoves is 2,000 watts per hour, but due to the fact that periodic shutdowns occur, savings occur at least 2 times. Turning it off and on doesn't have any negative effect on the operation of the stove, but it has a lot of positive effects. For example, your milk will never run out, because during shutdown, and the cycle lasts from 5 seconds or more, the foam will have time to cool and settle. There is another plus, due to the fact that there is no contact with a hot surface and open fire, the dishes do not burn on the outside and therefore do not require much care and remain like new. Highly recommend. I myself have been using it for more than two years and I have no complaints.

02/17/2016 12:33:42, KAE1972

A friend told me about an induction cooker, but this article does not say anything about saving energy. He proved to me about savings, and I read on the net how much it “eats.” I don’t remember the name anymore, but there are small ones like single-burner Sencor and First 2000 W and higher. That's 2 kilowatts. I now have a gas 2-burner, but the gas is 50 liters. Bolon lasts a long time. I will still look for articles about these miracle slabs. In terms of price, they are not expensive, from 30-something euros and above, depending on the “gains”. Because of this, electricity in Latvia is not very cheap. I also have an 80-liter boiler hanging in my kitchen, heating water, and it’s also “eating.”

Comment on the article "Induction hob: 6 myths - and the whole truth"

electric or induction cooker. Which stove is better to buy an electric one? There is an electric hob now, but it is on its last days. The principle of operation is magnetic coils that heat the dishes, or rather, their magnetic bottom.

Discussion

Now, just don’t believe the stories about “changing all the dishes.” I have ancient Yugoslav enamel pots, bought in the 80s, that fit! Not to mention modern dishes.

Definitely induction! I decided to save money and bought an electric one for the dacha. Now I'm crying bitterly:(Heaven and earth:(

Chapter: Kitchen stoves and ovens. Tell us about your induction cooktop... My Bosch is covered after 15 years of use. I tried some unknown brand of panel at a friend’s place, and it’s very roughly adjusted. The pancakes are either hot or undercooked.

Discussion

I have an AEG combined one, I’ve been using it since 2011 - I’m very pleased, but I have a German assembly.

Siemens closed after 6 years. Half the stove doesn't work. They offered repairs for 12 thousand. I refused.
As long as these 2 work, I’ll use them further. Then I'll buy the cheapest one.
I don't recommend Siemens.

Section: Housekeeping (nut nut for induction cooker). Induction hob and Soviet type nut. From childhood part New Year's table In our family we have nuts stuffed with boiled condensed milk and walnuts. We used this kind of hazelnut, the stove was gas.

Electrolux induction cooker, touch buttons on the hob. And I miss gas oven. With the electric one, all the principles of my cooking were violated. Induction hob: 6 myths - and the whole truth. Question for those who switched to induction...

Discussion

As for the connection, the pipe is cut off and plugged by MosGaz if you are in Moscow. It is necessary to agree on how to reorganize into mzhi. Previously, a two-burner induction cooker was approved without problems, that is, no additional power was required for it. Now I don’t know, maybe it’s the same.

the gas was officially turned off
rejoice at the induction

Zhu-zha that an induction hob requires special metal utensils. However, the word “special” should not scare anyone. It should just be dishes with ferromagnetic properties.

Discussion

Regular enamel (I have Czech), stainless steel from Ikea (the more expensive one)

Induction is much more convenient! It's just a different level of comfort.
We bought AEG a year and a half ago, then changed it to Neff. The latter has much more convenient controls (joystick, it is not afraid of wet hands and switching is much faster), and it has a power mode on all burners (the AEG had only the near ones).

For those who like to argue about the quality of technology :))) I’ll emphasize:
Now I’m not comparing brands (better or worse), but describing some characteristics of the models that provide comfort of use. Maybe it will be useful to someone. :)

Induction hob. Kitchen stoves and ovens. Household and computer equipment. Section: Cookware (recommend a cauldron for an induction cooker). frying pans for induction cookers. Tell me please, does anyone have it in stock? or on friend sites... which is better...

Electric stove with induction heating principle. Appliances. Farming. Electric stove with induction heating principle. Where can I find information about the principle of heating a glass-ceramic electric stove? They have different principles work.

Discussion

Heat from the heaters enters work area the stove (to the burners) quite quickly, since glass ceramics transfer heat almost inertia-free. But this property is not in demand if the most advanced heaters are used - induction. The operation of heaters of this type is based on the use of electromagnetic field energy. It is created by an inductance coil located under the glass-ceramic surface. The electromagnetic field passes unhindered through the glass ceramics and generates eddy currents in the bottom of the metal cookware. As a result, the dishes heat up quickly, but there is virtually no heat loss, because currents do not pass through the glass-ceramic surface. However, this does not mean that it is recommended to touch it with your hands; it still heats up - from hot dishes.

An induction hob, free of utensils, remains cold even when it is turned on, because it is not the hob that heats up, but the metal objects on it. However, if you forget a fork or spoon on the stove, do not be afraid of getting burned - they will remain cold. The heating of any objects whose diameter is less than 12 cm is blocked by a special detector.

Induction burners have the widest range of heating power (from 50 to 2800 W), which can be smoothly changed thanks to the maximum possible number of adjustments (there are 12 - 14, while for other types of burners this number usually does not exceed 6 - 9). On induction burners you can not only cook and boil, but also perform so-called simmering (cooking over very low heat long time), setting the minimum power level. On the contrary, at the maximum power level the temperature rises so quickly that water boils twice as fast as on a gas stove.

So are you interested in glass ceramics or an induction hob?