Electric Induction Cooktop How It Works

Induction cooktops boast speed surpassing electric temperature response rivaling gas and safety and cleaning ease that beat out glass and ceramic top stoves.

Electric induction cooktop how it works. Drawbacks of induction cooktops. Until recently cost was the biggest disadvantage. If you have an induction cooktop but a favorite piece of cookware doesn t work on it you might still be able to use it. Products like this stainless steel induction hob heat diffuser can be placed on the cooktop under the pan.

When you turn on the burner an electric current runs through the coil generating a fluctuating magnetic field but no heat on the burner itself however once you set an iron or stainless steel pan on the burner the magnetic field induces many smaller electric currents in the pan s metal. An induction burner consists of a ceramic plate with an electromagnetic coil beneath it. Induction cooking surfaces work well with any pans with a high ferrous metal content at the base. The biggest difference you ll notice is that because the electromagnetic field on an induction cooktop doesn t create a glow.

Induction ranges look a lot like typical glass top electric ranges. Induction cooktops are very energy efficient in that they transfer most of the energy to the cooking pan with minimal loss of energy which is a great quality to have in any electric appliance. Induction cooktops generate heat in the cookware itself. The processes described at right are a more efficient alternative to heating by a flame or a resistive electric coil.

Also induction cooktops heat stuff up very quickly unlike regular stoves which lose a great deal of energy to their surroundings. However i am naturally inquisitive and when i first purchased my own induction cooktop i was so amazed at the results i just had to know how it all worked. A typical induction cooktop could be two or three times more expensive than an ordinary electric or gas cooktop and even though you d save energy the energy savings weren t usually significant enough to pay back the difference. Some cookware or packaging is marked with symbols to indicate compatibility with induction gas or electric heat.

Whereas other stoves heat food indirectly by applying an open flame or a hot surface to the bottom of cookware induction cooktops use electromagnetism to cut out the middleman and heat.