Moving to a new flat forced my wife and I ME to go electric – and realise it wasn’t the tragic culinary loss I believed
My wife and I have always had certain non-negotiables when looking for a place to rent: good light, a decent location – and a gas stove. We love cooking together, and countless food shows have impressed upon us that there is nothing more essential to a tasty meal than a flame.
Then came the pandemic. Our landlord wanted to move back into our Barcelona flat, so in the first months of 2020 we found ourselves looking for a new place to stay. With just days to relocate before the first Covid lockdown came into effect, we were forced to set aside our preference for gas – and reluctantly moved into an apartment with an induction hob.
Past encounters with the slow and inconsistent heating elements of early electric stoves had soured us to the idea of cooking with electricity, but it only took a couple of days for us to realise that our new induction cooktop wasn’t just tolerable, it was far superior.
Suddenly, cooking was easier than ever before. Water boiled at lightning speed; I could set a timer and walk away knowing the heat would automatically turn off; and cleaning became a cinch. Gone were the days of degreasing cast-iron burner rings and soaking grates in the sink – a quick wipe across the glass and the kitchen was sparkling
etc.
Good news, useful background for the unconvinced. But will people on ordinary tariffs be worse off because the price of electricity per unit is so much higher than gas, even though there should be minimal wastage from the induction hob?
(and I wondered whether this should be in "Cafe" as something to natter about, rather than just media... Maybe it doesn't matter anyway.)
A
2.0 kW/4.62 MWh pa in Ripples, 4.5 kWp W-facing pv, 9.5 kWh batt
30 solar thermal tubes, 2MWh pa in Stockport, plus Congleton and Kinlochbervie Hydros,
Most travel by bike, walking or bus/train. Veg, fruit - and Bees!
We are about a year into induction hob use. Absolutely love it. My fave part is cooking cool, even with 4 pans on the go there is literally zero radiant heat felt.
15kW PV SE, VI, HM, EN
42kWh LFPO4 storage
7kW ASHP
200ltr HWT.
73kWh HI5
Deep insulation, air leak ct'd home
WBSx2
Low energy bulbs
Veg patches & fruit trees
AE-NMidlands wrote: ↑Mon Feb 05, 2024 9:18 am
Good news, useful background for the unconvinced. But will people on ordinary tariffs be worse off because the price of electricity per unit is so much higher than gas, even though there should be minimal wastage from the induction hob?
A
Induction is 80-90% efficient, gas 30-60% efficient so there's not going to be a huge difference in operating costs, but hob energy use is pretty minimal compared to other consumers in the average household.
Here's the energy usage of one of our 4 ring hobs over the last few days.
Typically less than 1 unit a day. The day with 2.3kWh we made marmalade with a jam kettle on the large ring for 2.5 hours, unusually large consumption.
