Ready To Buy An Induction Stove? Here’s What You Need To Know

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There are lots of reasons why induction cooking is better than gas: control, speed, safety, health, and the environment. In our last post, we sang the praises of induction and dug into all the reasons it is crucial for decarbonizing our lives. In this post, we assume you’re sold and share the things to consider when buying induction for your home.

Types of Induction Cooktops

Portable cooktop. The easiest way to test induction is with a portable cooktop, also known as a hob. This countertop appliance has one or two burners and plugs into a standard outlet. These are great because they: 1) allow you to try induction for between $60 and $200; 2) are small and portable, allowing anyone (even renters) to easily use them; 3) serve as a supplemental cooktop when your main one is full; and 4) support resilience. (Our friend Brian Stewart from Electrify Now uses his with a portable battery when camping or when the power goes out.) Check out these Epicurious reviews for the best models.

Cooktop. An installed induction cooktop has four or five hobs and sits in a countertop without an oven beneath it. If your kitchen has a gas or electric resistance cooktop like this, then this will be the easiest swapout. There are many cooktop options at multiple price points. The Yale Appliances Buying Guide gives a comprehensive list of current models.

Range. An induction range is the full package, with a cooktop and electric oven. It comes in three varieties: 1) free standing with knobs and controls on the back; 2) front control with finished sides and controls on the front; and 3) slide-in with front controls and unfinished sides — so they work best between cabinets.

 Electrical Capacity

The transition to induction means that most of the 47 million homes that currently cook with gas will have to upgrade an outlet to provide more electrical power. Most gas ranges (unless they are dual fuel where the oven is electric) plug into a standard 120-volt outlet, while most induction cooking requires a 240-volt wire with a 50-amp circuit.

You need 50 amps for most induction cooktops, which means you’ll need to confirm that your electrical panel has space for the appropriate circuit breaker. From the circuit, you (or your electrician) will also need to run a 6-gauge wire to a 4-pronged, 50-amp outlet near your stove.

If you live in one of the 84 million homes that uses old-school electric cooktops, you may still want to upgrade the outlet. When we converted from an electric resistance range to induction in 2018, we opted to upgrade because our old oven had a 3-prong outlet without a grounding wire. Since 1996, the electric code has required 4-prong outlets with grounding. Most ranges will work with either type of outlet, so you just need to get the correct pronged wire for your stove.

Yale Appliances estimates that running a new wire and outlet for an induction stove can cost as much as $3,000. Though, in our experience, working with a trusted handyman, it was only about $300. Carbon Switch surveyed 90 people who switched to induction and found the average price for electrical work was $987.

A couple of emerging products are trying to address this issue of plug upgrades. Companies like Channing St. Copper Company and Impulse are adding backup batteries to their induction ranges so that homeowners can transition to induction with a standard 120-volt outlet. Backup batteries in the stove help provide an extra boost when power draw is high. This saves the cost of rewiring and provides another home battery that increases resilience.

Magnetic Cookware

Because induction works by magnetic force, it requires magnetic pots and pans to function. Aluminum and some copper pans won’t work. High-end brands like Le Creuset and All Clad, and anything stainless steel or cast iron, should work. There are also now many more affordable options, like Cuisinart, that are induction compatible. You can check pots and pans for compatibility by looking at the branding on the bottom or simply grabbing a fridge magnet and testing if it sticks. We were surprised to find that an old, off-brand pan stored in Naomi’s parents’ basement was induction compatible.

Range Hoods & Venting

Hoods that vent outdoors are important for all cooking. Even though induction and electric cooktops don’t produce NOx or carbon monoxide pollution like gas stoves, any cooking, especially at high heat, produces particulate matter that should be vented. (This includes cooking on portable induction hobs.) But ventilation is easier with induction because the stoves produce less ambient heat and far fewer emissions, so you can usually go with a smaller hood that exhausts fewer CFMs (cubic feet per minute).

Price Point

As induction moves along the S-curve towards widespread adoption, prices are falling as the technology scales. Consumer Reports writes that “prices have fallen considerably” and that “some induction cooktops now cost around $1,000.” In the survey mentioned above, Carbon Switch found that the average price of an induction stove was about $2,500 but the majority of survey respondents selected a model under $1,500.

Our experience reflects this trend. When we bought our first induction stove in 2018, options were limited and our KitchenAid was our most expensive appliance purchase ever at close to $3,000. But in 2021, when we fixed up a family-owned duplex in Cleveland, we got a Frigidaire model for about $1,100. Today, the more expensive stoves generally get you more smart and connected features, an increased induction cooking area and, according to Yale Appliances, a stove that lasts longer and needs fewer repairs.

For low- and medium-income households, the new Inflation Reduction Act offers rebates of up to $840 to purchase an induction stove. These low-income rebates are expected to roll out later this year. We couldn’t find many local utility rebates, but there are a couple, like this $750 one in the Bay Area.

Type of Controls

Our KitchenAid stove has touch controls, which have a learning curve. Touch controls require pressing “buttons” and sliding a finger along a number scale to change the temperature. Because unlocking the controls is not always intuitive, we’ve had to leave instructions for new babysitters. The benefits of the touch and slide controls is that they rarely break and are more precise than dials, according to Yale Appliances. If you prefer knobs, there are many models that now include this type of control, especially in the mid to high range models. Our induction stove in Cleveland has more traditional knobs. It is often rented on Airbnb and we’ve never had a guest ask questions or complain about functionality or ease of use.

Pacemakers and Induction

The Building Decarbonization Coalition, through its kitchen electrification initiative, finds that in general, “research shows that induction is safe to use for individuals with implanted medical devices like pacemakers. Physicians still recommend using caution.” They provide a good summary of the research on pacemakers and induction stoves. You should, of course, do your own research and talk to your doctor if you have a pacemaker.

Cooking Tips

Once you’ve brought home your new induction product, there are a few things that improve the cooking experience. Many of these tips come from webinars hosted by Electrify Now with chef Rachelle Boucher.

• Watch out — they cook fast! When first switching to induction, you might be surprised by how much more quickly your food cooks. Many people are used to turning on a gas burner and then chopping vegetables while it takes ages to heat up oil in the pan. With induction, you’ll want those vegetables chopped before you turn on the burner because things heat up more quickly. 
• Prevent scratching. Induction cooktops are glass, so prone to scratching. Keep the bottom of your pots and pans clean to minimize this. If you’re concerned about scratching, you can even cook on a silicone mat!
• Remember the oven. Almost every induction range has a convection oven. Chef Rachelle constantly reminds folks that you can do incredible things in the oven, like charring vegetables. Convection ovens complement induction ranges well.
• Watch out for the control panels. If your stove has touch controls, like ours, it will beep and/or turn off when something — spilled liquid, a spoon, or potholder — touches the control panel. This protects the controls but can be annoying and surprising even after 5 years of cooking on our stove.

Induction stoves put you on the path to superior, clean cooking and are a core technology in the decarbonized life. Use the comments below to let us know your thoughts on induction and if we missed any tips. Also, join us June 14 for a free Electrify Now webinar on induction cooking with Yale Appliances, Frontier Energy, and our favorite chef, Rachelle.

This article is part of a series called Decarbonize Your Life. With modest steps and a middle-class income, our family has dramatically reduced emissions and is sequestering what remains through a small reforestation project. Our life is better for it. If we can do it, you can too.