Induction Cooktop Installed by Charter Bay

In my last post I talked about the decision my wife and I were trying to make on whether or not to go with a Gas or Induction cooktop for the new house we recently purchased to renovate for ourselves in Dade City.

The more we started thinking about our lifestyle and our needs, the more my wife started to lean towards a flat top induction cooktop. Her reasoning rested solely on the fact that she wanted something easier to clean and maintain – especially since we have an open floor plan and the cooktop will be “on display” from the living room and dining room. I was still holding out for the gas range, so in a last ditch effort, I decided to present her with a list of the pros and cons of both gas and induction. My hope was that we could come to a peaceful resolution to our dilemma and maybe I’d still win! 🙂 (BTW, as a custom home builder, I know that these kinds of selection “dilemmas” are very common between couples who embark on a building a new home, or when remodeling their current one!)

So here’s the list I gathered and presented to my wife…

Gas Range Installed by Charter Bay

Gas Cooktop/Range

PROS
• Professional and upscale looking, makes a bold statement
• Precision temperature control that responds instantly
• Preferred by professional chefs
• If power goes out, you can still cook (will need to light with a match)
• Can char peppers over flame (just like the chefs do!)

CONS
• High maintenance, can be tough to clean, especially if you don’t keep up on it regularly
• Throws more heat and can heat up the kitchen
• More expensive than an other types of cooktops
• More expensive to install because you need to run a gas line
• Must have a high quality vent, which can be limiting/and or expensive, especially if installing cooktop in an island
• While rare, there have been cases of gas leaks which can be deadly
• Burners stay hot for a period of time after pan is removed (curious kids or nosey cats can burn fingers and paws)

Induction Cooktop/Range

PROS
• Sleek and modern
• Flat, smooth surface makes it easy to clean
• Throws off less heat, keeps kitchen cooler
• With gas and ceramic cooktops, heat is generated by the burner and is then transferred to the pan. This means both the burner and the pan are hot. With induction cooking, the burner doesn’t heat up. Instead the burner produces an electromagnetic field which interacts with the metal in the bottom of the pan. This interaction creates heat from within the pan. In this case, the pan is the heat source, not the burner! (How cool is science?)
• Because the surface of the cooktop doesn’t get hot, a boil over or spill can simply be wiped away – no burnt crusty stuff to scrub or scrape away
• If you remove a pan from the burner, the heat transfer stops instantly
• Because the burner doesn’t heat up, it’s safer for kids & pets
• Boil water in 1 minute
• Less expensive than gas – the cooktop itself is less expensive and you don’t have the extra expense of running a gas line

CONS
• Requires cookware compatible with induction, which can range from inexpensive to expensive depending on brand. You may already have compatible cookware – we did and didn’t even know it.  If a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan, it’s compatible
• Can’t cook if power goes out
• Depending on the buyer, could affect possible resale value if they have their heart set on a gas range.  The reverse could be true as well since induction cooktops are becoming more and more popular. It’s just a matter of preference and lifestyle, so go with what YOU want.

These are just a few of the arguments for and against each type of cooktop. If you are interested in reading more, here a few links to some discussions regarding the matter on Houzz. I find these to be pretty relevant since they are real opinions by real people who have built or remodeled their home.

Houzz – Should I choose a gas or induction cooktop for our new kitchen?
Houzz – Pros and cons of gas ranges
Houzz – What are the pros and cons of an induction stove – would you have one?

And by the way, I lost the argument with my wife. We ended up purchasing a flat top induction instead of a gas range. After creating my pros/cons list, I’m secretly okay (and maybe even happy) with this – although I’d never admit it! 🙂