Appliance expert shares little-known benefits of next-gen stovetop with side-by-side test: 'It is super efficient'

Knowledge that gas stove use is associated with indoor pollution and increased risk of asthma in children should be widespread by now, leaving either electric or induction as the primary alternatives.

To help inform buyers, Tom of DIY Life Tech's YouTube channel (@DIYLifeTech) has shared a handy side-by-side comparison of these two cleaner and more sustainable technologies.

In the video, Tom presents single, portable versions of a modern induction cooktop and an electric one and then walks viewers through some of the pros and cons involved with each. 

Although the induction cooktop is slightly larger and pricier than the electric model, induction seems to be the clear frontrunner of the two. 

Induction works by heating compatible cookware with an electromagnetic field, while electric models are essentially just "power going through a wire, and that's pretty much all there is to it," as Tom explained.

This means that the glass surface on induction cooktops only heats up through close contact with a hot pot or pan. They otherwise remain cool, and many won't work at all unless there's cookware on the surface, making them less of a burn hazard than red-hot electric cooktop coils.

"[Induction] is super efficient. … You're not wasting a lot of excess power to heat. If I shut this off, it's not again going to be cool to the touch instantaneously … [but] pretty quickly it is tolerable," Tom noted. 

In fact, induction cooktops transfer 90% of their energy into heating cookware — and can boil water 20-40% faster — whereas electric ones only offer 74% energy efficiency. 

Gas stoves trail with just 40% energy efficiency, and when you consider that around 12.7% of childhood asthma nationwide is attributable to their use, it seems like an easy choice. 

Although induction stoves can be more expensive, you can take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits when upgrading, but given the current administration's track record with subsidies, you should act fast to claim them. 

What would be your biggest motivation for switching to an induction stove? Energy savings 💰 Better air quality 💪 Faster cooking 🏃 Less risky for burns 🙏 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"The other advantage to electric, traditional ones here have, other than price is just the fact that you can use any pan with it," as Tom confided. "With induction, the pan has to be induction compatible, which generally means it needs to be something a magnet would stick to."

There's an induction stove from Copper that actually boasts an especially useful perk over the competition. The company's Charlie range includes a backup battery, so you can even cook a few meals during a power outage.

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