Good question, and this is on my mind as I'm currently putting some info together on it.
I'm just starting, but so far have some interesting info on the benefits of induction electric cooking.
* Gas cooking is generally only 20-30% efficient, as most of the heat does not absorb into the cooking pan/dish.
* Induction is 80-90% efficient as the heating mechanism IS the cooking pan/dish.
* Gas requires oxygen to operate, while releasing Nitrogen Oxide. So reduces air quality, and because of this requires the kitchen area to have extra ventilation which may have heating/cooling impacts.
* Gas cooking will also increase the room temperature, which will increase artificial cooling needs during summer (This will be offset by helping out in winter, but air quality/ventilation is impacted as mentioned above)
* Both safety and cleaning is much better with induction cooktops.
* Induction is far more suited to a 100% renewable energy economy, as the reliance of natural gas for cooking means we need this fossil fuel to be extracted, refined, and distributed across Australia. (Onsite methane generation from domestic waste does not create enough gas).
I also have an induction coktop at home and think it's very good. But some bad points from my own use are:
* While cleaning is very easy with touch-pad controls, the actual buttons are pretty fiddly to operate - Knobs would still be better I think.
* The cooktop was quite expensive - Costs need to come down.
* Electricity sources of course are critical - While onsite generation is best the logistics of cooking/solar mean direct power is difficult, and grid-based electricty will be used, which in most cases will be produced in coal-fired power stations. We need to make sure we subscribe to 100% green energy to make sure any power we pull from the grid for cooking (or anything else) is supporting renewables rather than coal.
Hope that helps, and anyone else with comments and (especially) references would be great.
Posted Thursday 21 Oct 2010 @ 9:33:44 pm from IP
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