I know nothing about induction, but my first microwave cost almost a month's house-payment, and came from a special microwave store that gave lessons in how to use it. I remember that the classes would have a large crowd every Saturday, probably 20 or 25 people.

I remember the first microwaves, they were enormous. You could cook a large turkey in them. Now everyone knows that cooking a turkey in a microwave is possible but the result is usually undesirable. :)

I don't know anything about induction.

Eileen

We bought a house and gutted the kitchen back in 1978. That's when I got my first microwave, it was an Amana and we built it in over the oven. It never gave us any problems and was still in great working shape when the house was sold 15 yrs. later.

Fast forward 33 yrs to my recent kitchen redo, I put in the induction cooktop and have thought many times how it felt the same way as when I put in the microwave 33 yrs. ago.
I know induction will be very common in most homes in the future, just like the microwave is today. Guess I've always been one to embrace change.

Cathy, are you loving your new induction?

I didn't enter in on the recent thread about deep frying but I did buy a new deep fryer recently. I thought I might just use the induction and a deep pan but the oil heated up so quickly that I scared myself. I decided a deep fryer was probably better, it has some safety built in.

Nancy

I didn't get my first microwave until the mid-80s. It was a GE - one of those hulking combo units with the microwave above the range/oven. I only used it to reheat and, basically, that's still all I do with a microwave. I fell in love with using induction on installation day. It's so much easier to cook. I also believe induction will be in many American homes within 5-10 years.

/tricia

This post was edited by triciae on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 10:59

My sister got a MW when they first came out and made a bunch of horrible dishes with it. I lived in San Francisco in the 1970s and early 1980s and never used a MW there that I can remember, unless it was to heat coffee. We didn't have leftovers to reheat back then - everything pretty much got eaten when it was made. Today I use the MW to boil water and not much else, except perhaps to defrost something.

I do not like the idea of having to get a bunch of new cookware, and so I will not be switching to induction cooking and will never make a complete switch. I can see having induction cooking in addition to gas, but not in place of.

Lars

My first microwave came with the house I lived in in Massachusetts. It was an over-the-range Sharp, a big thing with the fake woodgrain on the outside. I used it for reheating food and the occasional cup of tea. I got Barbara Kafka's Microwave Gourmet but never found the MW that useful.

Induction has a steep learning curve but to me it's like the word processor. I can remember when PCs with Word were introduced. Secretaries in our office unanimously rejected it in favor of their IBMs. Of course within a couple of years typewriters virtually became extinct, though a few people still cling to their Royals and Selectrics. I agree with the others that induction will be common in most American homes in a few years.

Cheryl

The future is with induction if for no other reason than energy. Just like typewriter ribbons/cartridges are not common these days in Staples' displays non-induction capable cookware each year will be less common.

Also, with boomers aging and wanting to stay in their own homes longer the safety of induction, IMO, makes its future certain.

/tricia

Agree that induction will be common in American homes. It is much more of a common appliance in Europe. I saw a number of things that made sense in Europe but didn't make it to the US for years.

I probably shouldn't suggest such a thing on a CF but, again IMO, the days of the huge gas flame thrower cooktops are numbered if not already over. Many in the country are aware of our need to conserve non-renewable resources and youth especially so (tomorrow's homebuyers). Induction fits well into that reality. There will be improvements in induction and the cost will go down.

Anybody been looking for a new home recently? Mid-range builders are including induction in their kitchen choice packages now.

/tricia

Tricia - I came to induction via gas because of a new factor - make up air (MUA). When shopping for a gas cooktop and vent to replace the existing GE gas cooktop with downdraft, it became clear to me that the venting requirement (1200 cfm for the 36" Bluestar I was considering) required a dedicated make up air system. For me, this was a whole new wrinkle. As it turns out, many counties now require MUA for a venting over 400 cfm (or 600, or 200, it depends). Some cities require conditioned, i.e. heated or cooled, MUA. A MUA system can run $10K and higher.

So I looked into induction and was hooked. It takes only one experience to convince a cook that this is the right way to go.

I've been playing with induction for a year now, and wouldn't change a thing.

Cheryl

Huh?!? What's the steep learning curve with induction? For us it's like cooking on any other cooktop except faster and hotter -so you adjust.

My first microwave was a huge Sharp Convection microwave. I loved that thing! Now a days we'd call it a speed cooker. It cooked with convection and microwave at the same time so you had speed plus crust. I made the best roast chicken in it. Now I'm wary of MW's and what they do to our food so though we have one, we barely use it.

Cheryl - That argument is commonly made, but I'm not sure I buy it. The only reason that I can think of why a high capacity blower is needed more with gas than induction is because gas produces more wasted heat. Steak searing in a screaming hot skillet is going to to create the same smoke and grease regardless of the heat source, and that's what people are primarily concerned about. Most cooking (other than boiling) is done at lower settings, at which point max output is irrelevant.

Common recommendations call for 100 CFM per linear foot of cooking surface for "standard" appliances, and 100 CFM per 10K BTU for "pro-style" appliances. Considering that boil tests show that my consumer grade ceramic electric cooktop heats a pan nearly high as a the 23K BTU gas burner on a Capital Culinarian, I say these recommendations are completely out of line with one another, a bunch of hogwash. It has more to do with your cooking style. If you sear, wok, or deep fry a lot you better have the ventilation to support it, regardless of your cooking surface.

p.s. Some day I might be brave enough to post a picture of my ventilation system. It cost about $20 and it works phenominally well!

I know absolutely nothing about induction, but I have VERY fond memories of our first microwave. Dad bought one for Mom in the late 60's which was pretty close to when they first became available/affordable for home use. I remember Mom making a confetti angelfood cake in it. We were all amazed at how fast it baked. It was nice and soft when it first came out of the oven, but by the time we tried to cut into it, it had become a brick as light as a feather, LOL. Mom broke it open and found just the tiniest little burnt spot in the middle. Wow! It cooks from the inside out. We were in awe.

And my favorite things to "cook" in the microwave were bugs, the bigger the better. My brothers and I had much fun watching and listening to them POP!

foas - you said it exactly. Gas produces a lot of wasted heat, so most of the energy is going into heat which has to go somewhere. If you vent it, you need higher cfm than induction where energy goes into the pot and nowhere else.

I cooked on gas most of my life and for my kind of cooking, which is high heat, the kitchens heated up a lot, even with high cfm vents. My induction cooktop will go to 4.6 kW, i.e.a LOT of power, but the kitchen never heats up. Stop by sometime and I'll show you!

I agree completely that venting depends on your style of cooking, but to get high heat on gas you have about 70% of the heat going into the surroundings. You need lots of cfm to get rid of the heat, not the cooking residues.

l2cf6 - by learning curve, I mean learning how to use all the technical tools available. I love using the timers. I can put something on, set a timer and walk away. But I still haven't learnt how to work the programs on the cooktop or how to use the temperature sensors which are a feature of my Thermador. Basic cooking - turn on, adjust power, turn off, I can manage. But there's a lot more available, just like a smartphone doesn't just make calls.

Cheryl

First microwave was in early 70's. New husband worked for GE and ONLY reason we ended up with one was the "employee discount"?!? It wasn't terribly big, but weighed a TON!! Think only settings were a dial for time. Over several years, it slowed down?? Was replaced with one that probably cost half as much and was half as heavy. Original still worked, so just sat in basement until MIL said she'd use it. It sat in basement for several MONTHS and immediately started beeping when we moved it??

One I have now came from W-mart, probably no more than $50, not BIG, but plenty big enough for everyday use. And light enough for me to lift onto kitchen shelving unit about 5' off the ground.

Well, you convinced me to buy a countertop induction burner, and so I should have it in one week. One good thing about this burner is that I will be able to use it outside, and I like to do a lot of the cooking outdoors. The weather here cooperates about 95% of the time - the other 5% it might rain or be windy, although wind is very rarely an issue.

Lars

Cheryl - My high heat cooking is limited and is for short bursts of time so I wouldn't be too concerned about warming the room. But I suppose I shouldn't speak for everyone's cooking style. Next time I'm in your area I'll be sure to invite myself over for a demonstration!

I got my first microwave when I went away to college around 1990. Sounds like the same wood-grained one you had! Come to think of it, my current microwave is wood-grained also, you just don't really see it because it's semi built-in. It's also older than my first one - it's a 1984 Panasonic that still works just fine!

I never had a microwave growing up. Mom refused to have one, and still does. I gave her my college one but it lasted about a week on the counter before being lugged up into the attic.

I wish she'd get one. So often she asks me to help with dinner when she's hosting a larger crowd, and the ability to reheat premade sides always becomes an issue. Oh well, at this point, at her age, I know better than to expect her to change her ways!

Lars - I look forward to your impressions. I've been tempted to buy a portable unit, but never seem to get around to it.

My mother and I gave my grandmother a microwave in the early 80s. She didn't really want it and wondered why the heck we'd give her one. My thought was that it would save energy as she was eating a lot of prepared frozen foods by then and using the toaster oven to cook or heat them. Also she lived in AZ and it created a lot less heat in the kitchen. After she had it for a while she wondered how she did without one.

Mine was out of commission for a year due to an electrical problem. I finally got it fixed. But truthfully, I barely missed it.

I like the idea of trying induction and having a spare burner. Lars, what did you order?

Eileen

I got my first MW in the 1980s, and my first gas range in 2008. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cooking on gas, and would NEVER go induction unless I lived where gas is not available. Which will NEVER happen. Where I live, extra heat in the kitchen is not a problem for most of the year. Plus, my city is in the centre of the gas industry, and all of our electricity is produced by burning coal. So don't give me any "save the planet" rants.

As for the safety of the elderly, ANY person who cannot monitor a cooking appliance, should NOT be living alone, with any type of cooktop. Even with induction, it is quite possible to fall asleep with something cooking, and that unit would not turn itself off until the dwelling was quite filled with smoke, with the fire department on its way.

I try to be objective and not to judge other people's preferences, but this was insane!

When microwave ovens first became available, Tad's, a restaurant chain came up with this idea for restaurants.

Customers were to order and pickup frozen meals from the serving area, return to their seats, then microwave the meals themselves in microwave ovens. There were microwave ovens installed one per two seats at each table.

dcarch

BTW, No, I did not make this up. And yes, the concept did not survive too long.

This post was edited by dcarch on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 21:01

Mostly i remember when MWs did not have turntables and if you did not remember to turn whatever was in there, the waves would kind of drill a hole through it. I also remember cake mixes that came with a plastic pan, especially for MW. I was cleaning out old containers the other day and came across one. There were also plastic trays with ridges in them that were for MWing bacon.

My first MW also had the wood grain look and was enormous. My XH would not buy one so I bought with some holiday $$ from my mom. Of course, the ex used it more than anyone for reheating stuff. Jerk.

I love cooking with gas. My mom has electric and it is so much harder to control the heat. I have never tried induction, so who knows, maybe some day.

I also have fond childhood memories of my parents getting the new microwave sometime in the seventies, and Mom bought all kind of gadgets/cookware to use with the new appliance.

I don't think she EVER made bacon again on the stove.

Once I began making bacon in a frying pan after I left home, I never made it in the microwave again.

I also fondly remember my Dad's first pocket calculator. He was an engineer and Mom bought it for him as a birthday present. We were all so excited, it cost $80! Lol!

I bought my first microwave back in 1975 a few months after I'd moved to Vancouver and into my first real apartment on my own when I was around 19. I saw one at a department store downtown and it was expensive at that time being around $500, more than I made in a month and close to my rent back then LOL. But they had one of those make one payment and then 3 more equal payments with no interest deals so I went for it. It was a huge Toshiba all metal and just a big timer dial on it. Weighed a ton. It was great. Prior to that I'd only really seen the commercial ones on trains, restaurants etc. I remember a friend saying something like, oh you can't really cook roasts in them, sort of thing. So one night I cooked a roast beef in it, colored it with the Kitchen Bouquet stuff as per the instructions and invited him and a few others over.. It turned out great and it was only after everyone was finished that I told them I'd cooked it all in the microwave oven. A couple of years later I bought a better Litton model and gave the Toshiba to my mom who at first never used it but after awhile she started using it for vegetables etc and grew to love it. Been through a few over the years and I have a vintage old Amana Radarange down in the basement which still works fine. Upstairs in the kitchen though I just have a compact cheapy one from Walmart because it fits on the shelf but it works fine for reheating which is really all I use one for nowadays.and it was only $38, amazing.

Cooks n sews, We'll, yes, induction cooktops by. Bosch,
Thermador, and, Miele, and perhaps others, do precisely that, they do turn themselves off. That s what we mean when we talk about shut off timers. Can gas shut itself off? No.

Just set the timer for a particular time, say 15 minutes, and it will shut itself off in 15 minutes -before smoke fills the house. And because there is no heat, per se, children will sustain much lesser injuries should they monkey around on the stove. There are child locks to prevent injuries in the first place.

I have little experience with induction except my prior boss, Chrystal, had it and I used hers a couple of times. I wasn't impressed or not, it cooked but a lot of her pans didn't work which kind of ticked her off. I hate electric cooktops, which her induction kind of reminded me of, but I'm sure I could get accustomed to using it without a lot of adjustment. I'm not excited to do so, I'm relatively apathetic about it entirely.

I remember the first microwave I bought in 1982. I paid $100 for it, a lot of money since I was making $3.11 an hour. My ex-MIL derisively referred to it as my "$100 baby bottle warmer", since I used it to warm Amanda's bottles when she was a baby. it had one dial, went up to 15 minutes, no other settings. It finally exploded and burned a couple of years ago, so I guess I got my $100 out of it. i've been through three others since. First one lasted me 25+ years, the new ones less than a year each.

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 23:04

15 minutes is plenty of time to start a grease fire, which will burn whether the stove turns itself off or not. It is pure folly to think that someone who cannot remember whether any type of burner is on or off is capable of safely living and cooking for oneself, even with induction.

To put it bluntly, nothing is idiot-proof for a sufficiently motivated idiot.

Induction cooking is truly an innovative technology. But to suggest that anyone who doesn't embrace it is a luddite caught in a time warp is just plain rude (I think I've been hanging out at the Appliance Forum too long....). The reason there are so many choices available at any appliance store is because no one of them is the best choice for everyone.

PK, I had a similar, if not the same, Toshiba Microwave! I bought ours in 1977 or 78 for $750! Acck!
My reason for needing it was our sweet golden retriever had terrible allergies and the vet prescribed a frozen pet loaf for her meals. I never remembered to take it out of the freezer in time to defrost and so I convinced DH that this would fix that situation! And because the pet food wasn't easily purchased at a local store, I would buy two weeks worth at a time. That necessitated the purchase of a used freezer in which to store it all! LOL
I remember taking classes from Thelma Pressman, the first lady of MW cooking (at least in L.A.). I too was never completely happy with the result. Now i've found my groove and use it for nuking foods, defrosting some and warming others. My Toshiba lasted a long time-- I think that behemoth might have been donated somewhere when we remodeled the kitchen in 2002!
Now we're on our second Sharp built in with a ridiculously costly trim kit!

cooksnsews,

If I offended you, I apologize.

"But to suggest that anyone who doesn't embrace it is a luddite caught in a time warp is just plain rude...)."

Don't see where I called anyone a "luddite" but I do still believe induction is the future of home cooking appliances.

And, yes, I also believe it's much safer. I have first hand experience with that safety factor. I'm a boomer. I do not have Alzheimer's but I'm handicapped enough that I'd lost my ability to cook for myself. We had a gas range that I loved. But, it became unsafe for me to be around (much less actually use) the open flame. I can safely use my induction. I can do limited cooking again. I have regained some independence because of induction. My DH is going to Texas this weekend to see our new GS and I can SAFELY stay here at the house alone and fix simple meals. Our induction has lived up to the hype in our household. It has also lowered our monthly utility bills. It's pretty hard to argue with practical experience. My doctors are not arguing. Our induction was their suggestion. They recommend induction for those with RA, MS, Lupus, Sjogren's, etc. where loss of mobilitly has caused loss of independence. This technology will help people to remain in their homes longer. Dementia is not the only reason people have problems living alone.

/tricia

This post was edited by triciae on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 7:14

Microwaves have come a long way but today not in a good way. Our first back in the late sixties, like other comments, lasted forever. I can remember being concerned about radiation! Today the concern with fires and malfunction are at the top of the list. When the first (a KA) insisted on starting itself, we went cheap and are making sure it is disconnected from the power at night.

Some people have a microwave thrust upon them - only to run away in horror.

A quarter of a decade ago I rented a flat from a colleague who was also a friend. MWs were still something of a luxury in the holy land, but shesaid: Because it's you, I'm leaving my brand new MW in the flat! Was she ever so frustrated when I begged her to please please please get the thing out ASAP. I'm primitive. I know. Can't bring myself to touch anything that's been in a MW.

Induction stoves sound fine, but I'd miss the living flame in my kitchen. It's so comforting to watch. it does cheer me up most times.

Must be the effect of radiation from getting near the MWs in the kitchen at work.

I'm sure the brilliant name "Radar Range" did little to dispel hose fears!

This post was edited by foodonastump on Thu, Mar 21, 13 at 9:05

Eileen, I bought a Duxtop burner from amazon - $76 seemed cheap enough to risk it, and I did not feel like shopping around or collecting endless reviews for that amount of money. Enough people on Amazon liked it, and I do not expect to use it that much, but time will tell.

DCarch, there was a coffee shop on Overland in Culver City when I lived there called "Ship's" that had toasters at every table, and so when you ordered toast with breakfast, you received plain bread and toasted it yourself. I guess they had received too many complaints about cold toast, but I really like this, although it is vastly different from having a MW at a table. I also like the restaurants with barbeque grills built into the tabletops. One Japanese restaurant in Torrance put a hibachi on our table so that we could cook our own Kobe beef. I doubt that electric smokers will be replacing hibachis, although I do barbeque less now that I have one. I have not perfected smoking chilies, and so I still barbeque those to get the flavor/texture that I want.

Lars

Ships! Loved their raisin toast on my visits to their Westwood location!

Unfortunately, where we live electricity rates are over 2x that of natural gas. Unless we're willing to spend about $22,000 on a solar panel system for a home I doubt we'll still be in ten years from now, induction wasn't as practical as another gas stove.

Here in NY my electric rate is about $.18/KWH, among the highest in the country, I believe the national average is about half of that. But let's use $.20 to make the math easy. An electric oven uses about 5KW, and 4KW would be among the higher output induction burners on the market today. If you were to run the equivalent of the power burner on full blast AND the oven (with the door open so it never cycles off) for a full hour, it would cost $1.80 that day. If the savings of gas were 50%, gas would have saved them $.90 that day.

I think we can agree that this would be much more than is used on a typical day for most folks, right? So if we bring the power usage down to reality, we're down to pennies, or at least far less than I could imagine all but the most frugal person caring about if they're already interested in paying the upcharge for higher end appliances. Regardless of their local electric rates.

FOAS, have you not been reading Grainlady's posts?

Every penny counts, not that I have been counting, but I did notice my electric bill go down significantly (by $20 a month or so) when I started hanging my laundry to dry in my back yard in Venice instead of using my electric dryer. When the electric dryer was running, the electric meter would spin like crazy - the same way it did when the MW was on, except for much longer with the dryer. I have a gas dryer now and so I do not have to hang laundry in the yard any more. Kevin pays the electric bill now (I pay the gas bill), and so I have no idea what it is. In Austin, I had electric central heating and A/C, and it was outrageously expensive, and so I repaired the gas floor furnace and used that in the winter. In the summer I set the thermostat at 80 degrees to minimize cooling costs and used ceiling fans, which made the heat almost bearable.

Electricity costs vary wildly from state to state, and sometimes from city to city within a state. Gas not so much, except for Hawaii, where is cost six times the national average.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Electric rates by state

Lars - Of course I've been reading Grainlady's posts, with great fascination I might add, and I consider her an example of one of the most frugal people I "know" - in a different league altogether from what I'd imagine the averge cost conscious person to be.

Prices are dropping, but induction is still somewhat of a luxury item. I think it's a fair assumption that most people converting to it at this point are either a) sold on the performance which is worlds better than standard electric and arguably better than gas, or b) have no reasonable option for gas and really hate their current electric. For either of those categories, a decision is made that induction is worth the premium, not to mention potentially having to invest in a lot of new cookware. Are those people really going to concern themselves with a few dollars a month more for electricity? I doubt it.

I did not realize that induction tops were a luxury item, since I have not been shopping for them, except as a hot plate, and that did not seem expensive at all.

Does induction use more electricity than a regular electric range? I was under the impression that it used less, and I thought people were buying them to lower their electric bills. I bought a new dishwasher that is energy efficient and should save me enough money in eight years to pay for the extra cost. The main reason I chose it was because it is quiet. I do try to save energy just for the save of saving energy and not necessarily for the money I save, which is probably minimal. When I was in Venice, I was underemployed for a while, and so saving money on the electric bill made a difference.

âÂÂ----- Are those people really going to concern themselves with a few dollars a month more for electricity? I doubt it. ---- âÂÂâÂÂ

Considering how infrequently you use the kitchen, I agree, the electric cost is not going to be a major factor in the decision making one way or the other.

Couple of things to look into. I seem to think that the projection is for electric rates to go up and the gas price to go down in the future, but that is still not that important.

The most important thing to look into is how well equipped is your utility companyâÂÂs infrastructure in your area. It is projected that in many areas, utility grids will not be able to handle the expected rise in electric vehicles on the road. The peak load time is when you are cooking dinner and the bread earner returning home to charge the carâÂÂs batteries.

dcarch

I bought my Amana MW in 1978, used it on the countertop (it's BIG) until we remodeled our kitchen in 1989 and then had it built in. I've had minor repairs and each time the repairman tells me how much better it is since it doesn't have plastic parts. However it seems to be ailing at the present time and I just may have to replace it. We don't have the option of gas where we live so everything is electric. My clock died on my Jenn Aire range and I bought it in 1989 so parts are not available. Can't use the self-cleaning feature and I'm having a problem finding a slide-in range with a downdraft, As the old saying goes "if it ain't one thing, it's another."

jude

I had one of those earliest (early '70s) Amana home microwaves, and we did actually cook in them, or try to learn to, incorporating soy sauce, other things into the recipes to give foods some color :) I did a chicken thighs, golden mushroom soup and soy sauce microwave dish for years that really was pretty tasty over rice :) I bought it when first married and working at an appliance and hardware store with my employee discount, and remember it costing as much as a new maytag washer. Not my maytag washer, my set was one that had been repossessed by the owner for non payment, so washer/dryer were used.

I remember buying a Texas Instrument pocket calculator for DH around the same time too, not that they quite fit into a pocket - at about $75. He's carried increasingly smaller sizes all his working life, until now...when he shops for slightly larger than those tiniest models - that changing eyesight thing...
Every once in a while I miss a calculator with an actual paper tape, when doing bookkeeping here at my computer sometimes it would nice to have that tape to attach and file with things, in a drawer, not a computer file.

As for energy, electricity is produced from coal in large part. It's dirty, not at all environmentally friendly and the prices just keep going up. Elery thinks there will be a big jump in electricity prices in the next decade or so, and it will be a lot more expensive. Even the big wind farms that are going up are going to be years/decades in the making before they produce much of our energy.

Natural gas prices are holding steady but then there is the fracking issue, so that's not environmentally friendly either.

I do not believe gas stoves are going the way of the dinosaur any time in the near future. However, when we move to the farm I will have to change to propane fuel instead of natural gas and then I'll have to do the math again to see if I'm at all interested in induction.

As for venting, it was my understanding that it's for carbon monoxide instead of heat, and that's why there are local/state/whatever requirements for the big cooktops.

Annie

Grainlady is also a big proponent of the solar cooker, something I have not investigated although the idea is mentally stored away in case I ever need to go there.

I've been casually wanting a "hot plate" for years and when I do get one, it will be induction. I added the one you posted, Lars, to my Amazon cart and hopefully it'll go down in price and you will find it stupendous and then I'll snag it.
It might be overkill for heating gravy on Thanksgiving though.

Annie, MUA regulations exist to prevent carbon monoxide being drawn into the house. Venting causes CO to be backdrafted from other gas appliances (furnaces, hot water heaters, fireplaces) because it creates a negative pressure inside the house. This is a problem with modern houses which are more tightly built than older homes. It's not the cooktop which causes CO, it's the high flow vents which can exhaust a house in minutes. Think of a house of 2000 square feet area with 8' ceilings. That's 16000 cubic feet. A 1000 cfm vent will draw out all the air in the house in 16 minutes. This will draw air in from any other openings like chimneys, hence the danger of CO.

Local regulations may or may not allow for modern prevention of backdrafting. It depends. In some counties, they don't care. If you have a powerful gas cooktop, with big powerful vent, you may be forced to install MUA system which is expensive.

As for the argument that induction costs more to run than gas, the power used in most homes for cooking is miniscule compared to the power needed for heating or cooling. If you're concerned about energy bills, adjust the thermostat. Don't compare cooking with gas with induction for power use, it's trivial in both cases. We keep our home at 62F during winter when we're up, it goes down to 55F when we're asleep or out. In summer, we cool down to 75F when we're home, 80F when we're out. We replaced the failing heating system and hot water heaters with energy efficient units. When we have guests, we will adjust the temperatures because most people don't find it comfortable. But our energy costs are low compared to friends and neighbors.

Cheryl

This post was edited by jadeite on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 9:17