Personally I would do an induction cooktop with convection oven. I'm not a fan of gas but a lot of people love it.

I will never have gas again. There are more and more good induction ranges on the market, but I, too, prefer an induction cooktop and a wall oven. You will find much more info on this topic over at the Appliance Forum (which is just about as busy as the KF) with lots of appliance experts willing to answer your questions, and several old threads well worth a read. Induction is fast becoming the luxury standard in kitchen design here, as it has seems to have been in Europe for some time.

However, since you mentioned this is going to be your retirement home, consider a couple of things. Induction is extremely safe for the very old and very young. (And for those of us with a house-full of Bad Cats.) If you forget to turn off an induction hob, or accidentally drop a dish towel on it, nothing bad is going to happen. To me, you cannot place a value on that level of safety. So far as the cooktop and oven combination goes, just consider your aging back and the bending that a wall oven might save you. While generally a bit more costly, can be an affordable option if you shop carefully.

I hope you find the perfect elements for your retirement kitchen. Good luck!

Having had gas and induction, I say induction all the way for the cooktop. As responsive as gas, faster to heat, safer, easier to clean, less heat in the kitchen. I would never choose to go back to gas. If you get an induction range, I think they will all have a convection oven. But a separate cooktop and wall ovens are the way to go if budget and layout permit, IMO.

I loved my dual-fuel gas range that came with our home and swore I'd never have an electric glass top range again. But I love, love my new induction range even more. It's just the best to cook on and keep clean. And it's a completely different animal from traditional electric.

This time of year I almost always have a pot simmering with a stock, soup, stew or chowder. The simmer control is great.

There were two downsides for me - I prefer the look of gas ranges (those heavy grates....) and I did have to purchase a few new cookware pieces. However, all my pricey and favorite LeCreuset pots work like a charm.

I have convection in my new range. Had it in my gas range, too. But once I got over the novelty, I tended to go back to traditional oven cooking mostly because I didn't want to bother with time/recipe conversions. I'm glad to have the option, but it wouldn't have been a deal-breaker if the range hadn't come with it.

My range is an Electrolux. A range suited my space needs better than wall ovens. So, I'm not advising range over wall ovens/cooktop. But I am singing the praises for induction because I'm so happy with it & wouldn't have gone that route if I hadn't read here how much people loved it.

Good luck with your new build!

Induction cooktop and wall ovens if you have the space. Otherwise, induction range. All the praise for induction is well deserved!!

Induction, especially without easy gas service.

Uh, what they all said ^^

I'd never seen induction but that's what we got in the remodel based all the research I did. DH wanted gas. He didn't quite understand, but gave in to the research. Love it! DH is completely in love with the induction range. Easy to clean, heats quickly, less heat in the kitchen, great temp control, and no risk of leaving a burner on (they turn of if no pan is sensed) or burning other items (only the residual heat from the pan is left on the surface, not enough to ignite anything and the burner won't turn on).

Another vote for induction. I previously had electric...I LOVE my induction (Bosch) cooktop and wish I had it years ago.
It's a dream to cook with.

(I have never cooked with gas, so can't speak to that...but it keeps the kitchen cool - one plus I know over gas...and it's a breeze to keep clean!)
And I have a combo convection/bake wall oven.

induction cooktop with convection oven

or induction range....

same reasons as stated above, we will never go back to gas or electric cooktops, (had both)
love our induction :)

Another vote for induction. It's fantastic, so fast and responsive. It's safe and super easy to clean. I had smooth top electric before and though they look similar they're miles apart in function and ease of cleaning.

I'd go convection for the ovens.

Induction. Induction. Induction.

We have an induction cooktop (kitchenaid) and convection oven. I, also live in the SE. I have a friend that redid her kitchen with a BlueStar Range and it is wonderful but it heats up her kitchen by 20 degrees when she cooks. You risk burning your hands off using. The induction only heats the vessel you are cooking with. And it is so easy to clean!!

i'm in wisconsin--easy choice for was gas.

in the se usa, easy choice is induction.

unless you're an avid gardener and need a cooker for pressure canning.

Induction, induction, induction!!! Like you, it was part of a remodel for my retirement years. Imagine being able to hold a perfect simmer for hours without having to watch the pot. The preceding electric smooth top was a major PIA to clean. With induction it's not more work than cleaning your kitchen counter. However, I'm not particularly impressed with convection. The problem is that only the lower end appliances have regular oven bake only. If you want a built in oven, those without convection seem to have very poor quality. That said, I use convection only with my Bosch oven as the regular bake does not brown in that oven. With convection, the only conversion is reducing the temperature 25 degrees below the usual temperature.

Induction! You will be SO happy. Bosch makes one now with a bridge, wish I had that one.

Am I really the only one who has ignited something on an induction cooktop? Teehee.

It's really the best for candymaking. Not the best for wokking though!

I'll add my voice to all the others --- induction is awesome! We've had our Electrolux induction range for about 4 years now and we love it! We have our old electric ceramic top range at the cottage and I now find it so slow and awkward to use.
Induction is great in a small kitchen because it serves as extra "countertop" space too. Right after I turn off a burner, I can put a kitchen plate down on the burner without worry. (The burner is still kind of hot to the touch, but you can still touch it and not get burned. I would let a few minutes pass before I put plastic on top of the burner though.)

This post was edited by lisapoi on Fri, Jan 16, 15 at 9:48

I'll add my vote for induction. I got a GE Profile range just over a year ago. We love it. I bought new pots and pans, but that wasn't the end of the world. The oven has convection or regular bake. I love the convection for small things like cookies and muffins and prefer the regular baking for larger things and meats. My range can be set to do the convection conversion automatically if you want it to.

I went from a coil burner Jenn Air cooktop to the induction. The clean up is so much better and the fine control on cooking temps and instant heat or removal of heat is just a dream. Even my husband who doesn't cook much, but had to while I was laid up, is in love with it.

I did read that it may not be good for people with a pace maker. I don't know if there was ever anymore said about that. But for retired people with one of those, it may be worth looking into first.

I'll be the dissenter. Gas! I just couldn't love induction. My mom has it and I've cooked on it. I just enjoy cooking on gas a more. Induction no doubt has its fans and if gas were not an option I think I would be satisfied with induction. But I wouldn't choose it over gas. Try induction and then go with your gut. Neither is wrong - these are just preferences.

Another vote for induction. It's awesome

Second place is gas. Smooth top electric is dead last

Ditto mountaineergirl. I would never willingly go back to gas or (god forbid) old-fashioned electric. I love how simple it is to control (particularly if you have the kind where you can direct-select power levels), to clean (and it's even better now, since I started using a silicon mat under my oatmeal pot), and that, on some models (mine, and I use this function regularly) you can set the timer on a burner and it will turn off when you're done - for ex., I know my one serving of steel-cut oatmeal in my 1-qt. pot on power level 2-1/2 is done perfectly in 23 minutes. I can shower and put on makeup in that time without thinking twice.

I'm actually going back to gas from induction just for a change of pace. But I'm not sure I'd get gas if I was stuck with having to deal with a propane tank (although, come to think of it, a buried propane tank would come in handy after The Earthquake hits).

But I'm doing a range this time around and now there are range options in induction. So if I decide to change, it's easy to swap out ranges, compared to cooktops. I do have my electrical in so it won't be a big deal.

A propane tank is a big deal. So choose wisely! (Induction. Totally.)

I would get gas unless you want your kitchen to look like the set of star trek.

I have gas in a beach cottage and induction in our main house and induction wins hands down. You don't really want to clean and lift grates when you can spray windex and wipe, in a matter of seconds, do you? Heat the air when induction keeps the air cool? Many other reasons. See appliances forum and google. Never go back.

We also had the dilemma of deciding between induction and gas (propane) . We picked induction and now I will never go back to gas again. I love induction cooking - the control that you have over the heat it puts out is amazing.

I had a few stumbling blocks to get my Miele Induction cooktop.
Thank goodness for GW to be there for me supporting/nudge/remind me along the way to get the PERFECT cooktop for me.

If it weren't for GW, I would never have known such a wonderful appliance!

My friends had gas and she hated the difficulty in keeping it clean/looking clean, etc.
When she got to see my induction, it totally tipped her over to the Induction side, replacing a decent gas range for a new induction range.

Amanda

Induction, all the way. You will love it! Pinpoint accuracy and fast heating. EVERYTHING cooks better on induction. Cleanup is a breeze. When that pot of rice or soup boils over, just lift the pot, wipe up the spill, return to hob and continue cooking in seconds.