Did you check Appliances? If you search Cooking and Appliances for plllog, you'll see my long form. My kitchen is over 15 years old now, so there are new gizmos, but the basic technology is the same.

I have three burners of inductoin,, of different sizes and powers, and two burners of gas, one smallish, and one med-large. There are a few things, like grilling hotdogs , where the hot air from the gas burner is better. But my gas cooktop is stainless, rather than enamel, which is a lot harder to clean, so I roast eggplants in a pyroceram pie plate in the oven, nowadays, rather than on the burner flame as I used to. It takes some patience, in the oven,, but they come out the same in the end. And I rarely use the gas, unless I need more burners, and mostly just stack my mother's collection of cast iron frying pans on it. :) For wok cooking, dragon's breath fire is preferred, and other than a dedicated, dish shaped, wok induction burner, wok cooking on induction has compromises.

Caveat: If you like the heat and the look of flames. If you look at the fire every time you adjust the gas. If you do a lot of lifting the pan to instantly change the heat, induction may not be for you unless you're willing to put in some time relearning and adapting.

If you choose induction, make sure you have enough power. You'll need a dedicated circiut, and possibly a separate circuit for the oven. You may even need another panel, depending on the rest of your kitchen and house.

Young people often hear uncomfortable high pitched noises, so include any kids regularly in your kitchen while you cook in the shopping for induction. There are also clunks from the stove, and various whines from clad cookware as the different materials do differently. If you expect a totally quiet kitchen, with only the birds out the window for ambiant noise, you might not like induction. With my hood on always while cooking, I don't hear the clunks, and my clad only whines when empty and at certain power levels, and also can't be heard with the hood on. I had no way to do a remote blower in my overpowered hood, so the sounds are never an issue for me.

Pots: Cast iron or clad only. The frankenstein pans with a steel slog on the bottom to heat them on induction are usually not very good, though some people report likeing them. I already mostly cooked in Le Creuset enamelled cast iron, so didn't have a problem changing. I now also have a few Demeyere clad stainless, and De Buyere carbonsteel crepe pans in several sizes. Iron and steel (i.e., fancy iron) are your only choices. Be good with that if you get induction.

For me, who has no trouble choosing levels by number, induction works great. Love it. Wouldn't change. Given cooking knowledge and good pans, the actual cooking is the same no matter the fuel.

You'll have a much cooler kitchen when cooking with induction instead of gas. Pot handles don't heat up nearly as much when you boil water, etc, for pasta noodles. You'll boil the water much faster as well which also helps keep a cooler kitchen. Some induction cooktops have bridge hobs which allow you to span a griddle across them with consistent heating. We swithed from a Wolf gas cooktop to a Bosch induction three years ago. No regrets.

Excellent information about the shortcomings and benefits of induction, @plllog. I'll check over on Appliances, too.

If a magnet will NOT stick to the bottom of your pan, it will not work on induction.

ETA: I prefer my glass top non induction. it is plenty fast enough for me, heating and cooling down, and no hum. I will never have gas inside the house.

No more poisoned air with gas.

I switched to induction about a year and a half ago and haven't looked back. Not once. The ease of clean-up alone is worth the price of admission. That, and I no longer worry about burning the house down because either DH or I left the gas burner on again.

Oh, about the noise: Mine has a buzzing/humming sound that I can hear, but the noise from the hood fan drowns it out. It also clicks when it cycles on/off, which is more of a problem on the simmer burner.

There is a learning curve with induction. I think I've mastered it for the most part; DH, on the other hand, still struggles at times. Mostly because he covers the entire cooktop with towels to avoid clean-up (and I think he gets a kick of out it LOL!) and then can't see the controls and gets angrily beeped at by the appliance if he sets the pan down on the controls or he misses the burner and it turns off. I'd say that's more user error than learning curve, though.

I have a Wolf Professional series 30" induction range. The oven is fabulous.

I invested in new cookware when I got it. I splurged. I had been wanting a "nice" set for a long time anyway, so it didn't bother me to have to replace my old Farberware (which I re-homed). I went with Demeyere, supplemented with a few odds and ends from other brands. As stated above, if a magnet won't stick to the bottom it won't work on induction.

“For me, who has no trouble choosing levels by number, induction works great.”

@plllog - This got me thinking about back when I had electric I saw people talking about gas being more intuitive because you see the height of the flame. I thought, ”how is that different than judging heat by the position of the knob?” I’ve got gas in two houses now and I get it. We’re also now renting a new apt with electric and it was weird going back when I cooked last weekend. However I’d still say that either way you’re making a judgement of heat based on visual cues, it’s just a matter of getting used to the appliance. Gas may feel more intuitive but in the end we tune to what’s going on in the pan.

Yeah. All that. I mentioned it because that's the most common cooking with induction complaint I've heard over the years. I actually find numbers easier because you don't have to stop and bend, just look at the number. ;)

Speaking of power levels, this is probably no longer an issue, but you only want one with at least 17 levels in the numbers--that's 1-9 with half steps in between. Many early units didn't have the half steps, and you'd be constantly adjusting up and down with no just right. I find the 17 sufficient. There may be other settings as well, like boost, Sabbath or keep warm, boil, fry, set your own temperature, etc., but in the numbers themselves, the magic number is at least 17 levels.

My Wolf has 11 levels, including the boost -- that's plenty IMO. Burner layout was important to me. I wanted the largest burner in the front.

I'm considering finding a cooktop with only two burners. This kitchen is tiny and I rarely need more than two burners at a time.

@foodonastump, For me, the problem with electric (non-induction) is that I can't adjust the temperature on the fly because of the time needed for a burner to heat up or cool down. To solve that problem when I was stuck with electric coils, I would set each burner to a different heat level and move my pans around as needed. Gas is so much easier.

We have been planning a kitchen remodel for some time and finally got our ducks in a row for this fall - switching to Induction was always part of the plan. Earlier this year, my 30 y.o. gas cooktop died. What to do? I decided to purchase 2 Induction Hobs to use in the interim. I have a fairly large collection of pots & pans acquired over the years from various sources - a real hodgepodge. Turns out - NONE of those pots and pans would work on Induction! This made it easy to dispose of all those pots & pans – a chore I was not looking forward to. I bought a new set of HexClad from CostCo and LOVE them! I love the Induction too – but I knew I would. My daughter (28) can hear a sound that bothers her – I can’t hear anything and I have good hearing. I wonder if my dogs or cat can hear anything – they don’t give any indication if they do.

The big difference between a glass top electric and a glass top induction is what you're heating. The electric heats the glass and the glass heats the pan. Induction heats the pan, which sheds residual heat underneath tot he glass, which gets hot, but cools down quickly since there's no heat coming up to it from below. My unit says "H" or "h" (big hot or little hot) when you turn off the burner to warn you not to touch it or put something you don't want to heat there. I think most have some kind of indicator.

The three different kinds of pans I have--well, four...I have enamelled steel stock pot and roasters--behave differently, based on materials and thickness/density. In general, with induction, the pan can react immediately to a change in the setting. That is why I have the carbon steel crepe pans, which I use for eggs, pancakes and, yes, crepes. Absolute control. The good metallurgy of Le Creuset, which makes the pots fairly thin, makes it react quickly to a change of setting, and the same is true for mother's old Wagner frying pans. Heavier, cheaper iron takes longer. The point of clad is that the copper and aluminum layers are thin and highly conductive, so even out the heating of the pan and react more quickly than the steel--that is, the steel heats mostly on the bottom where it's in range of the induction field, spread the heat to the copper/aluminum, which circulates it fast and back into the steel where the cooking happens.. My clad pieces are many layers and thick, and it doesn't react as quickly as the solid iron, but not enough so to be particularly annoying, though I prefer it for things like browning ground meat, which I don't want faster,

The thing you don't do as part of cooking (though it works if something's about to burn), is raise the pan. You pick it up and no heat at all is reaching it, and the burner will threaten to turn off.

I'll have to buy new pots and pans, I think, if I go with induction. I have an enameled cast iron pot, but it's a cheap brand so I don't now how well it will work. I also have a regular cast iron skillet and some sort of braiser that is magnetic. I'll miss using the pans I've been using for ages, especially my vintage copper-bottomed stainless ones.

On the other hand, I no longer cook for large groups or make complicated meals, so I may be able to get by with what I already own, plus maybe adding a small sauce pan of some sort.

Considering the small size of the kitchen and lack of storage, downsizing my cookware is probably a positive move.

The cheap cast iron will work as well or better on induction as it does on gas or anything else. If it's thin it'll have a faster response, but that's true on any fuel. Depending on how thin the copper and how thick the steel your copper bottomed pans might work, as in heat up,, but probably not particularly well. Try the magnet test. If it really sticks well, it might work. If it kind of sticks but slides around, it'll interact but not be the beloved old friend. I like your thoughts about downsizing, however. Is there someone you love who will love your old pots?

Another great feature of induction: Even though the pots heat the glass right underneath, glass is an insulator and it doesn't get very hot (just a bit warm after a time) unless the pot is right there. So not only don't you and the kitchen get very hot, you can wipe up spills et al. while you cook. Just don't use cold and wet and shock the glass. Use something room temp. Also, if you spill salt or sugar, get it up right away and try not to drag. The crystals can scratch the glass in a way that can become a crack and eventually break. This isn't common but it's sure if you're not careful. That's why it's also recommended not to slide pots across the surface--in case there's a stray salt crystal. But an example of the cool? I was just sautéing mushrooms while cooking too much at once and I noticed the kabocha was sort of half on the cooktop finding a place to sit because it got voted off the island. It was perfectly cool. Didn't get one little bit warm. AS opposed to being in the same position on gas,, when it owuld have been half cooked through...

I don't care what number is showing or the size of the flame. I just look to see what's happening in the pan!

The best thing is a simple wipe clean after. Love induction. Mine only makes a noise if the pan isn't in the middle.

@plllog, thank you for more good tips. I tried the magnet test on all of my copper bottomed cookware and one small skillet is highly magnetic, but the rest are not magnetic at all. They are mostly the same brand, but clearly made of different materials.

I don't know of anyone who would want my old cookware, but I'll donate it to the local charity that helps women get a new start.

I live an a very rural area where the power goes out far too often. The huge advantage of gas is that I can at the very least use the burners to make something hot. For me, that overrides any other consideration.

FYI, I saw a range advertised recently that has a battery that recharges while you are not cooking, then works when the power is out. I didn't explore it, just took note that it existed.

My outdoor patio grills and cooker work for when the power is out. I DO NOT EVER want gas in the house.

They had gas installed the day before….

https://www.waff.com/2026/09/25/couple-both-aged-78-killed-hazel-green-house-explosion/?outputType=amp

Power goes out = portable butane camping burner inside or propane grill outside. Problem solved.

My issue is I am tired of trying to clean the electric drip pans and the rings around them. I need to look into the flatop electric!!!! Any chance I could find one with only two burners? I have very little counter space! I love my Farberware pans I've had for many years!

I m glad I found this discussion, thanks for all the advice and sharing. Ginny

Ginny, there are disadvantages with glass to electric. I much prefer coil. Because the glass gets so hot, the spills burn onto them and they require razor blades to get gunk off. Glass is an insulator, so isn't the best at transmitting the heat to the pot, and is equally slow at cooling down itself, like when you go from boil to simmer. And they stay hot longer. Etc. Do check out all the reviews and commentary before you jump in. I do not like it at all.

That said, yes, there are non-induction, glass, 12" cooktops. There are also ones with solid electric elements that look like coils with out the openings. I know nothing about them, but it's worth looking at as a contrast to the glass. Whatever you're getting, if you haven't used the type before, bring your Farberware to an appointment at a demo center, with some food that needs active work, stirring, flipping, etc., and really see how you like them. You might be just fine with the glass and like the whole flatness, or prefer one of the other things you try. I hope you find what you're looking for.

lacey, I agree. Here it can be 30 below zero and I am not going outside to use the grill and I don't have a camping stove, not that it's any better than my Bosch propane cooktop (which I hate, BTW, but that's for all different reasons). My gas cooktop can be lit with a match and I can still make coffee and cook dinner. My double ovens are electric, so those are out of the question.

We do lose power here, sometimes for days. We have a generator and a pellet stove for those times, our rule of thumb is that if the power stays out more than four hours we fire up the generator. The real problem with induction for me? My All American canner will not work on induction. That crosses it off the list immediately for me and yes, I know I could can outside in the driveway with a gas burner or whatever, right along with the bugs and the 90F heat and the chance of dropping those glass jars onto the pavement. I don't have a deck or a patio or a porch plus the house has air conditioning so I'm canning in there and the gas cooktop is just going to have to stay.

I did buy one of those free standing induction burners but the hum drove me batty, so I gave it to my granddaughter. She says it hums more with some pans than with others. The fan in convection ovens has the same effect for me, I made sure my ovens were NOT convection when I bought them.

Annie