Induction versus Gas Cooking Surfaces (2023)

Recommendation

Within the constraints of feasibility and cost, an induction cooking surface is the clear winner over gas burners. 

Additionally, and if possible, have the backup of a basic gas hob or even a gas barbecue connected to a portable gas canister. 

Read on if you'd like to understand the categories and key points I considered to come to this conclusion.  

Categories of Analysis 

To decide which was a better choice between gas and induction cook surfaces, I used the following categories.

An obvious deciding factor here is whether one or both options is even available to you and reliable enough to consider. Setting aside that, induction is the clear winner in all but the marketing and aesthetics category, and that of course is a personal choice.

Note: I use words cooking surface, burner, hob, stove and hotplate somewhat interchangeably.

Health

Is degraded air quality and related health consequences a showstopper consideration for you?

How good and usable is the ventilation around the cooking surface?

Practicality

Is mains gas available to your house? Is there a gas pipe to your kitchen?

Will your mains electricity supply and/or kitchen circuit support induction with all hobs activated? (7KW or more)

Are both readily available for purchase and servicing in your area?

Are you at risk from disrupted electrical supply for days or weeks at a time?

Economics

An induction hob is more expensive to buy.  Induction surface costs are dropping rapidly but they are fundamentally more complicated and expensive to build than a gas burner.

Depending on the public and building infrastructure you have, one or the other option maybe prohibitively expensive to install. 

What is the gas versus electrical cost in your area per unit of energy, keeping in mind that induction is significantly more efficient in transferring purchased energy in the form of heat into cooking food.

Induction only works with cookware with iron in the base, not aluminum, ceramic or glass. Choosing induction may require you to replace some cookware you use with gas.  Most common cookware sold in recent times tends to have some form of steel (iron) base anyway so you may already have what you need. 

Safety

Induction much more safe than open flame, hot metal supports and no risk of gas leaks.

Especially if you are in a house with children or elderly, induction use is clearly safer.

Convenience and Usability

Induction is easier to clean, heats faster, provides more precise and evenly distributed heat.

Assuming you've worked with both, gas has simpler controls.  Induction can be its own worse enemy through overcomplicated digital user interfaces.  Induction controls however, once learned, provide more precise control.

Environment

Use of natural gas and its corresponding supply chain is on average much more polluting than electricity.

Future-proofing

Is your supply of gas and/or electricity subject to geopolitical effects?

Is your gas and/or electricity supply reliable or subject to shut-offs due to degrading infrastructure and/or increasingly severe weather?

Although it greatly depends on where you live in the world, the world is generally moving towards electrification and away from petroleum.  

The above criteria are all or can be data informed choices and invite more reasoned analysis.  It's clear to me that induction is the clear winner in all the above categories unless it is simply not possible due to local constraints.  However, the next two categories are more subjective.  You'll have to decide their relative weight and value compared to the above categories.

Aesthetics

For some there is aesthetic value to open flame, whether from a fireplace, BBQ or gas hob. There is more “theatre” with an open flame. Conversely, others may appreciate the clean, minimalist aesthetic of a flat black cooking surface.

Challenging Assumptions and Marketing 

This category is a little esoteric, but it gives you an opportunity to reflect on your instinctual "gut" choice and who/how is influencing your your decision around induction versus gas. 

Do you prefer to adopt or resist technological change? 

Did you grow up in a family using a gas or electric hob?

How much do you depend on social influences to select products? What do your family and friends use in their homes?   What do you see people using in the media you consume?  If most of them use gas, you will intuitively lean toward gas.  

Why is there more regulation around gas-based water and home heating than gas stoves? All three burn natural gas but one is a visible part of daily lives and the other two are not.

The use of gas cooking in the media and advertising is pervasive. Top restaurant profiles, cooking shows and professional chefs mostly appear cooking with gas hobs. Is the food they produce "better" as a result?  

The promotion of gas at the cost of health and the environment does seem similar to the promotion of cigarette smoking in media prior to the 1970s.  In that case it's it's clear that connecting negative health effects to smoking eventually won over public opinion from smoking industry “obfuscation” marketing.  Is the natural gas industry doing something similar vis a vis health and climate change versus encouraging natural gas consumption?

Background and Context

I really like "cooking with gas".  I like the aesthetic and theatre of open flame.  As part of a kitchen remodel starting in 2023 we will install a new cooking surface so I did a few hours of research and wrote up this summary of what I found.  Along the way I uncovered a bias towards gas that I wanted to scrutinize. 

In our current location we lucky enough to live in an area where we have access to both gas and electricity.  That being said electricity can be problematic at times (e.g., big storms) so with only induction in the kitchen we want a gas backup.  For us an outdoor cooking area with gas hob and barbecue meets that requirement.  Another problem with electricity in our area is its cost is growing much faster than natural gas cost.  However, we plan to install solar panels and batteries to more generally address this in the future.

On a previous kitchen remodel at a different location in 2018, as a compromise with my wife (who in this and most cases has much more sense than me), we installed both induction and gas cooking surfaces side by side.  My experience was mixed.  In the boil-the-water test, the induction hob heated water 50% faster than the gas burner. However, I continued to prefer the aesthetics of gas and ended up using both gas and induction depending on what I was cooking.

What's changed in 5 years since our last remodel? There is certainly growing evidence on the negative health effects of burning natural gas in an enclosed space, even with targeted ventilation.  Also, depending on where you live, there may be a move away from natural gas and towards electricity as motivated by e.g. environmental and/or geopolitical concerns. 

A a last consideration for us personally, our remodel acknowledges we are growing older, with reducing capabilities on our horizon.  Induction is a lot safer than gas.  Additionally we rely on portable natural gas containers for our current gas cooking surface and they are heavy and awkward to move around. There will come a time where we're no longer able to do that.