Separate hobs have become increasingly popular over the years as an appliance and statement piece. Not everyone can put the hob above the oven, some find it cheaper to buy a hob separately, and others want to place a hob on an island countertop as a focal point to a kitchen design. Whatever you want and need from a hob, it becomes hard to keep track of all the types, sizes, and features they now come with!
To help you out, here’s a breakdown of the hob types, how they work, and their key features to help you find the best one for your kitchen!
Using a magnetic coil under the glass surface, induction hobs use electromagnetism to connect and generate heat between itself and the bottom of the pan. It’s extremely responsive, modern and sleek looking, heating up very quickly.
As long as your pans are magnetic, you won’t have to get different ones to go with the hob, though you can get special Induction pans if you want to optimize the new, fresh modern look of the hob! Take a look at our selection of pans.
Hobs come with 2 measurements: one for the overall size of the hob and one for the cut out size. The cut out size is the space you need to “cut-out” of your worktop to sit the hob in, so that its main machine can hang below, and the hob will fully integrate with your kitchen!
The most common widths for Induction hobs fall between:
By using a large single zone, FlexInduction heats pans of any size that you position anywhere within that larger zone, giving maximum flexibility for all users and better control over what you’re cooking.
One of the most useful features of an induction hob is that it has child safety locks. Activated by pressing and holding a combination of buttons, it prevents children from operating it, making it a very family-friendly appliance! On top of this, no part of the hob gets hot during cooking, leaving zones cool to the touch.
Induction hobs are super-fast, cooking at twice the speed of a gas hob. With some induction hobs being able to boil a pint of water in just over 1 minute, you’ll save a lot of time and can cook straight away without having to waste time waiting for the hob to reach the required temperature.
Induction hobs only heat the bottom of the pan where they’re in contact so no heat is wasted! The quicker heating process equals in less energy used on cooking times, meaning you’ve got yourself one energy efficient hob and a way to lower the energy bills without sacrificing cooking times.
Induction hobs make cleaning a stress-free job! With a surface that doesn’t heat up whilst cooking, food won’t burn itself to the surface if it boils over, and you can just wipe it away! To give your induction hob that extra attention, we supply a Care kit to help keep your hob clean!
The temperature control of Induction hobs is comparable with the precise temperature of gas hobs. When your pan makes contact with the surface, you are provided with instant heat and the temperature is maintained exactly, equalling in a faster and more accurate cooking process.
If you’ve decided that this is the hob for you, and you’re off to purchase one, we always advise you use a certified electrician to install it. We offer an installation service to take the heat out of potentially stressful installations of appliances. Check out more information and prices here.