Induction cooktop

An induction cooktop heats the pot directly. A coil under the glass makes a magnetic field, and the field makes the base of the pan hot. The glass itself stays cooler than a gas flame or a radiant element, and the heat stops the moment you lift the pan.

Because the energy goes into the pan rather than the air around it, less heat escapes into the kitchen. Control is precise at both ends, from a gentle simmer to a hard sear.

Most cookware works. If a magnet sticks to the base of a pan, that pan will work on induction.

Induction is step six of ten. Hot water, solar, battery, the EV charger and air conditioning come first because they carry the biggest loads and set the size of the system.

If the cooktop is the last gas appliance in the house, this step matters more than its size suggests. Once it goes, the home no longer needs a gas connection. Your plan will tell you whether that applies to your home.

An induction cooktop draws more current than most older cooktops, so the plan also checks that the switchboard and the kitchen circuit are ready for it. That is general electrical work, step eight, and it is often done on the same visit.

We do not publish a dollar figure for induction. There is no government figure we can stand behind for the cooktop on its own, so we describe the mechanism instead.

The mechanism is simple. Induction puts its energy into the pan rather than the air around it. If it replaces the last gas appliance, the home no longer needs a gas connection. What that is worth depends on your current cooktop, your gas connection and how you cook, and your plan sets that out for your home.

A hardwired cooktop is electrical work. The person connecting it must hold a Queensland electrical contractor licence, and they provide that licence number before they can take a job through SaveTonnes.

If gas is being disconnected, your quote should say who does that part.

We do not install, and we are not owned by anyone who does.

One enquiry brings up to three quotes from local installers. Each quote should show:

The cooktop model, its width and the number of zones.

Whether your kitchen circuit and switchboard can carry it, and the cost of any circuit or switchboard work if not.

Benchtop cutting or trimming if the new unit is a different size.

Gas disconnection, if that applies, and who is responsible for it.

The warranty on the cooktop and on the installation.

If a quote is missing any of these, ask for it before you choose.

Start with a few questions about your home and we will set out the ten steps in the right order for you, with the cooktop in its place.

General electrical, for the switchboard and circuit work a cooktop can need. Solar PV, for the daytime power that runs it. Home automation, for timing the rest of the house around it.