Which electric hobs

By continuing to browse you consent to our use of cookies. You can understand more and change your cookies preferences here. In this article. Not a member? Join Which? From old-fashioned coil hobs to ceramic models and modern induction hobs, electric hobs come in a range of forms and are a viable alternative to gas. Like gas hobs, electric ceramic hobs usually consist of four heat points, or zones, which generally glow red when hot so you know when the surface is safe to touch.

Dual zones on some electric hobs allow you to operate an inner zone within the main ring, to save energy when cooking with smaller pans or expand to accommodate larger pans. If you already know the kind of hob you're looking for, go straight to our hobs reviews for full test results for more than 30 hobs. A ceramic electric hob offers a good-looking option for your fitted kitchen and can come with handy extras like safety controls and a timer to program in your cooking requirements. Ceramic hobs are usually good at heating up quickly — but we found in our tests that gas hobs come out better for heat distribution and control.

Looking for the perfect cookware for your electric hob? Read our expert guide on the best non stick frying pans. Electric plate hobs use traditional solid electric plates to heat pots and pans and come in at the lower end of the price range. You'll usually only find four-ring electric plate hobs, but if you're looking for a cost-effective hob option, they are worth considering.

The British Heart Foundation BHF recommends that anyone with a pacemaker should keep a minimum distance of 60cm between the hob and their pacemaker. This simply refers to the ceramic glass finish, which means that gas-on-glass and induction hobs are technically also ceramic hobs. However, when you see a hob advertised as ceramic they are most often electric ceramic.

With electric ceramic hobs, the heating systems are hidden underneath the tough ceramic glass surface. When switched on, they simply heat the cooking surface by transferring heat from underneath the glass. The cooking zones on the glass surface indicate the size and position of the heat source, and will glow red when switched on.

However, the heat distribution around the bottom of the pans isn't as good as when cooking on gas or induction. The heat is also more difficult to control and it usually takes a long time for the cooking surfaces to cool.

Advantages - The visible flame is easy to control - Quick to heat up - Suitable for any cookware - Cools quickly after power switched off. Disadvantages - Requires a gas supply - Can be fiddly to clean burners and pan supports - Tricky to set to a gentle simmer - Needs installing by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Advantages - Energy efficient - Fast to heat up for instant cooking - Zones turn off when cookware is removed - Generally easy to clean , and the surfaces cool quickly.

Disadvantages - Unsuitable for people with pacemakers - Can only be used with certain cookware - Often more expensive than other types. Advantages - Fast to heat up and less prone to scratches - Frameless design makes it easy to clean - Works with any pan type - Sleek and streamlined finish. Disadvantages - Heat distribution tends to be uneven - More difficult to control heat settings than other types - Cooking surfaces can take a long time to respond.

Every hob we test is put through a series of cooking trials to simulate real-world use. To test their performance, we time how long it takes to boil water on each of the cooking zones and see if the heat emitted is evenly distributed. We also look at the heat retention of each hotplate by seeing how long they take to cool down after switching off from being on full power, and how easy the hob is to clean when splattered with cooking residue.

We look at the design of each hob too, checking if there are childproof controls and whether there are hot hob indicator lights. Type keyword s to search. By Frances Salvoni. Floriana Getty Images. Related Story. Ilya Rumyantsev Getty Images.

The GHI's top gas hobs Best gas hob. Boiled water rapidly Responsive burners Easy to dismantle and clean. Knobs can get hot when cooking. Best gas on glass hob. Easier to clean than most gas hobs Highly responsive Distributes heat evenly. Fingerprints show up on the glass base. In this article Which type of hob should I buy? Ceramic hobs Induction hobs Electric plate hobs Gas hobs Gas on glass hobs. Which type of hob should I buy?

Ceramic hobs Ceramic hobs are electric with a smooth, easy-to-clean surface. Induction hobs Induction hobs create a magnetic field between the induction element in the hob and the pan.

More on this How to buy the best hob Induction hob buying guide Top five best hobs Which? Best Buy hobs. Related articles How to buy the best built-in oven Built-in oven reviews. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share by email.

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