What is the difference between hobs and which one to choose?

The hob is one of the main types of household appliances for the kitchen. The choice of modern hobs is so great that it can confuse even experienced users. Different materials, heating methods, and functional have their advantages and disadvantages. How to choose a suitable hob? The question requires a detailed study, because in order not to make a mistake in choosing and not regret the purchase, you need to take into account many points and not make a mistake. It is clear that we will talk about embedded panels, because otherwise it is no longer a panel, but a full-fledged stove.

Gas or electric?

Before choosing a hob, it is worth deciding how it will generate heat.

The main types of cooking surfaces in this case are two: gas and electric. The first ones are suitable if gas is supplied to the house or the family uses gas cylinders. By the way, the housewives are much more accustomed to using a gas hob, since for a long time they were the most affordable.

The second will help out when there is no gas (for example, in a country house or in a house built using experimental technologies, when heating is due to electricity). It should be noted that electric hobs are the most common today. However, they will require three-phase wiring, and this is an additional cost.

Important!

There is also a combined view. Such panels can operate both from gas and from the network, depending on what is currently available. For example, when turning off the gas, you can use the outlet, and vice versa.

Here it is worth considering another fact. Ordinary electric surfaces heat the burner and cookware for a very long time, and then cool for as long, this leads to unjustified waste of electricity. And it is, as you know, much more expensive than gas. Therefore, electric is produced with different types of burners, whose device allows to reduce these costs to one degree or another.

The most modern variant of hob, working from the network, are induction surfaces, based on the principle of electromagnetic induction. Such a surface heats only dishes, while it itself remains cold. However, induction hobs are much more expensive than everyone else.

Dependence and management

Dependent or independent panel - what does it mean?

Dependent hobs can only work in tandem with their oven. And the control panel for them is most often located on the oven itself. If you buy a separate panel and oven, you need to keep in mind that not all of them are suitable for each other, even within the same model range of one manufacturer. This question should be clarified before making a purchase.

The undoubted advantage of an independent hob is that it is controlled separately from the oven, it is permissible to place it in any convenient place in the kitchen - it is not at all necessary directly above the oven. You can, for example, above the dishwasher or storage system. This allows you to more rationally place the necessary household appliances in the kitchen, especially in a small area.

Type of management. To turn on / off burners, two main types of control are used: mechanical and touch.The first majority of consumers considers the most reliable: in order to turn on or off the burner, as well as adjust the flame power, you just need to turn the knob. In addition, the cost of the hob with this control is much lower. At the same time, touch control is much more convenient - you just need to touch. Yes, and washing such a control panel is simple: just wipe a smooth surface.

What is the foundation made of?

The answer to this question allows you to find out, for example, how reliable the panel is in operation, how difficult it is to maintain.

The main materials from which the hobs are manufactured are several.

• Aluminum. Aluminum panels are inexpensive. But on this, perhaps, their advantages end. During operation, aluminum quickly dims, easily scratches during transportation or washing (accordingly, it is afraid of abrasives and metal nets for washing). Fingerprints remain on such a surface from the slightest touch, and splashes of even clean water will certainly leave sloppy stains.
• Enamel. The first plus is the same - affordable price. The second is the ability to select colors from a fairly wide range of colors. Enameled panels are not afraid of mechanical damage, temperature loads, they do not leave fingerprints or water. But the enamel is easy to crack, awkwardly dropping a heavy object on it, as well as scratching it with abrasives.
• Stainless steel. Stainless steel models are slightly more expensive than the previous two. They are superior to aluminum in impact resistance and heat resistance, but fingerprints and stains from moisture on them also remain.
• Glass ceramic. The most expensive coating, but also the most stylish, for which it enjoys well-deserved love of consumers. At the same time, it is easy to care for glass ceramics - just wipe with a damp sponge or a special scraper blade. Glass ceramics can reduce the energy consumption for cooking, because it quickly heats up and cools quickly. Moreover, outside the heating zone, which is clearly marked, the hob always remains cold.

However, there are drawbacks to such a coating. It is very fragile and can crack upon impact with a heavy object; chips are quite easily formed on it. If it gets on the heated surface of cold water, cracks appear. Sweet spots remain on such a surface. And sugar that gets on a working panel can spoil the structure of the glass ceramic so that there will be a trace forever. In addition, the dishes for it must be selected correctly: its bottom should be perfectly even, and the diameter should not be larger than the heating zone, otherwise white spots will remain behind the edges of this zone.

Tip

Never choose a hob according to any one criterion. Indeed, satisfaction with the operation of the device depends on a whole complex of different parameters - on how exactly it will be convenient for you to work with a specific control system, a specific material, the shape of the panel, the location of the burners, etc.

Varieties of burners for electric panels

In modern hobs, the variety of sizes and shapes of hobs is quite large.

• Their shape can be round, oval, even triangular.
• Two- or three-circuit burners on electric models make it possible to choose the heating area depending on the diameter of the dishes.
• The presence of an express zone (with increased power) is also the key to quick heating.
• The oval zone will appeal to those who like to cook in ducklings or other oval dishes.
• A special wok burner is designed for cooking in cauldrons or similar deep dishes.
• The number of burners can vary in different models from 2 to 6 (sometimes even more).

By the way, in gas hobs for quick and uniform heating, a double (triple) burner crown is often used, which has, respectively, 2 or 3 rows of flame.

Now about the principle of the burners. Aluminum, stainless and enamelled built-in cooking surfaces for the kitchen are produced with blind rings, inside of which there is an electric heating coil. It is these models that heat up and cool longer than others. In addition, over time they lose their "presentation", various spots remain on them.

There are several types of heating elements in glass-ceramic panels: halogen, induction, rapid or Hi-Lite burners.

• Rapid is also released in the form of a spiral, but they heat up and cool down quite quickly.
• Halogen, in addition to the spiral, are equipped with additionally powerful halogen lamps, which add a significant part of the heat during operation of the hob. They heat up and cool down even faster, but at the same time the entire working surface is heated, and not just the burner.
• Hi-Lite burners have a tape heating element enclosed in an asbestos base. They heat up almost instantly. A multi-stage adjustment of the degree of heating makes it easy to choose the optimal cooking mode.

What are the advantages of induction hobs?

This issue requires a separate consideration, since the principle of operation of induction hobs is radically different from everything described above. But due to it, such panels are the most economical and the safest to use.

So, the differences between induction panels from electric are as follows.

• Electric first heats the hotplate spiral, then the hob, then the cookware, while spending a lot of energy on heating. The induction surface always remains cold, which is safe. The principle of its operation is based on the creation of an electromagnetic field, which immediately heats directly the bottom of the dishes. This energy requires one and a half times less.
• Due to such a device, cooking time is also significantly saved (for example, an induction panel can boil water in 3 minutes, while an electric panel needs at least 5-6 minutes).
• Any cookware is suitable for an electric panel, only special one for an induction one: with an ideally even multilayer thick bottom made of ferromagnetic materials (transmitting magnetic waves).
• The safety of the induction hob also lies in the fact that it will not turn on if a foreign object gets on it. So, young children will not be able to accidentally make a fire.

Perhaps the only drawback of induction panels is their fabulous price. Therefore, in order to decide which hob to purchase, induction or electric, it is first of all necessary to evaluate the financial possibilities. After all, such a purchase will entail the acquisition of a set of special dishes, which is also very expensive.

Tip

Do not discount how much the new hob will fit into your interior. Even the most comfortable, it will not bring true pleasure if it spoils the design plan in the kitchen.

What else to look for when choosing?

Above were stated technical specifications that will allow us to assess the degree of reliability, safety, efficiency. However, choosing any household appliances, it is important to consider everything. For example, the presence of additional modern functionality that the panels can be equipped with. Housewives will enjoy the following functions:

• electric ignition;
• gas control (automatic blocking of gas supply when blowing a flame);
• blocking from accidental switching on (protection against children);
• burner heating indicator;
• automatic shutdown if there is no action on the panel for a while;
• auto-boiling (maintaining the necessary heating temperature after boiling).

The color of the model is important. And not only because he can bring coloristic dissonance into the overall style of the interior.If you are going to cook an inexperienced housewife or, on the contrary, too old a person with impaired coordination, you should not choose light colors: endless spots and splashes that are inevitable in such cases are very noticeable. In addition, if there are small children in the house, they can leave their “art” on a white surface.

Tip

Do not buy the most modern hob for your elderly mother. Despite all its “advancedness” and convenience, it is very difficult for older people to get comfortable with the control of such equipment: they are afraid of our favorite sensors, indicators, “glass” burners and other “smarts”. Most likely, these fears will spoil her all the joy of the gift and she will not be able to use it.

The dimensions of the hob, the size and number of burners on it also matter. It is important that the equipment fit in its designated place and can provide cooking for a certain number of people.

It may turn out to be quite convenient not to buy a finished product, but to independently assemble the hob from modular panels. At the same time, the burners can be placed in the form of a polygon, angle, arc, etc. This approach is justified if there are individual requirements (for example, a small or, conversely, too spacious kitchen, the presence of several people in the house who will cook at the same time, etc. .).

Choosing a hob is a pretty responsible matter. And one can not be mistaken, only taking into account the whole complex of requirements that a particular consumer presents to this type of household appliances. Style, color, size, equipment, economy, safety, reliability, convenience, the number of family members, their age, kitchen area - everything here will be of no small importance.