Lobster mac and cheese with some finger steaks by the side will slap right now, especially if there is a chilled glass of juice to accompany, sounds nice right? But there is a problem, a problem virtually everyone complains about, and that is cooking. This is because nobody wants to spend so much time trying to fix up a meal.
Gas cookers are known to be faster but the risk is very high, too high in fact, making most people prefer electrical cooking. Due to this, in recent times there are different electrical cooking inventions that have come to life, all to make cooking easier, less risky, and faster.
There are a good number of different electrical cooker hobs, however, in this article, we will be limiting the scope to just two: Halogen Hob and Induction Hob, largely because these two are mostly confused for each other.
What is a Halogen Hob?
These are a type of electric cooker hob that uses infrared radiation to generate heat. Regarded as a ceramic hob type of cooker hob which is due to its glass cooktop. The visible red ray gives a cooking power between 159W and 2000W and a temperature of about 700degree Celsius. Hence, you are given an instant heat to cook just like gas, a feature regular electric hobs do not possess. The halogen hob heats your pan with direct infrared radiation generated from the bulb itself with the help of the ceramic cooktop’s conduction. Its flat surface makes it very beautiful to see in the kitchen, providing you with an efficient cooking process as well.
What is an Induction Hob?
Induction Hob is also an electric cooker hob, the induction hub uses direct induction to generate heat for cooking pans. The induction hob is designed to have a coil of copper wire underneath its cooktop which generates direct heat for your pan.These two hobs are almost always mistaken for each other, majorly because of the similarities they share in their appearances – both are ceramic hobs with a flat surface. If you see it for a first time, you might probably even mistake them for kitchen slabs if you don’t look closely. Unlike stoves, gas, and others that can be easily detected. However, both hobs share a good number of differences and a few will be addressed in this article.
What is the Difference Between Halogen and Induction Hobs?
Heat Generating Process
One of the major differences in both is how they power and then generate heat. While the Halogen hob uses infrared radiation, the Induction hobs use direct induction to generate heat; the latter is more direct than the formerEnvironmental Friendliness
The induction hobs due to its contained heating process is regarded to be more environmentally friendly than halogen hobs. The induction hob has no excess heat as all the heat is concentrated to the pot while the Halogen hob heats the air around the pan, that way, energy escapes from the side of the pan; generating heat in the environment.
Hazard Risk
Although both hobs are of limited risk and as well are of modern technology but the induction hob has an edge over the Halogen Hob, basically because of simple features like how it can detect if a pan is on the surface or not, (if the pan is absent- it switches itself off after a while). That way, there are limited hazards in the kitchen during and after cooking, unlike the halogen hob that doesn’t possess such attributes.Energy Conservation
Primarily because the Induction hob heats the pan directly, this makes it require lesser use of energy unlike the Halogen hub that generates more heat and even allows it to escape from the side. In the same vein, that same feature makes the induction hob a faster means of cooking than the Halogen hub.
Conclusion
As striking as these two appliances may appear to be, they are amazingly different. The Halogen hobs can work with different types of pans due to its even distribution of energy. However, if you will be going with the Induction pan then have it at the back of your mind that you will equally need a new set of compatible induction pans.