I Swapped From a Gas to an Induction Hob, and I Finally Understand Why Designers Keep Recommending It

I’ve been writing about kitchens for more than 25 years and was smashing out my first bylines just as induction started edging into the mainstream. Back then, they felt a bit mad and futuristic — all kinetic energy and magnetic magic. Clever, yes, but not compelling enough to crush gas. I was happy with my flame-throwing hob and didn’t see a pressing reason to switch. Admittedly, I was mostly living on caffeine and instant noodles at the time.

Over the years, induction hobs have steadily improved, becoming more powerful, more convenient, and far less noisy. I covered the technology as it evolved, visiting cutting-edge appliance factories across Europe, reporting on the science, trends, and weighing up the arguments, including the now-familiar induction hob versus gas debate. But when I renovated my first home, I stuck with gas. It worked, and I liked the theater of cooking over an open flame. Plus, induction hobs were still insanely spenny.

Then, convinced by a kitchen designer friend, I finally made the leap, and immediately wondered why I’d held back. What surprised me wasn’t just the speed or the sleekness, but how fundamentally it changed the way I cooked, cleaned, and used my kitchen. Even when I finally achieved my dream of owning a beautiful new AGA, I chose a model with integrated induction, so I didn’t have to miss out. Here’s why I’ll never go back to gas.

I am ridiculously impatient

One reason induction took a little time to gain traction is that it works in a completely different way than gas. There’s no flame and no traditional heating element. Instead, copper coils beneath the glass surface generate a magnetic field that reacts with ferrous cookware, causing the pan itself to heat directly.

I remember early induction models being criticized for feeling sluggish or inconsistent, particularly at lower price points. That criticism no longer holds. Modern induction hobs deliver heat almost instantly, cool down just as fast, and channel energy directly into the pan rather than wasting it around the sides.

And all this, my friends, equals speed. I start almost every pan on the power boost button and never stop being impressed by how quickly it responds. Bringing a huge pan of pasta to the boil takes mere minutes, and I can scramble eggs in seconds. Before we upgraded to a boiling-water kitchen tap, I even used a stovetop kettle on my induction for hot drinks, and it easily outpaced any electric kettle in the land.

Precision Control

When choosing between these kitchen appliances, it's fair to say that gas gives you visual feedback, which is why pro cooks love it. You see the flame, you adjust instinctively. Induction replaces that intuition with precision, and it does feel a bit like you’re cooking blind for a while. But once you get used to numbered power levels and precise settings, you start to realise how much guesswork gas involves.

For sauces, rice, eggs, and anything temperature-sensitive, induction is so much easier to control. I know exactly where a gentle simmer sits and can melt chocolate without fear of it turning into a grainy mess. If something’s about to boil over, I can drop the heat instantly and avert disaster (clean up) at the very last second.

The timer functions (I have one on each burner as well as an independent timer) have also become one of my favorite features. Being able to set a pan to switch itself off sounds like a small thing, but it’s transformative. I can hit the school run with a pan simmering away and know it won’t overcook if I get distracted chatting, and I can set different pans to all finish cooking at the same time. Literally walk away and get on with my life.

Bridging Zones for the Win

This is one of those induction features that designer friends raved to me about, and now I understand why. Bridging zones allows two (or more) cooking areas to act as one larger zone, distributing heat evenly across oversized pans or griddles.

I regularly use a wide frying pan that never sat happily on my biggest gas burner. On induction, I simply bridge two zones and get consistent heat across the entire base. With no hot center and cooler edges, there’s no need to shuffle food around to achieve even browning, and stir-fries need far less stirring. Once you’ve cooked like this, it’s hard to go back.

A Dream to Clean

I’ve lived with gas long enough to know exactly how much effort goes into keeping it looking decent. Fiddly burner caps, heavy pan supports, grease-gathering corners —gas hobs are a total faff to keep clean.

Cleaning a glass induction hob is a totally different story. Because the surface doesn’t get searing hot in the same way, spills don’t bake on. Most have touch-controls, so the surface is totally seamless and there’s literally nowhere for grease to lurk.

A quick wipe with a damp cloth is usually enough; I might buff with a lint-free cloth if I’m feeling especially energetic — this pack of 5 SOL Lint-Free Cloths at Amazon would do the trick. Cleaning an induction hob feels more like wiping down a worktop than scrubbing a piece of equipment.

Safety and Efficiency

Induction is undoubtedly safer than cooking over a naked flame, but I do think its safety reputation is slightly overplayed. After a pan’s been bubbling away for a while, the glass surface can get surprisingly hot — something I’ve had to point out more than once when my children are hovering nearby.

Most modern induction models do have a red warning light to indicate when specific zones are still hot, though, and they will also shut down automatically if a pan boils dry or is removed.

Energy efficiency is where induction really pulls ahead. Studies consistently show induction hobs are around 85–90% energy efficient, compared with around 35–40% for gas, because far less heat is lost to the surrounding air.

In real terms, that means quicker cooking, a cooler kitchen in summer (big win), and comparatively lower energy bills, especially if, like me, you cook daily. If you’re trying to consume consciously, induction is a really good choice.

The Only Small Downside

If there’s one downside worth noting, it’s cookware compatibility. Induction requires magnetic pans, and although things have improved in recent years, not every pan makes the cut. My top tip is to take a magnet with you when you go pan shopping, and if it doesn’t snap firmly onto the pan’s base, step away — even using one of these Fridge Magnets at Amazon should help you make the call.

I lost a few of my favorite pans when I switched to induction and had to repurpose my vintage copper pots as planters, but now I have a fine collection of stainless steel and cast iron pans that perform beautifully.

One lesson I learned the hard way was not to shake pans around while cooking, as I used to on gas — especially heavy cast-iron pans — as it can scratch the glass surface. I did experiment with an interface disk for a favourite jam pan — like this Moka Induction Plate Hob Heat Diffuser Disc at B&Q — but the loss of responsiveness rather undermined the point of induction, so I wouldn’t recommend it for your daily use pans.

Do I Miss Gas at All?

Only very occasionally, usually when searing steaks or chasing that last bit of caramelization. Cooking over a flame feels exciting in a way induction never quite will, but our outdoor gas grill is on hand to scratch that itch.

For everything else, my induction hob delivers the results I want faster, more consistently, and with far less fuss. I especially do not miss the toxic cleaning products or soaking pan supports.

Looking back, my hesitation was about timing, not performance. Induction has improved alongside modern kitchen design, where practical decisions, from hob choice to single versus double ovens, matter more than ever. I didn’t get on board straight away. But once I did, I never looked back.