WEBVTT - Are Induction Cooktops Better than Gas or Electric?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren Bobobomb. Here the principle of cooking food in

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<v Speaker 1>a pot or pan atop a heat source that hasn't

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<v Speaker 1>changed much since the dawn of cookware. The cookware acts

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<v Speaker 1>as the intermediary between the heat source and the food.

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<v Speaker 1>The main weakness here is that the heat source, be

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<v Speaker 1>it an open fire or a tiny gas flame or

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<v Speaker 1>an electric element, only directly heats the part of the

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<v Speaker 1>cookware that touches it. The rest of the cookware is

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<v Speaker 1>warmed by heat conduction, and as a result, the food

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<v Speaker 1>receives different amounts of heat from different parts of the

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<v Speaker 1>pot or pan. This is why with conventional heating elements

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<v Speaker 1>like an electric or gas stovetop, we have to rely

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<v Speaker 1>on the slow process of convection to heat a stew

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<v Speaker 1>all the way through, and have to stir some foods

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<v Speaker 1>constantly to prevent them from from burning in the pan.

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<v Speaker 1>Electric elements, in particular, tend to toggle on and off

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<v Speaker 1>to keep an overall steady temperature, which can lead to hotspots.

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<v Speaker 1>This is why recipes for delicate sauces like chocolate ganache

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<v Speaker 1>or a hollandaise traditionally want you to heat your ingredients

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<v Speaker 1>in a vessel over steaming water instead of directly on

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<v Speaker 1>a cook top. This conducts heat to the floor of

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<v Speaker 1>the pan more evenly, helping you reduce the risk of scorching, boiling, separation,

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<v Speaker 1>and other heartaches. And this has been what's up for millennia.

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<v Speaker 1>But within the past fifty years or so, a new

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<v Speaker 1>use of technology has provided a different option. Induction cook

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<v Speaker 1>tops help you heat food more evenly by cutting out

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<v Speaker 1>the middleman and turning the cookware itself into the source

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<v Speaker 1>of heat as long as that cookware is made of

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<v Speaker 1>the right stuff. Iron or steel pans work well, but

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<v Speaker 1>pretty much any other material that you put on the

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<v Speaker 1>cook top, like aluminum or pyrex or your hand won't

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<v Speaker 1>get hot. Induction cooktops also feature precise temperature control and

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<v Speaker 1>the capacity for very low temperature settings, all while working

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<v Speaker 1>more efficiently and producing less waste heat in your kitchen.

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<v Speaker 1>An induction cooktop can do all of this because of

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<v Speaker 1>the properties of electricity and magnetism. Magnets are not magical.

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<v Speaker 1>We know how they work, though it is true that

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<v Speaker 1>the force that governs them electromagnetism, is many times stronger

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<v Speaker 1>than gravity. The suspension of a maglev train above its

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<v Speaker 1>track is a striking example of this point. Electricity and

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<v Speaker 1>magnetism can affect each other without physical contact through electromagnetic fields.

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<v Speaker 1>This is what's happening in induction. Cooking a circuit with

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<v Speaker 1>an alternating current flowing through it inside the stovetop generates

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<v Speaker 1>current in another circuit in the pan simply by placing

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<v Speaker 1>the pan nearby. The pan converts that current into heat.

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<v Speaker 1>But okay, that's a lot. Let's unpack it. There are

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<v Speaker 1>some basic principles of electromagnetism at work here. Every electric

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<v Speaker 1>current has a magnetic field surrounding it. An alternating current

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<v Speaker 1>is an electric current that periodically reverses direction, which is

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<v Speaker 1>useful because that means that its magnetic field also fluctuates.

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<v Speaker 1>This is useful because fluctuating magnetic fields induce currents to

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<v Speaker 1>start flowing and electrically conducive materials placed within those fields.

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<v Speaker 1>Alternating current is the type of current used to send

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<v Speaker 1>power through lines to homes and businesses and libraries and

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<v Speaker 1>everything else on the grid. Because of these properties, induction

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<v Speaker 1>allows high voltage current from power lines to be stepped

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<v Speaker 1>down through passive conductive devices called transformers that make the

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<v Speaker 1>current low voltage and safe enough for actual use by

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<v Speaker 1>you and all of your appliances. Induction is also the

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<v Speaker 1>principle that makes everything from electric generators to electric toothbrushes possible.

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<v Speaker 1>For induction cooking, it's important to remember one more principle,

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<v Speaker 1>electrical resistance. You know, some materials are good at conducting electricity,

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<v Speaker 1>and some materials conducted poorly or resist it. Induction cooking

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<v Speaker 1>works because iron and steel are magnetic, so you can

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<v Speaker 1>induce current in them, but they are also just complete

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<v Speaker 1>crud at conducting electricity, so they convert that current to

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<v Speaker 1>heat and heat up like almost instantly. A lower current

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<v Speaker 1>will create less heat, a higher current will create more,

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<v Speaker 1>and you can use the controls on the induction element

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<v Speaker 1>to turn it up or down. I find it useful

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<v Speaker 1>to think about light bulbs when considering electric current flow

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<v Speaker 1>and resistance. An incandescent light bulb on a cord is

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<v Speaker 1>a great example of both. You've got current flowing to

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<v Speaker 1>it nice through the conductive wire in that cord, but

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<v Speaker 1>inside the bulb the current encounters a different kind of wire,

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<v Speaker 1>a filament that resists flow like all heck, and as

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<v Speaker 1>a result, it gives off visible light and heat. So

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<v Speaker 1>that's a simple example of how you can harness the

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<v Speaker 1>flow and resistance of a current in different materials. An

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<v Speaker 1>induction cooktop is a little more complicated. It contains an electromagnet,

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<v Speaker 1>a type of magnet in which you create the magnetic

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<v Speaker 1>field by introducing electric current to the device, So you

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<v Speaker 1>can turn the magnet on and off, and you can

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<v Speaker 1>make the magnetic field weaker or stronger with the amount

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<v Speaker 1>of current you apply. In the case of an induction

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<v Speaker 1>cooktop element, your electromagnet is probably a spiral of tightly

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<v Speaker 1>coiled copper cable. So you turn the element on and

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<v Speaker 1>it sends an alternating current through the cable, which creates

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<v Speaker 1>an alternating magnetic field above the cable, which is near

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<v Speaker 1>the surface of the cook top, just below a protective

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<v Speaker 1>finish made of glass and ceramic, you know, the same

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<v Speaker 1>as what you'd have on some conventional electric cooktops. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>when you put something that is not magnetic in that

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<v Speaker 1>alternating magnetic field on that cook top, nothing happens. You

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<v Speaker 1>can toss a stack of paper on there, or put

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<v Speaker 1>your big silly hand right on it, and you won't

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<v Speaker 1>feel any heat because there isn't any unless you happen

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<v Speaker 1>to be wolverine, and we've decided that adamantium is ferromagnetic. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>when you put something that is magnetic in that field,

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<v Speaker 1>like a ferromagnetic cast iron, stainless steel, or carbon steel pan,

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<v Speaker 1>the field will induce an electrical current in the material

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<v Speaker 1>of the pan. Because the field is alternating, the current

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<v Speaker 1>in the pan flows or kind of swirls like an

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<v Speaker 1>eddy or it tries to, but the metal resists it,

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<v Speaker 1>and thus it creates heat. In order to create enough

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<v Speaker 1>heat to be useful for cooking, you need a very

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<v Speaker 1>high rate of change in the magnetic field, and this

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<v Speaker 1>a high frequency of alternating current flowing through the electromagnet.

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<v Speaker 1>Induction cooktops accomplish this via a series of electronic devices

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<v Speaker 1>that increase the current and frequency while also protecting your

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<v Speaker 1>home and appliance wiring, including a transformer, rectifier, and inverter.

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<v Speaker 1>When the current finally reaches the induction coil, it's been

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<v Speaker 1>increased to a frequency roughly a thousand times higher than

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<v Speaker 1>that of a wall socket. But practically all of this

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<v Speaker 1>means that not all cookwar will work with induction devices.

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<v Speaker 1>A ferromagnetic materials work because they are susceptible to magnetic fields. Basically,

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<v Speaker 1>because their electrons are unbalanced. Any given atom in them

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<v Speaker 1>will have an upspin or a down spin, and thus,

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<v Speaker 1>in certain circumstances can behave like a magnet. Some stainless

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<v Speaker 1>steel even will contain too much nickel for this to work.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got a favorite pan and you're not sure

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<v Speaker 1>what it's made of, you can check whether it'll work

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<v Speaker 1>on an induction cooktop by taking a normal old fridge

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<v Speaker 1>magnet and trying to stick it to the bottom of

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<v Speaker 1>the pan. If you've got a newer pot made of

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<v Speaker 1>a copper or whatever, you might want to check. Some

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<v Speaker 1>manufacturers have started adding an iron plate to the bottom

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<v Speaker 1>of their non ferrost cookware to allow them to work

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<v Speaker 1>with induction. If the magnet sticks, you're good to go.

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<v Speaker 1>If it falls off, you're out of luck. Also, some

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<v Speaker 1>induction cooktops have built in detectors that will tell you

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<v Speaker 1>if a potter pan is appropriate. Oh, and they usually

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<v Speaker 1>include an indicator light to tell you when the unit

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<v Speaker 1>is on. Since you won't feel any heat, so this

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<v Speaker 1>is certainly a clever way of producing heat for cooking,

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<v Speaker 1>but like all technologies, it does have its pros and cons.

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<v Speaker 1>Induction cooktops are more energy efficient. It's estimated that gas

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<v Speaker 1>cooktops are able to convert about thirty eight percent of

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<v Speaker 1>their energy in to the food in the pan. Electric

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<v Speaker 1>can convert about seventy percent, Induction can convert over eighty percent.

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<v Speaker 1>Induction cooktops also heat faster than gas or electric, and

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<v Speaker 1>as precisely or more so than gas. Induction is also

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<v Speaker 1>safer because these ceramic glass cook top doesn't get hot,

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<v Speaker 1>you reduce the risk of burns or fires, though note

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<v Speaker 1>that the surface can get warm due to heat transfer

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<v Speaker 1>from the pan. Gas in particular causes indoor air pollution

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<v Speaker 1>and is volatile. Misalignments and other issues can cause gas

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<v Speaker 1>to leak into a home, creating serious hazards. Induction surfaces

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<v Speaker 1>are also easier to clean than exposed electric coils or

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<v Speaker 1>gas grates. Downsides include that it's just a different technology

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<v Speaker 1>that you have to get used to using. It can

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<v Speaker 1>heat things some fifty percent faster, so you've got to

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<v Speaker 1>watch stuff at first and adjust your expectations. Induction units

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<v Speaker 1>are still more expensive than conventional units as well, enough

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<v Speaker 1>so that as of now you're unlikely to make up

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<v Speaker 1>the cost difference in energy savings. Induction does tend to

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<v Speaker 1>operate with a bit of noise, a buzz or vibration,

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<v Speaker 1>and or some fan noise. Some are designed with fans

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<v Speaker 1>in the base, so you might not be able to

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<v Speaker 1>install them over an existing oven and would have to

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<v Speaker 1>replace the whole range. If you are replacing an existing

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<v Speaker 1>cooktop or range with induction, check with an electrician to

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<v Speaker 1>be sure that your wiring, voltage and ambriage can handle

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<v Speaker 1>the load. Improper installation can also interfere with radio or

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<v Speaker 1>television reception, and experienced electrician can help you avoid that

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<v Speaker 1>or constantly tripping your breakers or worse. There are some

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<v Speaker 1>other rare safety issues because this is an electromagnetic device.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a pacemaker or something similar, you might

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<v Speaker 1>want to check with your doctor first. You certainly don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to create any interference with that. In a similar

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<v Speaker 1>but less serious vein, you probably won't be able to

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<v Speaker 1>use a digital thermometer to read the contents of a

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<v Speaker 1>pan while the induction unit is on. Cooktops using induction

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<v Speaker 1>technology were experimented with as early as the nineteen thirties,

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<v Speaker 1>but didn't hit the consumer market until the nineteen seventies.

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<v Speaker 1>It's caught on faster in Europe and Asia, but the

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<v Speaker 1>market is becoming more competitive in the US too, especially

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<v Speaker 1>as fuel expenses rise and with legislation in places like

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<v Speaker 1>California moving away from new gas installations, it's expected that

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<v Speaker 1>more people and businesses will be induced to adopt induction.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article how induction cooktops

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<v Speaker 1>work on how stuffworks dot Com, written by Nicholas Jervis.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks.

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<v Speaker 1>Dot Com is produced by Tyler Klain. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hmm