Infrared cooktops are made from quartz infrared heating lamps in a corrosion-protected metal dish. The lamps are usually surrounded by radiant coils to emit even radiant heat. This radiant heat transfers direct infrared heat to the pot. You’ll find infrared cooktops have a higher energy efficiency than solid electric coils by as much as 3 times more efficiency. The benefit of infrared cookers over induction cookers: any type of pots and pans can be used. With induction cooktops, you need special cookware. Bill Best invented the first gas-powered infrared burner in the early 1960’s. Bill was the founder of Thermal Engineering Corporation and patented his infrared burner. It was first used in factories and industries such as tire manufacturing plants and large ovens used to dry vehicle paint fast. By the 1980s, a ceramic infrared grill had been invented by Bill Best. When he added his ceramic infrared burner invention to a barbecue grate he made, he discovered infrared heat cooked food faster and retained high moisture levels.

Induction Cooking is a relatively new method of heating food. Induction cooktops use electromagnets as opposed to thermal conduction to heat the pot. These cooktops don’t use any heating elements to transfer heat but directly heat up the vessel with the electromagnetic field below the glass cooktop surface. The electromagnetic field transfers current directly to magnetic cookware, causing it to heat up– which can be your pot or pan. The benefit of this is to get to high temperatures very fast with instant temperature control. Induction cooktops have many benefits for the consumer. One of these is the cooktop doesn’t get hot, reducing the possibility of burns in the kitchen.

Induction cookers are made up of copper wires placed under a cooking vessel and then an alternating magnetic current is passed through the wire. The alternating current simply means one that keeps reversing direction. This current creates a fluctuating magnetic field which will indirectly produce heat. You can actually put your hand on top of the glass and you won’t feel a thing. Don’t ever put your hand one one that has recently been used for cooking because it will be hot! The cookware that is suitable for induction cookers are made from ferromagnetic metals such as cast iron or stainless steel. Providing you use a ferromagnetic disk, copper, glass, aluminium, and non magnetic, stainless steels can be used.

People often ask the question of “infrared hot plate vs induction” when it comes to power usage. Infrared cookers use about 1/3 less power than any other types of cookers or grills. Infrared burners heat so rapidly, producing higher temperatures than your regular grill or cooker can. Some infrared cookers are capable of reaching 980 degrees Celsius in 30 seconds and can finish cooking your meat in two minutes. That is extremely fast. Infrared cookers and BBQ grills are far easier to clean up. Think about all the mess from the last time you used a burner grill or charcoal grill…. All the splatters that had to be cleaned up…. The ceramic coated elements on an infrared BBQ just need wiping down and the bowl of a benchtop cooker goes in the dishwasher