Cooking With Magnets! A Look Inside an Induction Stovetop -- The Electronics Inside 75

Stating that using electrical energy (inductance cooker) being 3 times as efficient as gas is not entirely correct. This depends on how the electricity was produced. If the electricity was produced using gas and assuming that cooking the water with gas was done here in the most efficient way of extracting energy from gas, then arguably the efficiency of cooking water with that electricity would have to be 21% at max or less.

Ah ha! Now this is an interesting question, with a genuine real life answer! Absolutely, the national grid in the UK is said to be about 30% efficient at distributing energy, and the "energy mix" of what generates that electricity varies minute to minute. As such you are absolutely correct to say this it isn't the whole picutre.

Of course, the efficiency I was refering to is from the "point of use" as it is what most people are concerned about, how their utillity bills will affect them, in which case this will still stand.

For those that do care about the whole districution efficiency too there is one key thing to consider. If I cook on gas, I can only cook on gas. It will always have the same efficiency and carbon emmissions regardless of any external factors. However, if I move to electrical cooking, then I can then look to decarbonsie and increase the efficiency of the electricity (In home PV, No fossil fuel power, wind, grid renewables, BESS etc). But until the demand is eletrical, that switch never changes.

This is also true of heating homes, getting rid of gas boilers for air source heat pumps. Also for transport, once cars go electric, you can improve eletrical generation to suit. But pertrol is petrol always!

Thanks for your reply! The fact that you had 'point of use' in mind was clear to me from the beginning. But a casual viewer might take from the video that in general electricity is 3 times as efficient as gas and take current pricing of gas and electricity (in the UK) as supporting evidence. The former is not true as you agreed with me and the latter is a logical fallacy. I'm not sure how it came about that electricity is cheaper than gas in the UK at the moment, but if e.g. the price of electricity is subsidized to get people to use less gas (which is happening in the Netherlands where I am at) and this motivates people to switch over then they might feel 'cheated' once the prices get back to 'normal'.

Thanks for your reply! The fact that you had 'point of use' in mind was clear to me from the beginning. But a casual viewer might take from the video that in general electricity is 3 times as efficient as gas and take current pricing of gas and electricity (in the UK) as supporting evidence. The former is not true as you agreed with me and the latter is a logical fallacy. I'm not sure how it came about that electricity is cheaper than gas in the UK at the moment, but if e.g. the price of electricity is subsidized to get people to use less gas (which is happening in the Netherlands where I am at) and this motivates people to switch over then they might feel 'cheated' once the prices get back to 'normal'.

Electricity isn't cheaper than gas, it is nearly 3 times as expensive, but still more cost effective at heating water in a kettle and electric hob than gas and a saucepan!

FYI:

Elec Cost  0.2808 £/KWh

Gas Cost  0.09804 £/KWh