Abstract- Induction cooking is often considered one of the mostefficient cooking technologies. With this technology, up to 90% of the energyconsumed is transferred to the food, compared to about 74% for traditionalelectric systems and 40% for gas. This technology has become popular in Europe,but its adoption in the US has been less enthusiastic. Several market barriersexist for this technology, including high first cost, the requirement ofmagnetic cookware, and lower perceived reliability. This paper presentsfindings from a technical assessment of induction cooking performed by theElectric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for the California Energy Commission(CEC). This assessment evaluated the cooking efficiency of induction technologyand estimated its energy savings potential. Total cost of ownership isconsidered, as well as market barriers and non-energy benefits offered byinduction cooking technology.
The findings of this studydemonstrate that induction cooking is not always more efficient thatconventional electric (resistive) technology. The energy savings potential ofinduction cooking is found to be greatest when used with small cookware. Theimpact of these findings on standard test procedures is discussed, andrecommendations for improvement are suggested. Finally, a prototype cookerdesign is presented, with a discussion of the limitations of current designsthat prevents their operation with non-magnetic cookware.
Keywords- Electrical Power Research Institute, Prototype, California Energy Commission,Market Barriers, etc.