Horizon Power :: Cooking Appliances

Electric cooktops have come a long way in the past decade. You can now choose from space-age electric ceramic, instantaneous halogen or induction cooktops, as well as the traditional fan forced ovens and microwave ovens. These new generation appliances offer unprecedented temperature control, versatility, speed, safety and style.

As Dale Sniffen, chef of the TV programme "Let's Eat" says:

"My first impression of electric cooking was "WOW!" I couldn't believe how fast and even the heat was distributed, no hot spots, less chances of the food burning and they all have the modern look."

"Every time I cook with electricity, I'm amazed with the speed and control you have with any cooking situation. From gently heating up soup or leftovers on a low temperature, to the most intense heat used in Asian cooking. Electricity can do it all!"

Ceramic Cooktops

Ceramic cooktops (Ceramic Ribbon Element / Ceramaspeed) are versatile and economic. The heating elements are contained under a plate of ceramic glass, which presents a modern and stylish look that is exceptionally easy to clean.

The flat, uninterrupted surface provides extra bench space or preparation areas when the cooktop is not in use.

Ceramic cooktops provide rapid heat transfer with speed and temperature control - ideal for every kind of cooking.

Some ceramic cooktops come with dual circuit elements, so by selecting only the inner circle when heating a small pot, you'll save energy.

Halogen Cooktops

The tungsten lamps in halogen cooktops use the energy of light to transfer heat to the pot or pan. The heat is instant and gives you precise temperature control for faster cooking and better results.

On the practical side, halogen cooktops have no corners, grooves or grills, which makes cleaning a breeze.

Halogen cooktops can either be fixed (built-in) or portable and are available from all electrical retail stores.

Induction Cooktops

These work by electromagnetically heating the metal of a pot or pan. This technology has a distinct safety advantage because the cooktop itself does not become hot. This is great if you have young children.

Induction cooktops are faster and more efficient than gas, with superior controls that can hold the temperature to within 1ºC.

Induction cooktops come with advanced features, such as stand by, non-operating mode, auto stop function, automatic scanning functions and small objects detector. They are also available as portable units.

Pots and pans made of iron, enamel steel, certain stainless steels and types of glass cookware with metal bases can be used successfully.

Fanforced Ovens

These ovens use energy efficiently and make cooking easy. Temperature is equalised throughout the oven to eliminate hot-spots, which makes your cooking faster and cheaper.

An electric fan at the rear of the oven circulates the air inside. Some models can be programmed to calculate the exact time a roast will take to cook.

Microwave Ovens

Microwaves can cut cooking time and energy consumption by up to two thirds, which means instant energy savings for you. What's more the most recent models can even crisp and fry!

Microwave ovens help to retain much of the food's original flavours and nutritional value, plus there's no time wasted waiting for the oven to heat up.

Advantages of Appliances

Summary of Key Feature	Ceramic	Halogen	Induction
Energy Efficiency	Medium	High	Very High
Cooking surface	Flat	Flat	Flat
Ease of cleaning	Easy	Easy	Easy
Scratch resistance	No	No	Yes
Control of heat	Average	Easy	Very Easy
Instant heat	Medium	Fast	Very Fast
Retain heat after cooking	Yes	Some	Nil
Pre-programmed setting	No	No	Yes
Flexible touch control	No	No	Yes
Utensils / cookware	All pots / pans	All pots/ pans	Iron, enamel, certain stainless steel pots / pans
Safety Devices
Temperature limiter	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hot surface warning	Yes	Yes	No
Stand-by	No	No	Yes
Auto stop	No	No	Yes
Automatic scanning	No	No	Yes
Small object detector	No	No	Yes
Non-operating mode	No	No	Yes

In general, the quicker the hobs heat up, the shorter the time the appliance needs to operate.