Okay, so this doesn’t necessarily fit in the “stove tops” category, but it kind of does. Whether it does or not though, here it is.

Size has already been mentioned a time or two, but it does make a difference… at least on those stove tops that aren’t induction. Think for a second: if you’re boiling water in a pot on a burner that’s close to twice the size of the pot, how much energy are you wasting by heating up all that extra space? Small pots and pans on the small burners, and large pots and pans on large burners!

The size of your pot is something to consider too. Using a larger pot than you really need wastes energy heating up the all that extra space. It will always be more efficient to use just the right-sized equipment.

What your cookware is made of also matters. Some materials heat up quickly, using less energy; copper is a good example of that. Other materials retain heat well. A good example of this is cast iron. Remember: when you’re buying cookware, check what will work on your cook top. For example, induction stoves require magnetic cookware to work.

Make sure your pots and pans have flat, or very nearly flat, bottoms. That lets the pans touch as much of the burner as possible, maximizing efficiency.

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Here are a few things you can do to increase your current stove’s efficiency:

On electric stove tops:

•  Turn off the burner before you’re completely done cooking; use the residual heat to finish.

• Keep the burners and reflectors clean; they will work much more efficiently.

• Use the correct size pan: large pan on large burner, small pan on small burner.

• Flat-bottom pans will waste much less energy.

• Make sure all the elements work correctly.

On gas stove tops:

• Moderate flame settings will conserve gas

• A blue flame means the stove is working correctly.

• Pressure cookers are efficient. Cooking high and fast reduces the energy by as much as 75%.

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Most of the options that I’m going to touch on come with the electric stoves. Here’s a quick list of the options I’ll look into:

• Induction elements

• Halogen elements

• Standard electric coils

• Solid disk elements

Induction elements. With this option you can adjust the heat immediately and precisely. Induction stoves are, in this way, like gas stoves. Because the energy is applied directly to the pot or pan with which you are cooking, there is virtually no wasted energy. The stove doesn’t even get hot except where the bottom of the pan transferred it! The biggest drawback to induction stoves is that they require magnetic cookware such as stainless steel or cast iron. These can be difficult to find too.

Halogen elements. These are fairly common. Halogen elements are usually under ceramic glass tops. They heat up and respond fairly quickly, but they only work well if there is good contact by the cookware to the cook top.

Standard electric coils. This type of stove top is only above the solid disk elements in the efficiency department. They are hard to clean, but they are common…

Solid disk elements. These have the advantage of having absolutely no hot spots, but they are still at the very bottom on the efficiency scale.

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Which is better?

Well, the main advantage gas has over electric is that the cook can truly control the amount of heat that is applied. However, electric stoves are cheaper, at least initially. Also, if you didn’t already have a gas line to the kitchen, you would have to get one installed; this would make the electric stoves quite a bit cheaper.

Gas stove tops do come with some little risk. They have pilot lights on all the time, and gas lines nearby. Those who fear this should stick with electric stoves, but those who don’t care about that will have to let their budget and requirements choose for them. The most common statement out there about this question is that electric is cheaper to buy, but gas is cheaper to operate.

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… for a new stove top?

There are some interesting things to watch for if you are:

•  Gas or electric?

• Options, options, options. Buy only the ones you will use, remember!

• Energy Star doesn’t label stove tops, but there are some things that you can do with the stove you have now to increase its efficiency.

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