Operation Manual

THE INDUCTION HOB
Technical training
INTRODUCTION
- 5 -
CU3-INDUCTION-003UK-10/05
1 - INTRODUCTION
There are two techniques of glass-ceramic heating:
• The infrared.
• The induction.
These glass-ceramic hobs are as like as two peas.
The difference is only obvious once hobs are turned on.
The infrared one glows red while the induction doesn’t seem to operate.
The first is provided with radiant or halogen sources that transmit heat by radiation and conduction.
The second feeds a magnetic source, an inductor, which is placed under the glass-ceramic surface
and transforms the magnetic energy into heat.
The traditional electrical hotplate is based on thermal conduction, while induction is based on the
principle of the electromagnetic field.
The principle of heating by induction is a natural phenomenon discovered in the 19th century by
several physicists, among whom Léon Foucault. He highlighted the development of currents facing the
magnetic field in a moving metallic mass or a fixed metallic mass run through by a variable magnetic
flux. These eddy currents in comparison to short-circuits cause a heating effect (Joule effect) in the
mass.
Only since the middle of the 20th century induction started being used as a heating means, mainly in
industries like the steel (induction furnaces). Induction only found its place in kitchens in the 80s, or
even 90s for domestic electrical appliances with the marketing of the hob named IX1. The IX2
generation followed in 1992, IX3 (1996), IX3WR (2000) and currently IX4000 (2002) and IX6 (2005)
generations.
The operating principle is innovating. Contrary to other cooking modes, it is the container itself, which
heats and not the hob.
You put a saucepan down and this is sufficient to initiate the heat while the hob remains cold. The
heating element is nothing but the container metal, which transforms the magnetic energy into thermal
energy.
Induction qualities are flexibility, low inertia, easy cleaning, good efficiency and thermal safety.
Induction enables a litre of water to boil in two minutes, milk to heat without overflowing and chocolate
to melt just as desired. Induction efficiency may reach up to 90% according to the types of cooking.
With such a technique, only the container heats. Inertia is therefore low and, above all, the plate
temperature never exceeds the saucepan temperature.
Stepping from the mildest temperature to the strongest power, in an instant and while diffusing heat in
a homogeneous way, attracts more and more consumers.
This technology is incomparable to those of present due to the induction method.