Buying a Range Cooker for a New Build With No Gas Supply

If you're moving into a new build, there's a decent chance there's no gas supply at all. That rules out a whole category of range cooker — and matters less than most people fear.

Why this is happening

UK building regulations and the direction of housing policy have moved decisively towards all-electric new homes. Heat pumps replace gas boilers, and induction replaces gas hobs. The practical effect for kitchen buyers is that gas and dual fuel range cookers are simply not an option in a growing share of new properties.

It also affects resale thinking in older homes: an all-electric kitchen is increasingly the more future-proof specification.

What you can still have

A full-size range cooker, in every width, with the same ovens. Bertazzoni's induction range cookers run from £4,599 to £6,199 across 90cm, 100cm and 110cm, in the same Professional Series design as the dual fuel models.

The critical point: the ovens are identical. On a dual fuel Bertazzoni the ovens are already electric — only the hob is gas. So going all-electric costs you nothing at all on the baking and roasting side. You are only changing the hob technology.

What induction gives you that gas doesn't

Speed. Induction boils water in roughly half the time of gas because the energy goes into the pan rather than heating the air around it — around 85–90% efficiency versus roughly 40% for gas.

Control. Response is instantaneous, and low settings are genuinely low without the flame-guttering problem gas has at minimum.

Cleaning. The glass surface itself barely heats, so spills don't bake on. A wipe does it. Anyone who has scrubbed brass burner caps will appreciate this.

Safety. No open flame, no combustion products in the room, surfaces cool faster, and most models shut off automatically when a pan is removed.

No annual gas safety check, and no gas connection to fail.

What you give up

Visual heat feedback. With gas you see how hard it's working; with induction you read a number. Most people adapt within a fortnight.

Wok cooking. A round-bottomed wok doesn't couple well with a flat induction zone. Flat-bottomed woks work fine, but it isn't the same as a proper gas wok burner.

Power-cut cooking. Gas hobs can usually be lit manually. Induction can't.

Charring directly over flame — peppers, aubergines, tortillas. There's no substitute; you use a grill or a dry pan instead.

The cookware check

Induction needs ferrous, magnetic pans. All cast iron works. Most modern stainless works. Pure aluminium and copper don't, and nor does some older stainless.

Test it before you buy the cooker: hold a fridge magnet to the base of your pans. If it sticks firmly, that pan works. If it doesn't, budget for replacements — this catches people out and can add a few hundred pounds nobody planned for.

The electrical requirement

Induction range cookers need a dedicated high-amperage circuit run from the consumer unit by a qualified electrician. Not a standard 13A plug.

Good news for new builds: this is far easier to specify before completion than to retrofit. If you're still in the build process, tell your developer or electrician the cooker you intend to fit and get the circuit installed to the right rating with the isolator in an accessible position. We'll confirm the exact requirement for your chosen model.

Where to start

The 90cm twin oven induction from £4,599 is the entry point. If you want extraction built in — worth considering in an open-plan new build — the Air-Tec vented models start at £5,499 and need no hood.

Read the full buyer's guide or call 0330 133 6617.