Range Cooker Running Costs: Gas vs Induction in the UK

This question gets answered badly in both directions. Gas advocates quote the unit price; induction advocates quote the efficiency. Both are true and neither is the whole picture.

The two numbers that matter

Unit price. In the UK, mains gas costs meaningfully less per kilowatt-hour than electricity. That's a straightforward advantage for gas.

Efficiency. A gas hob delivers roughly 40% of its energy into the pan — the rest heats the air, the pan sides and your kitchen. Induction delivers around 85–90%, because the pan itself is the heating element.

So gas is cheaper per unit but you need to buy more units to do the same job. Those two effects push against each other, and the gap that survives is much narrower than either camp implies.

Why you shouldn't expect a dramatic saving

Hob cooking is a small share of household energy use. Most of a home's gas and electricity goes to heating and hot water. Even a meaningful percentage difference on hob energy translates to a modest figure over a year for a typical household.

Anyone promising you'll transform your bills by switching hob technology is selling something. Choose on how you cook, not on the running cost — that's the honest advice.

Where induction does win clearly

Speed means less energy overall. Boiling water in half the time isn't just convenient — it's half the time drawing power.

No wasted heat in summer. A gas hob dumps a lot of heat into the room. If you have any cooling running, you're paying twice.

Precise low settings. Long simmers on gas often run hotter than needed because low output is unstable. Induction holds a genuine low.

Where gas wins

No standing charge implications. If you already have a gas supply and boiler, the connection exists regardless.

Off-peak electricity doesn't help much. Cooking happens at peak dinner-time rates. If you're on a time-of-use tariff, hob use lands in the expensive window.

The ovens are the same

Worth stating plainly: on Bertazzoni Professional Series cookers the ovens are electric in both configurations. A dual fuel model has a gas hob and electric ovens. So this whole comparison only concerns the hob — oven running costs are identical whichever you choose.

Since ovens typically use more energy per session than the hob, that further narrows the real-world difference between the two.

The costs people forget

Cookware. If your pans aren't magnetic, induction means replacing them. That's a real one-off cost — test with a fridge magnet before ordering.

Electrical work. Induction needs a dedicated high-amperage circuit. If your consumer unit has no spare capacity, that's an upgrade.

Gas safety checks. Ongoing for landlords, and an annual cost induction avoids entirely.

The reasonable conclusion

Running cost is not the deciding factor. Choose dual fuel if you have gas and cook by eye. Choose induction if you have no gas, or you value speed, cleaning and safety.

If you're in a new build without a gas supply, the decision is made for you — see our guide. Full comparison in our fuel guide.

Call 0330 133 6617 for advice.