Electric induction works pretty well. It's the resistive stoves that are crap.
I dislike the fact that gas stoves typically come attached to gas ovens, and gas ovens are kinda crap. Electric/resistive actually works better there. Less moisture, less smells, more efficient, seems to heat up faster and give off less waste heat.
Honestly, induction works better than all but the most high-end gas ranges. The cheaper gas burners can produce the BTUs, they just do a poor job utilizing them. Induction, OTOH, puts nearly 100% of its energy into the pan.
Is it? It has been a while since I read it but there was an article comparing the energy efficiency of different cooking devices and even though induction cooker is at the top the efficiency is only 70%-80% something.
Edit: Found it:
> There are no Energy Star® certifications for ranges, but research by the U.S. Department of Energy indicates an induction cooker is 84% efficient at energy transfer, versus 74% for a smooth-top electric unit, giving it a heating performance comparable to a gas element. More significantly, induction is 90% efficient with its power use, using 2.8 kW to deliver 2.52 kW. This is a substantial improvement over electric coils, which use 2.0 kW to deliver 1.1 kW (a 55% efficiency), and over gas, which uses 3.5 kW to generate 1.75 kW (a 50% efficiency).
So with many gas ranges, most of the BTUs produced go up past the side of the pan and into the exhaust vent, rather than getting absorbed by the pan and used to heat your food. Fancy Wolf and Vulcan ranges have burner designs that mitigate this issue, but I've never see them on anything cheaper than a few thousand dollars.
OTOH, even a basic GE induction range has almost no heat waste. So while a burner might only be rated for 10k BTUs, all of that heat is going into your pan. Which is how they do things like boil water in 2 minutes.
The biggest issue with induction is that the larger ones have enormous power requirements.
mywittyname says >"The biggest issue with induction is that the larger ones have enormous power requirements."<
No, the biggest issue is that electrical power is not (easily) available everywhere (think "wherever you camp") and always (think "earthquakes and hurricanes"). But I can carry or find gas/oil/coal/wood almost anywhere. How many trash fires in the inner city of Chicago on a cold night? There are always political signs, trash, and/or wood from buildings available to burn. Nothing like warming your hands by a barrel fire with a bunch of friends!
Yeah, I was firmly in the "gas is best for cooking because of the control and the amount of heat it produces" camp, but since we got a decent induction hob I would never go back to gas. It cooks even faster(the largest 2500W ring at full power is a serious thing) than gas, with full control and the cleanup is stupidly easy because nothing ever burns to the surface, unlike many gas/ceramic ranges.
+1 for induction stoves. We gutted and redid a house a few years ago, and decided to go with induction primarily to avoid the complexity of running gas to where the new kitchen was. No regrets.
Induction technology has come a long way; make sure to read reviews and get a stovetop that does "simmering" well. Also make sure to think about the interface -- a lot of induction stoves require two steps to change the temperature (first click several times to choose the burner, then click several times to adjust the temperature up or down). We went with one that had a full range of buttons for each burner; only one press required for any one change.
I dislike the fact that gas stoves typically come attached to gas ovens, and gas ovens are kinda crap. Electric/resistive actually works better there. Less moisture, less smells, more efficient, seems to heat up faster and give off less waste heat.