Phoenix Journal · Equipment
Induction promises a cooler, cleaner, more efficient line - but the buying decision is really an electrical and ventilation decision. Here is what to check before you commit.
Buying guide
Induction has gone from a nice-to-have to a serious option for busy commercial kitchens, and it is easy to see why - a cooler line, faster response and far less wasted heat. The catch is that the hob you fall for on the showroom floor is only part of the story.
Before you sign anything, the questions that actually decide whether induction works for you sit behind the appliance: what your electrical supply can carry, how the units will be cleaned, and whether your extraction is ready for the change. Get those right and induction earns its keep. Get them wrong and you are looking at a rewire, a failed inspection or a hob that trips out mid-service.
This guide walks through what to weigh up before buying, written for the people who have to run and maintain the kitchen afterwards - not just cook on it.
The headline number is efficiency. Induction works by creating a magnetic field that heats the pan directly, so roughly 90% of the energy goes straight into the food. A gas burner throws most of its heat into the room around the pan, which is why traditional lines run so hot. That difference is not just an energy bill saving - it changes the feel of the whole kitchen.
Because so little heat spills into the room, the space stays cooler and more comfortable to work in through a long service. That has a knock-on benefit for your ventilation and any air conditioning, which no longer have to fight a wall of ambient heat coming off the hobs. Staff safety improves too - there is no open flame, and the surface only heats where a suitable pan sits on it, so the risk of burns and accidental ignition drops sharply.
Cleaning is the other quiet win. A flat glass top wipes down in seconds at the end of the night, with no burner heads, no pan supports and no spilled food baking onto cast iron. For a kitchen that is judged on hygiene, that is genuinely useful.
It is worth being clear-eyed about the trade-offs, because they shape what you buy:
The numbers that decide it
This is where deals quietly fall apart. A small portable single-zone unit of around 3 kW will run from a standard 13A socket, which is fine for a prep bench or a pop-up. But a fixed commercial hob is a different animal - typical units draw somewhere between 7.5 kW and 10.8 kW, and that needs a dedicated circuit with its own protective device, heavier cable and a local isolator.
Once you bank several zones together, the total load can push past what a single-phase supply will comfortably carry, and you move into three-phase territory. That is not a problem in itself - plenty of kitchens run three-phase - but it is a cost and a lead time you want to know about before you buy, not after the units arrive. Have a qualified electrician assess your incoming supply, spare capacity in the board and cable runs first. It is the single most common reason an induction project stalls, and the cheapest problem to catch early.
If you are weighing whether your existing supply can take the peak demand of a full line firing at once, it is worth pressure-testing the whole setup rather than guessing - the same discipline you would apply when you stress-test the kitchen before a big event applies to a hob upgrade.
There is a persistent myth that going induction lets you scale back your extraction or skip your duct cleaning. It does not. Induction removes the flame and a lot of the ambient heat, but it does nothing to stop cooking itself from producing steam, smoke and grease-laden vapour. Every time you sear, fry or reduce a sauce, that vapour rises, condenses and coats your canopy, filters and ductwork in exactly the same way it always has.
Commercial kitchen ventilation in the UK is designed and assessed against DW172, the BESA Specification for Kitchen Ventilation Systems. It is not a statute, but Environmental Health Officers, insurers and consultants treat it as the benchmark. DW172 does recognise that different appliances need different extract rates - an open-flame gas range needs stronger extraction than an electric or induction line - so a switch to induction can be a sensible moment to review whether your canopy and fan are correctly matched. It may mean you are over-extracting, or it may simply mean a rebalance. Either way, the canopy stays, the make-up air needs to keep pace with what you pull out, and the access panels for cleaning still need to be there at every change of direction.
The fire and hygiene obligations are unchanged too. Grease build-up inside a canopy and duct is a fire risk regardless of how the heat was generated, and under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 you are responsible for keeping that system clean. Cleaning to the TR19 Grease standard is what demonstrates you have done so, and it is what your insurer will look for if you ever need to claim. Induction changes the appliance - it does not change your duty to keep the extraction system clear.
The practical takeaway is simple: treat the hob purchase and the ventilation review as one project. New units, a rebalanced canopy and a clean, well-documented duct are what turn an induction upgrade into a genuinely cooler, safer, compliant kitchen rather than an expensive change that leaves your biggest fire risk untouched.
Questions
Yes. Induction removes the flame and most of the ambient heat, but cooking still produces steam, smoke and grease-laden vapour that must be captured and extracted. Your canopy, make-up air and ductwork are all still assessed against DW172, the BESA specification for kitchen ventilation. Switching to induction can be a good time to check the system is correctly balanced, but it does not remove the need for extraction.
A small portable single-zone unit of around 3 kW can run from a standard 13A socket, but a fixed commercial hob typically draws between 7.5 kW and 10.8 kW and needs a dedicated circuit with its own protective device, heavier cable and a local isolator. Once you combine several zones, the load can exceed a single-phase supply and require three-phase. Always have a qualified electrician check your incoming supply and spare board capacity before buying.
Yes, by a wide margin. Induction heats the pan directly, so roughly 90 percent of the energy goes into the food, while a gas burner loses much of its heat to the surrounding air. That means lower energy use for the cooking itself, plus a cooler kitchen that puts less strain on your ventilation and air conditioning through a long service.
Not on its own. Grease still condenses inside the canopy and ductwork whenever you fry, sear or reduce, so the fire risk and your cleaning obligations under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 remain. You still need cleaning to the TR19 Grease standard on a schedule that matches your cooking volume, and your insurer will still expect the certification that proves it.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Great equipment still needs a clean kitchen around it. Phoenix deep-cleans commercial kitchens to the standard an inspection scores - UK-wide, around your service.