How to Choose the Best Electric Stove?
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Top Best Electric Stoves Based on Reviews and Price
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Why You Need a Good Electric Stove?
Care for natural sources drives many people to look for energy-efficient ways to do things. One of the initiatives, they think is to use an electric stove against the gas-based stove. Obviously, these stoves do not have the energy-star rating that is offered for many other home appliances. With this thing known, those interested in shopping for this appliance can look for other factors to make sure that they end up with the best stove that function on electricity for their homes. Before getting into the points to consider in shopping for this appliance, it is better to gain some fundamental information:
What is an Electric Stove?
An electric stove is a device with an integrated electrical heating device. This device is designed to cook and to bake as well. These stoves are turning out to be the excellent replacements to coal and wood-stoves that require a lot of labor not just to operate, but also to maintain.
What Do They Encompass?
In general, an electric stove will have elements that can produce heat for broiling and baking inside, coil/spiral-shaped burners and a thermostat. A standard variant will have a couple of large burners and a couple of small burners. These are connected to the main part of the stove, where the power is controlled using any type of controls in front of the stove.
The oven will encompass a bottom heating element that will help with baking. It is controlled by the main thermostat that you can find on the face of the oven. The controls in this stove can either be analog or digital. The element for broiling will not have a thermostat control in general. It means that as soon as it is switched on, it will quickly heat up. This is why users are recommended not to broil the oven without human intervention.
How Does an Electric Stove Work?
In general, electric stoves switch electricity to heat. When you turn on a burner in this stove, the power will pass through the coil, thereby heating the metal rapidly. The dial will regulate how much electricity will run through the coils. A similar approach is followed by the heating element inside the oven as well. Here, the thermostat takes care of the process of regulating the level of electricity that the baking element gets. The process of making the oven heat is taken care of by the electricity passing through. When you take the case of broil elements, they will normally have a couple of settings and they are broil and off.
Why Electric Stove Over a Gas Stove?
Electric stoves are beneficial as compared to gas stoves in many ways. For instance, you can easily use this stove and it does not need lighting as required by a gas stove. Also, the danger associated with a gas stove is eliminated. So, if you are concerned with the safety aspect, you can very well consider opting for an electric stove against the gas stove. Even, it will save on the heating expenses as well compared to gas stoves.
Top 7 Factors to Consider Before Buying an Electric Stove
Here are some factors to consider in shopping for this appliance to make sure that your investment will turn out to be the best:
1. Size and Dimensions as the Consideration
When you buy an electric stove, you should first determine the ideal size for your kitchen. Only then, you can presume how well it will fit into the existing kitchen interior. Also, the right size stove in the kitchen will help with improving your comfort to a great extent. You have the option to opt for a standard model or a stove with a lesser width based on the size of your kitchen. Even, some stoves come with adjustable legs as well.
In general, most of them have a standard height of 85 cm. Even, some of them come with adjustability function in such a way that the stove can suit the kitchen of any size. The adjustment of 5 cm higher or lower can be done in these models. The common width will be around 50 to 90 cm. If your kitchen is small, you can go for the narrowest model. On the other hand, if your kitchen is spacious, you can consider wider stoves. Also, most of the electric stoves will have a wide surface, where you can comfortably place frying pans in any size and shape. So, for the utmost comfort, size and dimensions are basic things to consider before you buy an electric stove.
2. Cooking Plate and Surface of the Stove
The material of the plate is an essential consideration in selecting a qualitative and reliable cooking plate. The durability of the surface and the temperature indices rely on the quality of the electric stove as a whole. When talking about the material of the plate, every material has its own benefits and properties. If you look for a comfortable and affordable stove, you can consider a classic electric stove as the ideal choice. The reason is that traditional models are equipped with temperature and timer adjustment facilities.
Enameled Steel
When talking about the material, enameled steel is known for its high hygienic properties. Also, this material will enable the production of the electric stove in different colors and even it can make the stove affordable.
Stainless Steel
Even though the SS material has the benefit of easy cleaning, it is still more expensive as compared to other materials.
Aluminum Alloy Specially-Treated
This material is known for its best properties. Moreover, it will not tarnish and needs just minimum care. Above all, this material will not scratch.
Glass-ceramic
When you choose a glass ceramic-based electric stove, the good thing about this material is that in addition to warming up quickly, it will also cool down at a faster pace. Above all, it has a high thermal conductivity as compared to the ordinary stoves. Such a surface is also safer in option.
When you choose tinted glass-ceramic, the working surface will be hidden. It will have a flexible tubular electric heating element. The good thing about glass-ceramic material is that it possesses high thermal polarizing properties. The space around the burner in this variant always stays cool even though it will help with quick-cooking. The problem with this material is that you will have to use special gels and other detergents for cleaning it. The reason is that ordinary detergents can actually damage this type of cooking plate.
3. Know About the Heating Area Size
In addition to considering the overall size of the electric stove, you should also consider the size of the heating area. In small stoves, the area will be up to 250 square feet. In the case of a medium, large and extra-large heating area appliances, the area will be around 250-400, 400-1000 and 1000+ square feet respectively. You should decide on the ideal size based on the number of people for whom you should cook. Also, you should decide on this based on how fast you wish to complete the cooking task.
4. Transparency Should be Considered
You know that in an electric stove you will shut off the doors when the cooking happens. Even though this is common, you should check whether the stove offers glass or see-through doors. Only then, you can get to know what is happening inside without opening the doors of the stove so that the process of cooking will not be disturbed.
5. Auto Shut-off Feature is Important
Of course, in some models, you can set the timer at the end of which the cooking will stop automatically. But, the auto shut-off feature should be present as a safety feature in the stove that you plan to choose. Sometimes, shortness of electricity supply or even power surge can happen. It will be risky if the appliance continues to operate in these instances. So, to ensure the safety of the user, check whether the appliance that you plan to choose has the auto shut-off mechanism.
6. Does the Unit Come with a Remote Control?
We are very much used to remote controls in many of our appliances. Yes, you will come across electric stoves with remote control. As you can judge, a stove with remote control will be easy to operate. You can gain complete control of the functionality of the appliance even when you cannot get near the appliance for one reason or another if it has a remote control included.
7. Can You Store Food Products?
Sometimes, you might be engaged in cleaning your kitchen countertop. In these instances, you cannot take off the food from the electric stove and place it on the kitchen countertop. For situations like these, it will help if the appliance has the facility to store food products.
Conclusion
An electric stove can quicken your cooking work that too at a cost that is much lesser than that of a regular gas stove. You can consider the points mentioned above when you have planned to buy a stove that functions on electricity.
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