What Is the Difference Between Ribbon & Glass Top Electric Stoves?

Ribbon Stoves

• Electric ribbons are one of the heating element options that might be under a glass top on an electric stove. These are the closest in use and speed of heating to traditional raised coils on an electric stove, and like those coils, the ribbon is slow to cool after turning off the heat. The metal ribbons heat and radiate that heat to the pot sitting on the glass stove surface. Ribbon stoves are a good option if you want the ease of cleaning a glass top stove without the cost of other heating options.

Halogen

• Another type of heating element placed under a glass top on an electric stove is the halogen heating element. These rely on the heat put out by a halogen light bulb. The light sits under the surface of a glass top stove to heat a pot through the glass. These reach higher temperatures than ribbon stove tops, but they also take longer to cool down. Burns can happen by putting your hand on a halogen heating element even after the heat has been turned off for several minutes.

Solid Disk Heating

• Disks of iron slowly warm by an electric current passed through them by wires underneath. These stoves are more common in Europe than in the United States. More energy-efficient models are available with other types of electric stoves.

Induction

• Induction ranges are the safest, most responsive, and the most expensive heating option. A magnet under the glass top spins. When a metal pot is placed above the spinning magnet, only the pot heats. The glass top surface remains cool to the touch. Changing the heat level on induction stoves result in a rapid change in temperature in the pot, similar to cooking with gas, but you cannot use curved pots or a pot without a metal containing some form of iron.