We are in the process of placing a De Dietrich DTI706X induction hob (three zone, 65cm wide) next to a Miele KM406 gas wok burner (one burner, 12in wide). It seemed to us to be a good combination, which will fit in under a 36 inch hood.

We thought about that too. But I just couldn't convince my wife that it would look good next to each other. Induction has that smooth glass surface which is in sharp contrast to the large grates of a commercial gas unit.

The engineer in me likes to have both to take advantage of the strength of each one :).

Liameknuj,
That sounds like a pretty good tradeoff. Ideally, we'd like 3 gas burners and 3 induction hobs. But 2 and 4 will work. Or 2 and 3. Not sure which combination yet.

Amirm,
So did you go for gas? Induction?

With the exception of putting away a lifelong collection of copper cookware. I just don't see the benefits of a gas cooktop anymore. Or a gas oven for that matter.

With the exception of putting away a lifelong collection of copper cookware. I just don't see the benefits of a gas cooktop anymore. Or a gas oven for that matter.

Lots of advantages to gas.

First, reliability. Gas ranges are very simple and long lasting-there are lots of 1920's gas ranges around still working and being refurbed. Resistance electric is more complex than gas, and induction, because it uses digital electronics, is the least reliable of all.

Second, reliability. Gas service is traditionally the most reliable source of energy. It may not matter to you, but in my neighborhood, I am the only one who will have hot showers and hot food if a hurricane hits (I live in Florida), because I installed a gas range and hot water heater.

Third: reliability. The cast iron grids on a gas range are a whole lot less fragile than the glass ceramic of an induction cooktop. Drop a full can of food on one and see what happens.

Fourth: Fun. I have both gas and induction in my house. Gas is, simply put, more enjoyable to use than induction. Now, induction has lots of advantages, but adjusting that gas flame is much more 'real' and tangible, and just plain fun. than is adjusting a digital readout for induction.

Fifth. Digital thermometers. I generally use digital thermometers to measure cooking temps. The induction screws them up, so they are unusable.
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As to induction and gas, yes, I have both. Induction is a lot faster at boiling water. But induction can be a bear fir simmering, because the power is output in discrete digital steps. The sauce you are trying to simmer may be too cool at step 3, but boiling at step 4. With some newer induction cooktops, like the CookTek Apogee, there are enough steps (100), so this problem is essentially eliminated.

As to looks, my CookTek essentially disappears into the dark emerald green countertop material.

We have both! Just the one burner induction, but capable of at least 30,000 BTUs! We installed a teppanyaki grill/griddle on the other side. We seriously considered a second induction with a griddle in the middle of the range, but decided that we wanted the flexibility to have really oversize pans on the rangetop.

Gizmonike, you certainly have solved the issue my wife had with integrating gas and induction! That is one nice looking setup.

Question though. The induction cooktop you have is rated at 3500 watts. That translates into about 12,000 BTUs, not 35,000. Given the fact that there is no heat lost to air, it is probably equiv. to 20,000 BTUs but I don't think it will reach 35,000 equiv. to gas.

Have you used yours yet? And if so, how powerful does it seem?

Jcla, we are looking at Bluestar as you are :).

Thank, all. Cpovey and Gizmonike, you've reassured me that combining gas and induction has merit. Does anybody have the Wolf integrated modules incorporating both induction and gas? It looks interesting, but I'm leaning toward the BlueStar gas cooktop, so I might just do my own combo.

Our induction burner boils a full pasta pot of water in under 7 minutes. Our large DCS natural gas burners are rated at 17,500 BTUs, and take at least 17 minutes on full high to boil the same pot of water. The induction cooktop's performance is considerably better than 12,000 or even 17,500 BTUs. We've been using our appliances for a year.

I looked at all the integrated modules from Wolf, Gaggenau, & Miele. Wolf had the least powerful ones.

The induction cooktop you have is rated at 3500 watts. That translates into about 12,000 BTUs, not 35,000.

Mw CookTek is rated for 3500 Watts. This works out to be equivalent to 31-35,000 BTU's. You have to consider the differences in efficiency of gas and induction hobs (induction is 90%, while gas is around 35%) in delivering the heat to the pot.

Note that overall efficiency is not that different, because if gas is burned to produce electricity, heat is lost in the burning at the power plane and a lot of power is lost in transmission to the home. In other words, cooking with gas uses about the same amount of energy as does cooking with standard electric, with induction slightly more efficient.

Thanks cpovey. I supsect that the 35% efficiency rating of gas is highly subjective relative to pan/flame shape, etc. But overall, you are probably right in saying I was too conservative relative to the difference :).

The induction hob (De Dietrich DTI706X) and the gas wok burner (Miele KM406) have a very similar appearance; both have a black glass surface with metal border. They go well together.

We wanted induction for speed, cleaning, summer cooking, timers and safety. We wanted gas for ambiance, certain cookware, analog control and power outages. The induction is all that is necessary; the gas is for fun.

Most daily cooking will likely be on the induction cooktop; its quick and easy. We don't use more than three burners typically, and consequently went with the 3/1 induction and gas arrangement. As an added benefit, the setup provides plenty of room for larger pots. If we ever need another burner, which I highly doubt, then we will put a portable induction unit, from our temporary kitchen, on the countertop (Sunpentown SR-1881S).

We also didn't want a huge oven that took too long to preheat. Under the cooktops, which are close together, we installed a Gaggenau 27 inch single oven (EB290610). Its actually as large as the oven in our previous range. I like that it has knobs and is easy to reach into. Perhaps the rotisserie will be useful as well.

That's some of our saga --- spend money on kitchen appliances  drive old Subaru into the ground. ;)

Regarding efficiency:

If the electricity for your induction cooktop is produced in a combined cycle power plant (most new gas plants), then its efficiency will be about 60%. Thus your 90% efficient induction burner will have an efficiency greater than 50% when measured in respect to the initial fuel source, while your gas burner will have an efficiency of around 35% (ignoring electric transmission line loss and gas transmission and storage costs).

Anybody have any opinions on the De Dietrich DTi721X? It's a 26.5" wide unit with two induction hobs in front and two gas burners in back. I'm still guessing that a better solution is to get two separate units. I wish Blue Star had a smaller cooktop. I guess I could go with this unit and add two more induction hobs next to it, but I think I'd be happiest with 2 (BlueStar) gas burners and four induction hobs.

The gas burners seem too weak and too pretty :) with glass surround and such to be of use to us. Appreciate the suggestion though. Agree that a modular high-power unit from blue-star would have been great pairing.

First, reliability. Gas ranges are very simple and long lasting-there are lots of 1920's gas ranges around still working and being refurbed. Resistance electric is more complex than gas, and induction, because it uses digital electronics, is the least reliable of all.

-Possibly true.... but I hate cleaning them. You can't beat induction for clean up

Second, reliability. Gas service is traditionally the most reliable source of energy. It may not matter to you, but in my neighborhood, I am the only one who will have hot showers and hot food if a hurricane hits (I live in Florida), because I installed a gas range and hot water heater.

-I wouldn't design my kitchen around a catastrophe. Buy an outdoor gas burner with a tank and get a home generator. Hot water - you might not have water at all.

Third: reliability. The cast iron grids on a gas range are a whole lot less fragile than the glass ceramic of an induction cooktop. Drop a full can of food on one and see what happens.

What size of canned food are you buying? Iron grates have severely scratched the bottoms of my pans. And they cannot be cleaned

Fourth: Fun. I have both gas and induction in my house. Gas is, simply put, more enjoyable to use than induction. Now, induction has lots of advantages, but adjusting that gas flame is much more 'real' and tangible, and just plain fun. than is adjusting a digital readout for induction.

-The fun quickly goes away when you have to breakdown the entire cook top and spray it with Easy off. I will deal with the learning curve.

Fifth. Digital thermometers. I generally use digital thermometers to measure cooking temps. The induction screws them up, so they are unusable.

-I don't use a thermometer while using a cooktop. I understand the new generation inductions will cook by temperature and some will have boil over protection. Can't get that with gas.
*******************

As to induction and gas, yes, I have both. Induction is a lot faster at boiling water. But induction can be a bear fir simmering, because the power is output in discrete digital steps. The sauce you are trying to simmer may be too cool at step 3, but boiling at step 4. With some newer induction cooktops, like the CookTek Apogee, there are enough steps (100), so this problem is essentially eliminated.

-Simmering sauces on gas is a pain. There is a reason why double boilers exists. I can keep hollandaise perfectly warm with induction without curdling

My Viking unit does not have steps.

And if you think gas is expensive now....just wait.