Buying Guide Hobs

The first decision to make is whether you need a separate hob, or a cooker with a hob included.

Separate built-in hobs and ovens can create a neater appearance in your kitchen. They’re integrated with your units and worktops for a high-quality finish.

If you have a standard-size gap left by your old cooker, a freestanding cooker is an easier option. They can also be cheaper than buying two separate, integrated appliances.

If you’re looking for a built-in hob, it’s crucial to know which type you need as soon as possible. It isn’t as simple as deciding between gas and electric – with gas, you can find both regular and gas-on-glass, and with electric, there are ceramic, induction, and electric solid plate styles available.

A gas hob uses burners with visible flames, characterised by metal pan supports on top. This is a traditional choice still popular today and tends to be the first choice for chefs in professional kitchens.

Advantages

• Instant, powerful heat – ideal for quick recipes like stir-fries
• Complete flexibility and control – no set temperature intervals
• Easy to use
• Can be used with any type of cookware
• Lower running costs than most electric powered hobs
• Cooking area cools down quickly after use
• Often have a range of burner sizes
• Most now have mains or automatic ignition, rather than battery
• All gas hobs have a flame failure safety device – if the flame goes out, the gas supply is automatically cut off

Disadvantages

• Requires a gas supply, so isn’t suitable for all homes
• Can be difficult to clean due to the burners and pan supports – try enamel options to make this easier, or cast-iron supports if you want to focus on having a good pan base
• Less efficient than induction models
• Some consider their designs less stylish

Gas On Glass

Gas on glass hobs is essentially the same as regular gas models, but the burners are mounted on a sleek glass surface instead of metal. This makes them more stylish and easier to clean, while still having all the advantages of gas power.

The phrase ‘ceramic hob’ refers to its sleek, ceramic glass finish. This means that technically, gas on glass and induction models are also ceramic hobs. However, most of the time, if a product is advertised as a ‘ceramic hob’, it will be electric, and there are several different ways it could work.

Standard radiant elements simply heat the cooking surface by transferring heat from under the glass, while high-tech halogen hobs use a special form of red light to warm your pans.

Halogen is the closest you’ll get to a gas cooking experience while using electricity – it provides constant heat levels with maximum control.

Advantages

• Sleek finish for a premium feel
• Frameless designs provide fluidity between your hob and worktops
• Easy to clean – spillages wipe off the smooth surface easily, and you don’t have to worry about scratches due to the lack of pan supports to clean around (except gas-powered ceramic)
• Works with all types of pans
• Different-sized cooking zones are available
• Simple to use, with rotary dials or touch control
• Modern models may have extra safety features like residual heat indicators or child locks

Disadvantages

• Often more expensive than electric solid plate or gas hobs
• With standard radiant elements, heat isn’t evenly distributed and can be difficult to control
• The hot cooking surface can take a long time to heat up/cool down (except for induction and gas)

Induction hobs are unique in the way that they heat your pans. They create a magnetic field between the induction element and the base of your cookware, heating your pan directly, rather than wasting energy heating the cooking surface. Aside from a little residual heat, the surface stays relatively cool.

Advantages

• Quick to heat up and respond
• Efficient – no energy is wasted heating the cooking surface, and it reaches a lower peak temperature of around 40 degrees
• Stylish designs are available, including touch controls
• Safer cooking – they produce only a little residual heat, with the surface staying cool and the burners automatically turning off when cookware is removed, which also avoids burnt-on food
• Precise temperature control means you can take on advanced cooking techniques more easily
• The smooth surface makes them easy to clean
• Modern models come with a range of features like control panel locking and boost modes

Disadvantages

• Restrictions on which pans you can use – cast iron or steel cookware is ideal, but an aluminium or copper pans won’t work unless the base has an additional layer that attracts a magnet
• Can be more expensive than other types of hob
• May not be suitable for people with pacemakers, due to the electromagnets

A traditional, electric solid plate hob uses sealed metal plates to heat your pans. You’ll need to use cookware with a flat base for an even heat distribution. In the past, electric hobs used large, heated coils, but now it’s more common to find round metal plates.

Advantages

• Tend to be cheaper than other hobs
• Simple, traditional design which is easy to use
• Difficult to scratch or damage
• Especially suited to cast iron cookware
• Provide good heat distribution across the saucepan base, so they’re cost-effective to run

Disadvantages

• Heat can be difficult to control
• Not as stylish as other types of hob
• Awkward to clean, since food can get trapped around the edges of the plates
• Most expensive type to run, as the metal plates are slow to heat and cool

Domino hobs are so-called due to their oblong, domino-like shape. They tend to have two cooking zones, although you can find some with a single zone. They’re an ideal space-saving solution for kitchenettes and can be combined with a standard hob for extra cooking space. Domino hobs are available in gas, ceramic, induction, and solid plate designs.

Advantages

• A great space-saver for rooms with limited workspace
• Specialist designs can be used alongside a regular hob for extra cooking flexibility – a wok burner or barbeque grill, for example
• Two or three domino hobs can be combined to create a flexible cooking hub, without taking up too much room

Disadvantages

• Most households require more cooking space than a single domino hob can provide
• Relatively expensive considering their size – they can cost more than a standard four-burner hob

Most hobs have four burners (referred to as zones on ceramic hobs). These provide plenty of room for cooking with multiple pans at the same time. While this number is adequate for most households, some may need a five or six burner design. There tends to be a considerable difference in price between four and five burners, so really consider whether you need the extra space.

On the other hand, domino hobs have just one or two burners. They have smaller dimensions, saving space in bedsits or student kitchens. And, some high-end induction hobs can combine zones if you place a pan over more than one, or even be zone-less. This technology means you can place pans anywhere on the cooking surface.

It’s not just the number of burners that counts, but their type. The most common arrangement is one large, two medium, and a less powerful simmer burner. This combination suits most families’ needs since it’s unlikely you’ll need to rapidly boil on four large rings at once. Small burners are just as important as large ones; if the flame or hot cooking surface is outside the pan, it wastes energy.

Five and six-burner hobs often have a similar combination, with additional high-speed wok burners. These provide high, even heat over large surface areas. They’re ideal for stir-frying and boiling large pans of water quickly.

With a domino hob, you’re likely to find a larger and a smaller burner. This ensures that even though the cooking area isn’t as big, you can still save energy when using a small saucepan.

Hobs come with two sets of measurements; the physical size of the product and the size of the gap into which it needs to fit. The gap is usually a couple of centimetres smaller than the hob, although the difference varies between models. A hob may sit in a 56 cm wide space in your worktop, but the top part will be wider, overlapping this surface.

Standard Sizes

The majority of integrated hobs use the same design: four burners in a rectangular panel. With standard models, the dimensions of the visible part will be approximately 60 cm wide. These measurements are typical across many kitchen appliances, so if you have a built-in oven of this size, you’ll easily be able to find a matching hob. Most fitted kitchen units also measure 60 cm, so you could install your new hob above one of these and place your oven elsewhere.

Because of the standardisation of kitchen units and worktops, the depth doesn’t vary much between hobs – they’re usually around 50 cm deep. And, considering the technology involved, the height is kept surprisingly low. Most are around five centimetres high, for minimal encroachment on the room beneath Your worktop.

Larger Sizes

Five and six-burner hobs tend to begin at 70 cm wide, although some are as large as 100 cm or more. You might even come across seven burner designs as wide as 120 cm, but the measurements depend on the arrangement of the burners. These bigger models provide a real impact and a restaurant kitchen feel, so you might want to try one if you’re an aspiring cook or have a large family.

The main advantage of domino hobs is their size. Most measure in at around 30 cm wide – half of a regular hob, fitting into smaller kitchens with ease. Some people install two domino hobs, or a domino and a standard hob, side-by-side. If you’re lucky enough to have flexible countertop space, you can combine different cooking styles, such as an induction hob and a gas wok burner.

When considering hob size, you also need to think about protecting your appliances and fixtures. It’s best to leave at least 75 cm between the hob and cooker hood above, and nine centimetres on either side of the hob – this ensures better ventilation. You should also keep things like sockets, shelves, and kitchen cupboards out of this zone.

You’ll find at least one economy burner on most hobs. They’re usually the smallest and least powerful. This makes them energy efficient and handy for tasks like maintaining a steady simmer or gently warming a sauce.

Semi rapid burners provide medium power, while rapid or high-speed ones offer high heat levels. If you want to boil a pan of pasta, this is where you’ll do it. Their outputs will be measured in Kilowatts per hour, or kWh.

If you want to compare hobs to find the most powerful, look for higher numbers. Smaller burners might be around 1 kW, medium burners 1.5-2 kW and larger ones around 2.5-3 kW.

You’ll need a mix of burners if you want to handle a range of cooking tasks.

Larger, top-of-the-range hobs may have a wok burner. These offer maximum power output – anything from 3 to 6 kW. The flames will spread widely, so wok burners are usually only suitable for woks and your biggest pans. They offer the ability to stir fry or sear meat at very high temperatures.

While some people are cautious of using gas as a cooking fuel, modern safety features mean that there’s no need to be worried.

Almost all modern gas hobs are fitted with a flame failure device. This prevents the gas from flowing into the burner if the flame is extinguished. If a pan of water boils over while you’re not looking, the gas will be stopped so it doesn’t fill the room.

Most gas hobs now have automatic ignition, which means the burner ignites when you turn the knob.

Others have mains or battery-powered ignition, where you click a button to light the flame. You very rarely need to light the hob yourself.

LED lights on controls such as dials let you easily see which burners are activated. Heat indicators also tell you whether any pan supports are still hot.

If you leave a control knob turned on for a long time, a buzzer will remind you to turn off the flame.

You can find a whole range of features on gas hobs, so you can get the most out of your cooking.

Keep an eye on the progress of your cooking and make multitasking easier with a timer or minute minder.

Some hobs will automatically reignite the flames if they go out due to something harmless like a draught, saving you time and effort.

Enjoy faster ignition with a Quick Start feature.

Bosch lets you adjust the gas flame more precisely with nine designated power levels, thanks to FlameSelect technology.

Simple to use and easy to grip, dials are a traditional choice. You may need to push them in and hold them down to ignite the burners, but then you can just turn the knobs to increase or decrease the flames. This design makes it difficult to accidentally knock them and switch on the gas.

If you’re a fan of gadgets, touch controls will be right up your street. They might be a little more complicated, but once you’ve got the hang of them, they offer several advantages. The surface looks sleek and is easy to clean, while child lock modes can secure the whole hob. Touch controls are more common on electric hobs, but they’re available on a few gas-on-glass and ceramic hobs, where the controls are embedded into the surface.

Manufacturers position the controls in one of two areas: to the front or the side of the burners. If you have young children who can reach front controls, a side position can prevent them from turning on the hob.

Stainless steel adds an industrial look, while brushed stainless steel creates a more muted, matte effect. Both are hard wearing, stylish and luxurious.

A ceramic glass surface is sleek and easy to clean. Spillages wipe away easily because it’s harder for food to stick to glass. At the highest end of the market, you’ll find frameless designs, which lie flush alongside your worktop. This creates an uninterrupted look to present the finest quality.

Less modern, an enamel finish is available on low-end and retro models. If glass or exposed metal isn’t to your taste, you can choose a white, cream, or black enamel design. These colours ensure that the hob blends into your décor.

If you choose acrylic, glass or tiles, there is a range of bright colours available to liven up your kitchen. Or, if you want a more classic look, try black, white, grey, or stainless steel. It’s easy to find a colour that matches your worktops.

Splashbacks with an easy-clean finish prevent food splatters from sticking, to reduce the time you’ll spend getting rid of them. A completely smooth surface like stainless steel or glass may be preferable to something like tiles if you want to minimise cleaning and maintenance.

Most models come with an adhesive to make fixing it to your wall simple. Depending on the material, it will be a clear silicone adhesive or tile adhesive. Make sure that you choose a model with the right one, so you can safely and easily make it part of your kitchen.

If you have a cooker hood or nearby wall units, it’s important to measure the space you have available. Your splashback should be at least the same width as your hob. This lets it provide a more cohesive appearance, as well as adequate protection for your wall. If you have a standard size hob with four burners, you’ll want one about 60 or 70 cm wide. Wider rectangular designs can be as big as 110 cm, which are great for larger hobs and range cookers. You’ll find that square splashbacks start at about 65 cm tall, while others stretch as high as 75 cm.

Extractors are generally considered the most efficient hoods because the grease, cooking smells, and smoke is sent outside through a ventilation hose. They don’t have a filter restricting the air’s movement, so the airflow rate is often higher. They’re also cheaper than recirculation models long term, as you don’t need to replace any charcoal filters.

Their design makes installation more difficult, and if you have limited space or your kitchen doesn’t have an external wall, it might not be possible. The ducting system will need to be fitted by a professional, and you’ll have to buy the kit separately. Plus, extractors can be louder than recirculation hoods.

Recirculation hoods use grease filters made of metal, paper, or cloth to recycle and clean the air before releasing it back into your kitchen. Most also have carbon or charcoal filters to neutralise odours. Recirculation hoods do their job well, but their design means that they can release some heat and moisture back into the room.

A key advantage of recirculation models is how easy they are to fit. They’re a standalone unit, so you don’t need to worry about finding an outside wall to vent through.

They’re usually cheaper up front as they don’t require ducting. However, the grease and charcoal filters must be replaced or washed regularly, depending on their material. As the charcoal filter is in front of the motor, the airflow is reduced, and you may need a recirculation kit to make sure odour-free air is returned to your kitchen. They’re also not always as fast-acting as extraction hoods.

You may find some cooker hoods which operate as either a recirculation or extraction model, and you can decide which method is best for you on installation.

This is the most common type of cooker hood, with a long chimney which stretches down from the ceiling. Chimney hoods are wall-mounted, so not suitable for hobs on a kitchen island. They’re stylish and perform well but need a fair amount of space.

Also known as freestanding, conventional, and traditional hoods, visor models tend to be less powerful and are best suited to smaller kitchens. They’re compact and fixed to your wall independently, usually beneath a kitchen unit. A visor helps guide smoke into the filters. These are the most basic and affordable models.

Telescopic designs are similar to visors. However, they extend outwards when needed for maximum area coverage, and slide neatly away when not in use.

These are integrated into a kitchen unit and kept out of sight behind a door. This makes them the most inconspicuous type and lets them easily blend into your kitchen layout.

A canopy design is fixed to the underside of your cupboard, above your hob. They’re discreet and don’t take up much room. However, unlike integrated hoods, they’re still visible.

If your hob doesn’t back onto a wall, you’ll need an island hob which is mounted to the ceiling. They can be more expensive and take up quite a lot of space, but designer models let you make a statement.

These designs automatically rise from your worktop with a single touch. This makes them a great space-saver, as well as ideal for low ceilings and small, modern kitchens. However, they can be costly due to their new technology.

Your cooker hood needs to be at least as wide as your hob to work effectively. The most common sizes are 60 cm, 70 cm, and 90 cm wide, suiting most four to six-burner hobs. Compact versions are available if wall units have left you with limited space, but they may be quieter with lower airflow rates. You can also find larger hoods if you have a range cooker or bigger hob, but keep in mind that these might require more powerful – and noisier – motors to recycle the higher volume of air. However, you can find some models with twin motors for higher efficiency.

Height-wise, you’ll need to leave a gap of at least 50 cm above an electric hob, or 65 cm above a gas one. Check the manufacturer’s guidelines, however, as this does vary. Extendable chimneys can help you achieve the perfect height for your setup.

For extraction hoods, it’s important to get the right ducting. Sometimes you can choose between 12 or 15 cm ducting, as the former comes with an adaptor collar. Wider and rigid ducting generally offers better airflow.

The extraction rate of your cooker hood is also worth considering. This is how quickly it can remove odours, grease, and hot air from your kitchen. It’s measured in cubic metres per hour, and the larger your kitchen, the more powerful hood you’ll need. This can also make it noisier, so don’t just choose a model based on a high extraction rate.

A lower decibel (dB) rating will give you a quieter kitchen. Duct design affects the noise level in extractor hoods, so minimise bends and cross-sections, and choose sound-reducing materials.

Built-in lights are a common feature of budget cooker hoods. They give you a better view of what you’re cooking and are simple to activate.

Most models have two or three-speed settings, so you can save energy and run your hood more quietly if you’re only cooking a small meal.

Both of these features are usually controlled by buttons or sliders on the front, inside, or underside of the hood.

You can also find cooker hoods that connect with their matching hob. AEG’s Hob2Hood technology and Miele’s Con@ctivity wirelessly adjust extraction based on your hob’s activity, for stress-free cooking and an ideal room climate.

Some brands have started to combine induction hobs and cooker hoods in just one appliance. PerfectAir models from Bosch automatically remove odours at the source with their integrated vents, to provide higher efficiency and a better smelling kitchen.

Different hob types have different price ranges. If you’re looking at a basic four-burner or four-zone design, gas and ceramic models range from £90 to about £400, and solid plate models from a budget-friendly £80 to £180. Induction and gas-on-glass designs are more expensive, starting at around £180. The sky’s the limit with induction hob prices – zoneless models and those with the latest technology can cost upwards of £3000.

Gas hobs with five burners can be as cheap as £150, while you might find a six-burner model for around £350. Five-zone induction hobs are more expensive, from about £500, and for six zones, you’ll have to pay at least £600. If you want a larger electric hob without spending too much, you can buy a five-zone ceramic hob for as little as £250.

Most of the time, you pay for what you get. Upwards of £900, you’ll find designer induction hobs with five or six cooking zones, and a whole heap of special features. Gas hobs offer a similar level of luxury for around £700.

Considering that they’re half the size of standard hobs, domino models aren’t cheaper. They start at around £100 for gas or ceramic designs, and £200 for induction. The most expensive tend to be for specialist cooking, such as teppanyaki hobs – these are harder to find, and investment made only by the keenest cooks.

Hobs are harder to install than cookers, so you’ll likely need help from a professional. Take a look at our guide to hob sizes for details on measuring your hob and the cut-out section in which it will sit inside.

Many retailers offer an installation service for an additional charge, saving you the hassle of finding an experienced and trustworthy tradesperson. Remember to ask if they will disconnect and dispose of your old one. It’s also worth noting that some companies will only cut the hole in your worktop if it’s made from a certain material, such as wood, while others have restrictions on how much new pipework they will fit. This means that the closer the hob is to your gas supply, the better.

Your hob will need to be connected to your gas supply by a Gas Safe registered engineer. A qualified electrician will hardwire it into your electricity supply to power the ignition and timers. If you’re planning on running your hob on LPG bottled gas, speak to your engineer about the conversion and purchasing the kit.

It’s easier to install an electric hob, but you’ll still need help from an electrician. They will connect it to your supply for you and ensure that it’s safe. Check your hob has the right amp rating for your power supply – you should see either 13 amp standard plug sockets or 32 amp hardwired switches next to your current hob or cooker.

You should always try and place your hob and cooker on an outside wall to aid ventilation, and not under a window or behind an inwardly opening door. Many retailers offer an installation service for an additional charge.

If you’re adding a splashback and cooker hood to your hob setup, you should consider how they will fit into your budget.

The cheapest cooker hoods tend to be a canopy, chimney, and visor models, which start at around £70. Telescopic and integrated hoods can cost as little as £100, while island hoods are pricier at £500 or more. Downdraft models are the most expensive, at anything from £700 upwards. If you want the most up-to-date technology and modern designs, you can pay as much as £2,500 for a cooker hood.

Splashbacks come in a wide range of sizes and materials and can be bought ready-made or cut to size, so prices vary widely. The most commonly found, cheaper types are stainless steel and glass, which some retailers sell for £40. You may have to pay more for tempered glass, while laminate models with effects like wood or stone start at £60. You can get standard size acrylic splashbacks cut for as little as £35, while retailers sell them at £60 upwards. Depending on where you buy and what design you’re after, you could fork out up to £200 for a standard size splashback.

Prices increase based on size, so expect a budget of at least £100 for most larger splashbacks. If you’re considering specialist materials, including high-quality acrylics and acrylic blends like Minerva, prices range from £200-£600 for most models. If you want to use tiles instead, you can make some good savings and spend as little as £10 or £20, but it will cost more to tile a bigger area of your kitchen.