Yesterday I attended The Greener Home, a showcase of "sustainable products" for the home hosted by the International Housewares Association.
As you can probably guess, there was a lot of bamboo (both bamboo "wood" and bamboo "cloth") and gadgets for getting your water around town. What peaked my interest most, were the two companies that were showing portable induction cooktops, Facor and BergHOFF.
Induction technology has improved vastly in recent years, which has also brought down the cost of consumer cooktops. Environmentally speaking, they are worlds more efficient than traditional gas or electric stove-top cooking, capturing about 90% of the energy made versus about 40% with gas. Yet, my guess is most cooks haven't experienced induction.
First, a quick survey:
There are many other brands and a wide price range. The product shown in the first image is a professional model by Cooktek that can run over $1000, while the Facor and BergHOFFs hover around $200. 
I was under the impression that they didn't emit heat at all, they used a magnetic field to agitate the metal of the pan and heat IT up, instead. Did you mean energy/
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
Bother, that / was supposed to be a ?
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
Yes... energy, change made, thank you.
view Sara Kate's profile
Want one. Have a 4-burner range/oven, but find so much wasted heat from the pilot light alone. An induction burner, and a countertop convection/toaster (fine for our baking needs), would mean significant savings in space and heat, not to mention energy. easy to clean, safe for little hands.
only drawback: doesn't work in power outage, but my gas range does.
view avianmission's profile
Yes, I have 3 portable ones from compactappliance.com (I don't see them on the site now, but they were by "Mr. Induction" - stop giggling). They were much cheaper than the ones above, and they're great. I actually don't have a standard cooktop - the burners live in a drawer under the counter I usually put them on, but it's nice to be able to put them anywhere.
view morfydd's profile
Sara Kate -- Thanks for coming over to the event yesterday. The first company you mention is Fagor America, not Facor. I did touch their cooktop while it was on and there was no heat emitting from anywhere other than where the pot was touching the surface. And it started boiling water in 30 seconds.
view DebbieT.'s profile
I have 4 induction "burners" and one gas.
Induction is amazing:
A pot with 6 liters of water boils in 2-3 minutes;
When you adjust the power level, the change is immediate;
when you remove the pot or pan, it simply stops working and using energy, so if you forget to turn it off, it's safe;
the only drawback is the need of suitable pans and pots. And that is why we kept a gas burner, for the aluminum and copper pots I wasn't willing to give up.
view Sol's profile
I use induction burners at school everyday, and yes, they can burn you. The burner itself cannot, but the heat from the pot will transfer to the surface of the induction burner, thus making it almost as hot as the pot itself.
view redmolly's profile
I think you meant "piqued" your interest, not peaked. Sorry, I hate to be that girl, but you know :)
view Kate H.'s profile