Idea to Initiative: Induction Cooking

The Induction Cooking Market Transformation Initiative (MTI) focuses on electric cooktops and all-electric ranges using either induction or ENERGY STAR-rated radiant electric technology. While the radiant products are included at this time, the main focus of this MTI is induction cooking appliances. Resistance coil products are not included in this MTI. 

This product definition includes freestanding electric ranges, which can be installed between cabinets, or stand alone as well as slide-in electric ranges, which can only be installed between cabinets. Freestanding ranges typically locate cooking controls in an elevated panel at the back of the appliance, whereas slide-in ranges typically put controls in the front. 

Slide-in range (left) and freestanding range (right)

Photos credit: Whirlpool

This definition also includes 120V and 240V standalone electric cooktops designed for permanent installation in a countertop, as seen below. 

120V 2-burner True Induction cooktop (left) and 240V 6-burner Viking cooktop (right)

Photo credits: True Induction and Viking

Induction cooktops and ranges use electromagnetic induction in the cooktop portions of the technology to heat cookware directly. Induction cooking saves energy through instant, direct, and efficient heat transfer, and provides precise temperature control. 

Modern, efficient electric cooking appliances, including induction cooktops and ranges, offer improved indoor air quality and safety, cooking performance, energy savings, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction when compared to gas-fueled stoves and ranges found in most California homes and apartments. While ENERGY STAR-rated radiant appliances offer similar efficiency and GHG emission reduction benefits, induction cooking provides a superior cooking experience over radiant products, as well as significant safety and health benefits. 

Induction appliances use electricity to create electromagnetic fields that induce a current and heat cookware directly. Heat is generated by allowing a high frequency, alternating current to flow through a tightly wound coil of wire which generates a rapidly changing magnetic field at the surface of the cooktop.  

The resulting heat is only generated in a pot or pan containing ferromagnetic material. Since non-magnetic materials do not respond to the magnetic fields, nearly all energy generated is transferred to the cooking vessel. This technology eliminates the need for an open flame or exposed heating elements, making it both safe and more efficient.  

Cookware must be able to hold a magnet to work with induction’s electromagnetic heat transfer. Most pots and pans, including those with a ceramic coating, have the appropriate level of metal, such as iron or stainless steel. If a pan is pure copper or pure aluminum, it will not work on an induction cooktop, but such pans will work if they contain magnetized bases.  

Yes, induction and radiant cooktops remove gas, a key source of indoor pollutants. A 2013 meta-analysis found that children living in homes with gas cooking had a significant increased risk of developing asthma, with a 42% greater chance than their peers without gas.  

In California, where about 65% of homes have gas cooking appliances, we can estimate a significant number of individuals at risk. Since children under the age of 18 account for about 22% of California’s population, this translates to around 5.5 million children with a 42% increased risk of asthma compared to their peers without gas cooking. (1)

Furthermore, negative indoor air quality is generally inversely proportional to the size of the dwelling unit, meaning that smaller homes are at risk of bigger impacts. This is particularly relevant for multifamily dwelling units, which also suffer from shared exposure from others cooking with gas in the building. These constraints may create an additional indoor air quality burden for Environmental Social Justice communities in multifamily units.  

(1.) Lin W, Brunekreef B, Gehring U. Meta – analysis of the effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide and gas cooking on asthma and wheeze in children. Int J Epidemiol. 2013 Dec;42(6):1724 -37. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyt150. Epub 2013 Aug 20. PMID: 23962958.

Limited electric panel upgrades are a barrier to induction cooking installations when switching from gas cooktops and ranges to induction cooking.  

To overcome the cost of panel upgrades, this MTI is investigating opportunities for 120V induction appliances that utilize a battery to provide additional energy supply to the appliance when needed. Battery-equipped products are an emerging technology in this marketplace, but will be a key solution for building owners looking to electrify cooking appliances with minimal expense.

Photo credit: Copper

Market transformation (MT) works to remove structural barriers and enact strategic interventions to create lasting change in a market. MT theory is the broad conceptualization of how best to address those barriers in order to accelerate adoption of a targeted energy efficient technology or practice. The changes created by strategic interventions grow market share and pull adoption forward in time.

Figure 1 below shows the area between the Baseline Market Adoption and Total Market Adoption S-curves. The differential is the increase resulting from MT activities that deliver cost-effective energy efficiency, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, or other identified benefits.​

Figure 1. Market Transformation S-curve

MT theory works to establish clear, measurable inputs and outputs that can be assessed over time. Logic models provide a valuable roadmap to visualize the entire process of market transformation in a comprehensive chart. They depict barriers that make market adoption difficult, opportunities that can be leveraged for development, strategic interventions that will break down barriers and the resulting outputs over time. In other words, logic models map out the MT theory. CalMTA uses logic models for its initiatives to ensure coherent program organization and clearly defined, measurable outcomes for evaluation.

Market transformation works by removing barriers through a variety of interventions. The logic model expresses a variety of moving – and dependent – parts into a single model. A carefully conceived initiative logic provides a tool for expressing and tracking program logic and is vital to successful market transformation.

Let’s take room heat pumps as an example. Our team identified ambiguous labelling as a barrier preventing consumers from making informed choices about buying a room heat pump. Some products meant to cool or heat a small space through heat pump technology lack clear identification as such. So even if consumers are interested in the efficiency of heat pumps, they are not able tell which products to choose. Without easily understandable labeling, heat pumps will most certainly struggle to find a place in the market.

A logic model not only identifies this barrier, but also any opportunities and interventions to remove it. In this case, federal testing procedures are in development for a new ENERGY STAR label. This is an opportunity to leverage strategic interventions by working with the ENERGY STAR program’s specifications and collaborating with manufacturers to ensure proper labeling of products. The projected outcomes of those interventions are included in the logic model as well. For example, this logic model seeks ENERGY STAR adoption of a new specification within two years and revised test procedures in place within three to five years.

CalMTA uses a stage gate model in its Market Transformation Initiatives (MTI) strategy and program creation. A three-phase process with end-phase stage gates (shown below) helps manage program risk, maximize the use of resources, and increase transparency in our work. Learn more about the process here.

Advancement Plan approval is the stage gate that culminates Phase I: Concept Development and the plan includes a preliminary logic model. After the research and investigation described in the Advancement Plan is complete, an updated logic model is developed for inclusion in the Phase II stage gate deliverable, the MTI Plan.  Click the link below to access the draft Induction Cooking draft logic model.

Market transformation is a strategic process of intervening in a market to create lasting change. CalMTA developed a Market Transformation Initiative Evaluation Framework to lay out how we will track and evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of our MTIs. For each of our initiatives we develop a theory of market transformation and logic model that identifies expected short-term, medium-term, and long-term market outcomes resulting from strategic market interventions. Third-party evaluators will evaluate market progress based on the Market Progress Indicators and Milestones developed for each MTI.  

An Outcome is the market’s response to one or more of an MTI’s strategic market interventions. That people buy more induction cooktops may be the end goal, but these are long-term initiatives that must be assessed over time. The end goal that doesn’t track the progress of each market intervention in the short-, mid- and long-term. Some Outcomes will be realistic in a few years, while others may take a decade to realize. For the Induction Cooking MTI, there are 17 Outcomes showing in the Logic Model that we would expect to see from our work.  

MPIs are metrics that correspond with logic model outcomes and are used to track market progress.  

Milestones are the specific expected quantitative or empirical achievements, including timing, that correspond with certain MPIs. While MPIs are used to track market progress, Milestones track specific achievements. Together, these metrics allow CalMTA assess MTI performance and identify areas that are performing differently than expected, so that the MTI can make timely course corrections, as appropriate. 

CalMTA has identified several different strategic interventions necessary for transforming the market for induction cooking. One of those is to influence manufacturer development of an affordable, 120V battery-equipped range that fills the product availability gap for California’s electrical infrastructure and multifamily market needs. This product will help overcome the barrier of panel upgrade costs to convert from gas to electric cooking. The table below shows the Outcomes we seek to achieve in the short-, medium-, and long-term time frames, along with the MPIs that will be used to track impact. The Milestones will show evidence of change in the market. 

Note: This is one draft example from several planned interventions. The final MPIs and Milestones are included in the final MTI Plan. 

The Total System Benefit (TSB) is the dollar-value metric that measures energy savings, grid benefits and reliability, and greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts. In 2021 the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced its intention to use this approach to evaluate the State’s energy efficiency programs to better align them with GHG emissions reduction, support for customer equity, and long-term grid stability. In the past, the CPUC’s dollar-value metrics had been based on kilowatt-hours, kilowatts, and therms, but this new TSB approach encourages programs to target high-value load reductions without directly comparing one fuel source against another (i.e., gas vs. electricity). It focuses on the benefits to the “total system” – including residents’ health and environmental concerns – rather than one particular fuel source. The CPUC officially adopted this new approach in 2024.

As California’s first Market Transformation Administrator, CalMTA is working to create energy efficiency initiatives that will transform the market. A crucial part of that work is understanding just how much a particular initiative will benefit California. While our market transformation initiatives (MTIs) seek to generate energy savings and related benefits by accelerating and increasing market adoption of energy-efficient technologies and practices, we need to evaluate those MTIs carefully.

TSB helps us measure our MTIs’ impact. Carefully estimating the energy impacts and cost-effectiveness of an MTI is crucial to understanding it and its value to Californians. Good estimates require developing a forecasting model that uses a set of inputs based on well-documented sources, methods, and assumptions. Getting the TSB right is as much about good research as it is about good math.

The Induction Cooking MTI will deliver an estimated $537 million in TSB from 2024 to 2045. Most of these benefits come from GHG emission reductions associated with changing over from gas to electric cooking appliances. These abated emissions are worth more than $600 million when using Total Resource Cost (TRC) to calculate benefits, and substantially more when calculated using Societal Cost Tests, due to a much lower discount rate for that test. There are negative grid TSB benefits largely due to the impact of fuel substitution as induction and efficient electric cooktops are projected to replace natural gas units. Overall, the initiative creates $36 million in net energy benefits.

Not only do our initiatives need to demonstrate a beneficial TSB; they need to be cost effective. Cost-effectiveness is measured by comparing the initiative’s benefits with the costs. Various tests are used to provide different information about the impacts of the initiative from distinct vantage points. Together, these tests provide a comprehensive picture of the initiative’s cost-effectiveness:

• Total Resource Cost (TRC). This test answers the question, “Will the total costs of energy in the utility service territory decrease?” A positive TRC result indicates that the program will produce a net reduction in energy costs in the four investor-owned utility service territories over the lifetime of the program.
• Program Administrator Cost Test (PAC). This test answers the question, “Will utility bills increase?” Comparison of program administrator costs to supply-side resource costs.
• Societal Cost Test (SCT). This test answers the question, “Is California better off as a whole?”

The TRC and SCT cost tests help to answer whether efficiency is cost-effective overall. The PAC helps to answer whether the selection of measures and design of the program is balanced from the utility perspective. Collectively, these tests reveal the cost-effectiveness from the perspective of various stakeholders including program participants, utilities or California as a whole.

The initiative is cost-effective under all test perspectives.

More details about cost-effectiveness are available in Appendix B of the Induction Cooking MTI Plan.

CalMTA has forecasted the baseline market adoption (BMA) and total market adoption (TMA) of Induction Cooking. BMA represents the expected “naturally occurring” market adoption, considering current and expected market, and regulatory and technological trends. Total Market Adoption (TMA) includes the additional adoption resulting from strategic interventions detailed in this MTI plan.

Estimated number of households adopting induction and ENERGY STAR certified radiant cooking products (in thousands)

CalMTA applies an equity lens in its market transformation initiative (MTI) development process so that Environmental Social Justice (ESJ) communities receive the benefits of energy efficiency investment. Strategies for ensuring that targeted products and practices are available in ESJ communities are woven throughout the MTI plans and will be proactively considered during implementation.  

Induction cooktops and ranges are currently a premium product with an expensive consumer value proposition. Initial product costs, the need for appropriate cookware and, in many cases, a need to upgrade the home’s electrical infrastructure keep induction cooking beyond the reach of most middle- and limited-income consumers. Cultural barriers associated with cooking over an open flame also need to be addressed. 

The Induction Cooking MTI addresses both cost and product availability, which will serve all consumers, but especially ESJ communities. Several interventions will work to overcome specific barriers faced by multifamily and small residential housing, which predominantly serve limited income households. Key benefits include: 

• 120V battery-equipped products will lower the cost of adoption and provide additional benefits   

• Increased availability of affordable induction products will provide ESJ communities with more and better electric cooking options  

• Mitigation of negative health impacts like indoor air quality and childhood asthma

The following strategic interventions have an equity consideration:  

1. Encourage manufacturers to develop 120V battery-equipped products that will lower the cost of transition to electric cooking by reducing the need for costly panel upgrades. These products will provide ESJ communities with additional energy benefits through off-peak charging and increased resilience as battery-equipped technology will enable cooking during power outages. 
2. Support advancement of electrification-enabling rate structures to mitigate the bill impacts of moving from gas to electric cooking. This intervention will work to gather consumer cooking usage data that will help policymakers better understand how a move to electric cooking can impact consumers under different rate structures. 
3. Engage influential builders, remodelers, and property management firms working ESJ communities to install induction products with incentives or bulk purchase pricing coupled with marketing support.  
4. Build consumer acceptance and awareness through marketing and education campaigns on the benefits of induction cooking, including health and safety aspects, in partnership with aligned organizations.  
5. Support the inclusion of affordable induction cooking products in California programs, and the rollout of IRA funding. This intervention will initially take the form of coordination with key programs to identify leverage opportunities and ways to support programs working directly with consumers.  
6. Incent retailers to stock and market more affordable induction products positioning induction from a premium product, out of reach for many in ESJ communities, to a more affordable product