Choosing a glass-ceramic stove is not so easy, considering how many models are presented on store shelves. Among them there are quite inexpensive stoves with a minimum of possibilities, and there are cooking surfaces, the cost of which can be compared to the price of a used car. And, nevertheless, more and more lucky become the owners of new modern plates, which by all indicators are ahead of their predecessors. The main thing is to choose the model. Let's start with the main - heating elements.

Kinds of burners

A modern electric stove is easily recognizable by its even, smooth surface, on which the burners are barely visible. Usually they are only slightly marked by contours of various shapes and sizes. From what element is inside, depends not only the cost of the furnace, but also the efficiency of its work.

Glass ceramics usually has one of the following types of hotplates:

• Halogen hotplates instantly heat up( up to 3 seconds) with a special lamp connected to a high-temperature spiral. During operation, they glow a soft red light. Their high power allows you to quickly heat the water or fry the meat well. The only drawback is the relatively short lifespan of halogen lamps and high power consumption.
• Rapid burners heat up a little slower( up to 12 seconds), but they are more reliable and economical. Inside of them is a spiral of high resistance alloy, capable of giving off a large amount of heat when heated. A more modern type of these burners is “Hi-Light”.In them the spiral is laid much more densely, due to which the burners heat up a little faster and cool down( up to 7 seconds).
• Induction hobs are able to heat the bottom of special dishes. They are considered the most effective and economical. However, glass ceramics with induction hobs is expensive. And if you consider that you have to buy special dishes for it, a decent amount goes out at all.

Most often the manufacturer supplies the stove with burners with different power. This is much more convenient, as it allows more economical to expend electricity. It is best to choose an electric stove, each burner which has a different diameter. So you can spend exactly as much electricity as you need at the moment.

Oven

If you want to choose a stand-alone stove, be sure to pay attention to its oven. It is desirable that it possesses the following capabilities:

• several heating elements that allow products to be baked evenly;
• fan that creates convection currents inside the oven;
• timer to work offline;
• telescopic guide for trays;
• door with laminated glass for better protection.

Sometimes modern ovens are equipped with a spit and a grill that allows you to cook delicious baked dishes. Of course, because of this, the cost of the stove increases significantly, so before choosing such a stove, consider whether you need all the functions of its oven.

Useful stuff

Modern stoves can provide you with the following features:

1. Touch control. It is best to choose a stove with a touch control: such models are more expensive, but they allow you to smoothly adjust the temperature of each burner and look more aesthetic. In addition, smooth surfaces without unnecessary protruding handles are much easier to care for.
2. Residual heat indicators are a very useful feature of modern stoves. With their help, you can more efficiently use electricity: you always see which hotplates are still hot and how much heat is left in them.
3. Reinforced sealing of the oven reduces heat loss during cooking in the oven.
4. Booster - a temporary increase in the power of one of the burners at the expense of all the others. This function is convenient to use for rapid heating of water.
5. Programming - you can program the stove to prepare your favorite dishes.
6. Timer - useful not only for the oven, but also for the cooking surface.
7. Automatic boiling control - the stove itself will detect when the water has boiled and will reduce power.
8. Self-cleaning oven - the ability of the oven to self-cleaning.

The more features glass-ceramic has, the more expensive it will cost. Some of the functions will seem superfluous to you, others you find indispensable. Buy a stove that will best meet your expectations.

A bit of specifics

The price of an electric stove with glass-ceramic depends not only on its functions, but also on the manufacturer. In the lower price segment are the stoves of the Turkish brand Beko and the Czech manufacturer Mora( Gorenje group).In addition, each of the well-known manufacturers necessarily offers its customers 2-3 low-cost models.

As for the upper price segment, it is rather difficult to limit it. Here you can find models of plates from Samsung, Zanussi, Electrolux, etc. In general, the ratio "price = quality + number of functions" is observed by all brands.

To make it easier for you to choose the desired plate, we have created for you a small sign with the most popular models from different price categories.

Beko CSE 57100 - the cheapest model of the three, and Gorenje EC 55320 AX - the most expensive. As you can see, the differences between the plates are small, but the cost of the first is two times lower than the last.