how is it a nightmare?
if you aren't getting that energy from natural gas, you'd mostly get it from a CO2 producing power plant, with efficiency losses going from heat (steam) -> electric -> heat (cooktop)
Even Gas cooktops without a pilot light are surprisingly inefficient with under 40% of the energy ending up in your pan. (Which is why the air several feet above the pan is so hot.) On top of this you end up venting air your HVAC system just used a lot of energy to make pleasant outside and/or breathing noxious fumes from incomplete combustion so Carbon Monoxide, NOx, formaldehyde etc
Induction stoves powered by natural gas power plants are more efficient than directly cooking with natural gas plus you can use clean solar/wind/nuclear/hydropower or oddballs like geothermal.
It’s even worse if you don’t size the burner to the pan. My wife always uses the largest burner with an 8 inch pan, probably 70% of the heat goes around and over it. Really made me want to switch to induction but I noticed the same thing that most induction cooktops have stupid, unreliable touch controls.
I think efficiency of a hob is pretty low on the priority list right? Certainly when framed in cost terms (gas being cheaper than electric). The total amounts are too small relative to hot water / home heating to make much difference. Especially if you go out of your way to find an induction cooker with a decent interface (there is at least one out there with knobs).
For most things which would need cooked on a hob for a long time we use an Instapot electric pressure cooker anyway (out of preference rather than efficiency concern).
It depends on what your paying for fuel, propane is shockingly expensive at 3$/gallon right now + delivery fees but let’s use 3$ for 91,452 BTU which works out to 11.2c/kWh before you consider efficiency.
At an optimistic 40% efficiency for a stovetop vs 90% for an induction cooktop the breakeven is 25c/kWh which is well above average US electricity prices. Worse that 40% assumes properly sized cookware in contact with the burner, no pilot light, and ignores the cost of venting air outside.
As to total costs, at full blast a propane burner only costs around 1$/hour but some people do a lot of cooking.
