- Gas stovetops are connected to gas lines owned by natural gas companies or to leased tanks from propane gas suppliers. If you plan to install a gas stovetop, check with your local building code office, as most municipalities require installing a ventilation hood above the gas stovetop. Many professional chefs swear by gas stovetops, because they give cooks greater control over heat delivery. You can also use just about any type of cookware on a gas-fueled stove.
- Electric stovetops use electricity to operate and connect to power lines owned by electric power providers. Many owners consider electric stoves cleaner to cook with and operate compared to gas stoves, because they don’t emit fumes or build up grease deposits on surfaces as quickly and easily as gas stoves do. Electric stovetops also provide the latest advancements in science and technology, including induction and halogen heating elements in addition to conventional coil radiant-heating elements. Electric stovetops also come in ceramic glass stovetop designs with unexposed heating elements that lie beneath the glass stovetop. This smooth, flat surface is particularly popular in homes with modern designs.
- Dual fuel stovetops have both gas and electricity power sources. For example, you could have two gas-fueled burners and two burners powered by electricity. In this type of stovetop configuration, the electric burners are usually radiant, halogen or induction-heating elements instead of exposed coil burners, to prevent splattering oils or liquids onto exposed burners, which could cause a fire.
- Modular, drop-in cooktops typically feature additional cooking surfaces, such as a grill pan. This unit is often placed in the middle of the cooktop area. Modular units can be gas-fueled, electric-powered or use dual fuels. The grill pan and additional burners give cooks indoor grilling capabilities for cooking steaks, burgers and even pancakes. Some modular stovetop designs have a removable cover to hide the center grilling accessory when it is not in use.
- Standard gas and electric drop-in cooktops feature two or four burners. Most homes have four burners to accommodate enough stove “eyes” to prepare multiple dishes at one time. Two-burner stovetops are more commonly found in studio and efficiency apartments, where kitchen space is at a premium. However, two-burner stovetops are also installed in island counter spaces in large homes for additional cooking capabilities.
- The standard width of four-burner stoves is 30 inches, and the standard width of two-burner stoves is 20 inches. Two-burner cooktop units can be be installed horizontally so the burners are side-by-side on the left and right; or you can cut a rectangular opening in the counter and drop in the unit vertically, so that one burner is in the front and one is in the rear to save counter space. Larger, custom-built cooktops have widths ranging from 36 inches all the way to 50 inches or more. The more burners and accessories, the larger the width.
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