From gas to induction

Switching to induction is five jobs in a row. The gas has to come out and be sealed. Power has to be added. That power has to reach the hob. The hob has to be connected properly, and it has to fit in the worktop. Four of those five happen behind the wall and in the meter cupboard. That is also where the money goes.

Below is the whole route, in order. All amounts are guide prices from our own records.

Step 1: the gas pipe comes out

The pipe is shut off, capped and pressure-tested. The pressure test is the point. Turning off a tap and leaving the pipe in place is not capping. It leaves a pipe under pressure behind your new cabinets. We test it, and that is a separate line in your quote.

Want to keep the gas point for later, for a gas oven for example? Tell us beforehand. Reopening a capped pipe later costs more than leaving it in place.

Step 2: an extra circuit

An induction hob belongs on its own circuit. Not on the dishwasher's circuit, and not on whichever circuit happened to have room.

Whether that fits depends on your meter cupboard. If there is room on the rail, the circuit is added. If it is full or the fuse box is too old, the fuse box is replaced. Work on the fuse box is done by a qualified electrician. Send a photo of the inside of your meter cupboard with your request, and you know this in advance.

Step 3: the cable to the hob

Between the meter cupboard and the hob you need a cable heavy enough for what the hob draws. This is often the longest route of the whole job: through the crawl space, along the ceiling, or through the wall behind your cabinets.

In a plasterboard wall a cable goes in easily. In concrete or sand-lime brick we have to chase the wall, which costs € 423,50 including VAT. Is the kitchen on a different floor from the meter cupboard? Then the route is longer and there is more work. That is a separate line in the quote, not a surprise afterwards.

Step 4: Perilex plug or fixed connection

Two things get mixed up here. A Perilex connection is a Dutch five-pin socket for appliances that need more than one ordinary circuit. Some induction hobs plug into it. Others come without a plug and are wired into a connection box behind the cabinet.

The hob decides what it needs, not the installer. It is on the rating plate and in the wiring diagram in the box. We read that before the day.

Step 5: the hob goes in

The cut-out in your worktop is almost never the exact size of the new hob. Induction hobs are often wider and deeper than an old gas hob, and they need room for ventilation underneath. If there is a drawer or an oven below, that space has to be there. Otherwise the hob keeps sucking in its own warm air and the electronics fail.

Cutting laminate or wood can usually be done on site. In natural stone, ceramic or composite that is not always possible, especially close to an edge or a joint. We judge that before we cut, because a cracked stone worktop cannot be repaired. More on materials on replacing worktops.

What it costs altogether

As a private customer you pay the amount including 21% VAT. Replacing the whole kitchen? Then this work often overlaps with the other changes. See plumbing and electrics and all our prices.

While you are at it: smoke and heat alarms

Since 1 July 2022 every home in the Netherlands must have a smoke alarm on every floor. A renovation is a good moment to sort this out: the ceiling is open or not yet painted, and the electrician is there anyway.

The kitchen itself needs a heat alarm, not a smoke alarm. A smoke alarm goes off from a burnt pan or a hot oven. A heat alarm reacts to heat, not to cooking fumes, and still warns you when something really goes wrong.

• Smoke alarm in the hall, on the landing and in the living room.
• Heat alarm in the kitchen, on the ceiling, away from the cooker hood.
• Carbon monoxide alarm if there is still a gas appliance, boiler or water heater in the house.
• Wireless and linked, so you hear the alarm upstairs when it starts downstairs.

Where it goes wrong

• The old cable gets reused. There was already a thick cable to the cooker, so why not use it? We do not connect an induction hob to a cable when we do not know its thickness and route. If we cannot check it, we pull a new one.
• The meter cupboard turns out to be full. This is the most common one. It is discovered on the day itself, the hob cannot be connected, and a second appointment is needed.
• The worktop cannot be cut. Stone that cannot be cut where the new hob has to go. Then the choice is a different hob or a new worktop.

How to ask us

Send a photo of your meter cupboard, a photo of your current hob in the worktop and the type number of the hob you want. With those three things we can tell you what it will be, without visiting first. The best moment to ask is before you order a hob.

Questions