Battery in an Induction Stove

The game changing 120 volt & resilient option

Induction stoves are a fantastic innovation for the kitchen and climate.  They cook faster and safer and are healthier than gas or traditional radiant electric with better control and easier cleanup while fighting climate change and vastly improving indoor air quality. 

Learn more about the benefits of induction stoves on our Building Electrification page and about the health problems with gas stoves, on the Studies page.  If you are already convinced and are trying to select one, check out our Buying Tips for an Induction Range and check to see if there are rebates or other incentives in our area. 

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But there has been one challenge to switching to induction cooking - power.  Normally, a full size induction range with oven requires a 240 volt outlet, like an electric dryer. That may require an electrician and be costly. But add a battery to an induction range and you replace that 240 volt outlet with multiple benefits:

• The battery induction stove only needs a regular 120 volt outlet. No need to add an expensive new circuit. No electrical upgrade. No electrician. No construction, No permits. It is plug and play.

• When the power goes out, the battery keeps you cooking and baking for several days. Plus you can plug in your refrigerator (and other appliances) to keep going during the outage.  And you can avoid more expensive time of use electric rates.

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How it works

A battery stored in the bottom drawer trickle charges all day so that you have all the concentrated power you need at cooking time. Smart electronics can maximize the charging during low carbon times (e.g. during the day when solar electric panels - yours or the utility's - are producing lots of excess electricity) and take no power from the grid in times of maximum demand (e.g. late in the day when the sun goes down and home electricity use increases).

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When there is a high risk of a power shutoff, such as during a storm or wildfire incident, the system can be switched to prioritize keeping the battery topped off constantly.  Regardless, when the power goes off, the stove seamlessly continues cooking. The 3 or 4kW battery will generally provide several days worth of cooking power. When the electricity service comes back on, the stove automatically starts recharging the battery again.  All of this without the complications and expense of installing a home electrification battery, such as a Tesla Powerwall.

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Save money & the climate

There are both climate and economic benefits to you and the electrical grid, from shifting dinner cooking electricity demands from the early evening to the rest of the day. In most places, the evening is a time of strain for the electric grid with solar panel output going down, just as demand increases. Hence many utilities are increasingly putting customers on time of use rates that charge the most for usage in the early evening. This battery operated stove could therefore cut your utility bill significantly by automatically helping you avoid taking electricity from the grid when the utility is charging the most. It will reduce carbon emissions by helping the utilities avoid firing up more fossil fuel plants as the sun goes down. It will also avoid the need for the utility to expand grid capacity to accommodate more electrified buildings.    

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Cost and availability

Channing Street Copper in Berkeley, CA is now moving from prototype to manufacture with a slide-in or standalone stove & oven combo unit with a 4kW battery (full specs). Cost is $5,999, but includes installation and recycling of your old gas stove.

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The federal tax credit for batteries (from the IRA) will bring the net cost to $4,200. Other federal and local rebates & other ncentives could bring it down as much as another $1,600. Factoring in that it eliminates the need to install a 240 volt circuit, this stove should pencil out competitive or cheaper than many standard induction stoves.

The battery uses lithium iron phosphate chemistry which does not have runaway fire problems and uses no cobalt. It can cook for 4 hours of moderate cooking, 8 hours when plugged in.  Stove is warranted for 10 years and battery life is expected to be more than 20 years. The first early 2023 production run is already sold out but you can sign up for a waitlist for future runs (or to invest) at Channing Street Copper.

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For a stovetop only unit, check Impulse Labs  which is developing a similar concept.

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Read about both of them in These new induction stoves want to convince you to ditch gas (Fast Company Nov 2022). Or totally nerd out with an interview with Channing Street's chief scientist and the technology manager at DOE's Emerging Tech program on Induction stoves with batteries built in, and why they matter (Volts podcast, Dec 2022)

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