Modern kitchen is unthinkable without a hob. It can be gas, electric and combined, of various brands, types and manufacturers. How to understand this huge assortment and choose a convenient, safe, and most importantly - exactly the right size?
Burners
Does the panel size depend on their number? And does it really matter how much space the hob occupies? Dimensions, according to designers, are very important. The world strives for minimalism, so it is advisable to free up more space.
Often, the choice of a modern cooking panel is still associated with stereotypes, which is why 4-burner appliances are best sold. But this is not always reasonable. Families in cities are usually small. And rarely, modern housewives use more than two hotplates at the same time. This is a reason to think.
Type of heating
It usually does not affect the size of the built-in slab. Here, personal preferences and alleged culinary tasks are important.
Height
The height of 40 to 50 mm is considered standard for recessed panels. Since the average width of the kitchen worktop is 38 mm. Models are also available with a height of 8-10 cm. In this case, the hob is buried by 5-6 cm, installing it on a pre-mounted shelf-jumper. If a box was planned under the built-in stove, then you need to keep in mind that its usable volume will decrease.
Width
Of the models offered on the market, the minimum panel width is 30 cm. The burners in this case cannot be more than two. Typically, the front burner is low-power, the distant one is the most powerful. Rarely are models with a quick heating burner. The overall dimensions of the cooking gas panels of one and two burners are identical. Only the thickness varies. The standard version is 45 mm. But there are models both 82 mm and 100 mm.
30 cm wide electric panels have only two burners. Most often they are radial and fast heating. Oval are less common.
Perfect option
Width 45 cm for the built-in three-burner stove and 60 cm for four are considered the golden mean. The first has a triangular arrangement of burners with a top on the right. In this place they have a quick heating burner, regardless of which hob it is. The dimensions of a round built-in slab (for example, from Foster) are 52 cm in diameter. Belarusian Hefest slabs CH2120 have the shape of a streamlined triangle with a width of 73.3 cm.
The control knobs in this category of built-in boards are almost always horizontal, but models with a vertical control device are also available on the market.
Popular size
The most running width is 60 cm. Gas heating panels have standard four burners. Their manufacturer has a trapezoid, rhombus or rectangle. When buying a built-in stove with uncharacteristic burner positions, you need to be prepared for some inconvenience when cooking.
Popular sizes for electric hob: 64 x 900 x 515 mm (Smeg), 47 x 306 x 546 mm (Neff), 57 x 513 x 793 mm (Gaggenau). They are presented in different colors: white, black or copper.
Full-size models with a size of 60 X 60 cm or, as Bosch offers, 58 * 52 cm are popular.
Pretty not standard
Five-burner built-in cookers with a minimum width of 68 cm belong to this category. Most often, one burner is in the center, the rest are placed around the perimeter. But there are hobs on which a large burner is located on the left, four smaller ones - a square in the remaining area (for example, Neff). The hob, the dimensions of which in its widest part is more than 68 cm, do not always have a quick heating burner.
But the color gamut of such devices is the most diverse. There are models of blue, green and even bright green. Handles are located respectively on burners only from Italian manufacturers.
Electric heating hobs with a width of 61-80 cm are available with four and five rings.
Full-size hobs
Five hob gas hobs can be up to 80 cm wide. True, in this case, another hotplate is added. Hotpoint-Ariston manufactures panels 75 and 87 cm wide. The overall size of the built-in hob from Smeg has the largest width: from 90 to 116 cm. But there are only four burners on such a large area. Zoning does not depend on their number. Most often, one is made radial and one oval. Stand out from this series Siemens and Bosch. Their five-burner panels have 4 zones: one oval and three radial. Electrical panels are not available in widths over 91.6 cm.
Exceptions to the Rules
If the kitchen space is quite limited or the countertop is small, manufacturers offer gas hobs with four burners in a row. In this case, the depth decreases significantly to 350 - 400 mm, but the width increases to 1000 - 1100 mm. The hob, the dimensions of which are described above, looks original, and it’s convenient to cook on it.
There are also for sale vintage versions of an interesting curved shape. The functionality of such models did not suffer at all. Some manufacturers specialize in embedded corner tiles. They significantly save kitchen space.
Modular systems
Today, judging by the reviews, they are at the peak of popularity. Such systems are made according to the Domino principle. The built-in hob, the dimensions of which can be adjusted independently, offer unprecedented opportunities for both designers and users.
The Domino type hob is made up of sections. Each has a standard width of about 300 mm and a depth of 500 mm. The module can have two gas burners: one of them is of increased power or one gas burner, the other is electric.
Judging by user reviews, the most interesting options allow you to create dishes that are non-standard for an ordinary kitchen, because they have grill grills, double boiler, deep fryers, fryers, baking sheets, etc. Many manufacturers equip such hob options with hoods and even food processors. Thanks to the system of modules, each unit can be installed at some distance from each other and even interchanged, coming to a more comfortable use.
Ovens: dependent and independent
Today there is no need to select an oven in proportion to the built-in hob. You can install it, thanks to modern technology, in any place convenient for the hostess. The depth of the oven ranges from 55 to 60 cm. Therefore, these dimensions of the hobs and ovens are considered a generally accepted standard. Found in stores and compact models with a depth of 50 cm.
Users are advised in kitchens with a small area to choose an oven 45 cm high. The apparent loss of internal volume does not interfere with cooking on a standard wide baking sheet. And two dishes are extremely rare at the same time.
For non-standard kitchens, manufacturers produce models of classical height - 60 cm, but 45 cm wide. In this oven you can use both tiers, but the baking sheets are narrow in the kit. The volume of non-standard ovens ranges from 35 to 65 liters.
Experts advise you to carefully consider the installation location of the oven, especially if it is independent. Oversized cabinets are much more expensive.
Innovative technology
Despite the fact that electric hobs are very common today, few people know that with the same type of heating induction hobs are significantly different from the rest.
Instead of heating elements, there are electromagnetic coils below the surface of this built-in panel. They generate a magnetic field, which heats only the dishes standing on the stove (it must have ferromagnetic properties).
The dimensions of induction hobs with a width of 45 cm can accommodate only three heating elements. But in fact, for the average family this is more than enough, given the high efficiency of the built-in panels of this type.
For example, the German manufacturer Zigmund & Shtain offers a panel with a width of 45 cm in classic black. It is equipped with three burners, but even the smallest of them boils water faster than an electric kettle. This is how Booster Booster function works.
Standard sizes 58 X 51 cm have a large lineup. Housewives say that non-standard induction hobs differ in their original design and interesting arrangement of heating elements. There are usually four different diameters.
Installation of induction panels requires particular precision. It happens that during installation a couple of millimeters is not enough. Moreover, manufacturers warn about this and attach to the product a detailed surface mounting diagram with requirements for technical gaps and holes. If these conditions are not observed, the user may lose the warranty.
Post scriptum
The dimensions of hobs and ovens of any type of heating do not affect their functionality. When choosing a gas-fired built-in cooker, you need to pay attention to the quick heating burner, absolutely all models have gas control today. Buying a panel with electric heating, buyers are advised to ask if there is an expansion zone and what shape it has.
A standard working kitchen area assumes the presence of two full zones. The first (up to 100 cm wide) is located between the sink and the hob, the second (at least 30 cm wide) is from the panel to the wall or edge of the countertop. Accordingly, following these recommendations, you need to determine the dimensions for the hob.