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Comment by trulyme | Hacker News Reader

Whoa. Is that an import/export opportunity here? In EU the prices of both are comparable.

There are more commercial versions available but they do tend to compete at the higher end of the market. Induction is a specific choice you have to make here and people who make uncommon choices tend to be in higher budgets.

It will probably change soon though. A lot of laws are being proposed to not add new gas hookups for new construction. Induction will have to become the higher end default for electric ranges.

There is also good to remember that these units at least higher powered are designed for 3-phase 400V that is 3 230V phases. Which I have understood isn't very common or easily available in households in some places around the world.

I haven't seen a stove yet in Germany (residential at least) that can't cope with all the phase inputs tied to the same phase.

They are just 3-phase because the utility demands 10+ kW loads to be 3-phase loads, and they often exceed that slightly. Check out the install guide on e.g. some IKEA built-in models, specifically regarding the wiring instructions.

And US residential does have 240V single-phase available.

Appliances tend to have a lot of regulations around them. The chance you could commercially import a bunch of appliances from the EU into the USA legally and without substantial modifications is very low.

it is not just the cost of the unit, there are alot of other costs that would go into converting to elec from gas, including running a new outlet, and if you have an older home could require upgrading your entire electrical service.

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