Check out induction tops. They've been beating out gas in some speed-based things, namely boiling water. When I reach the point of needing to buy a new stove, I'm going for this. As a bonus, many of the pots and pans I have will work on it.

>As a bonus, many of the pots and pans I have will work on it.

Bit of a stretch to reframe limited compatibility as a 'bonus', dontcha think? Outside of induction hobs, the norm is for any pot/pan to work on any stove.

You would think so, but many folks are under the impression that you have to get special pots and pans for it or that they are expensive - which isn't the case. Many will find that their current pans will, indeed, work on the induction hobs.

As far as the second... yes and no. IIRC, some of the reason for the decrease in enamel cookware was that it couldn't be used on some burners. The same goes with glass saucepans: I don't think you are supposed to use them with gas cook tops - even though these were popular for some time. Making sure the material was suitable for your cooking surface has been a concern for quite some time. It just happens that most cookware can be used on most surfaces.

Funny you say that, after living in this new flat for a couple of years we recently renovated our kitchen and now have an induction hob.

The induction hob is certainly better than the electric rings we had in the past, but I still miss the gas!

Induction is great, but of course still not as fast as gas and pots get expensive. I'm return much safer - I'd prefer my old townhouse not to be filled with ancient gas lines.