Get to know...induction hobs

Trying to minimise the cost of cooking in your van? Time to take a look at an induction hob, says Sam Coles

- Sam Coles

THE GENERAL COST OF energy supplies has been rising dramatically in recent times, resulting in steep increases in gas and electricity prices.

Most caravans use bottled gas for cooking and to a lesser extent, space heating.

Currently, the cost of refilling a 6kg propane gas bottle (probably the most common size) is a rather eye-watering £25-£35, depending on where you purchase it. Luckily, there is a way to minimise this cost – by a margin.

Mains hook-up

Most caravanners choose to spend their time on campsites where there is a mains electric hook-up facility.

In the UK, hook-up points provide 230V AC along with a breaker set at 10A; that is, if more than 10A is taken, the supply is automatically cut.

Another consideration that needs to be taken into account is that unlike some European sites (Germany in particular), the power supply is not usually metered – so no record is made of the amount of electricity used by individual pitches and charged accordingly. You can also bet that site owners would not want to entertain the cost of converting to individual pitch metering any time soon.

This configuration provides, by default, 2.3kW (230V x 10A) of power, included in the pitch fee. There are usually no time constraints, so in theory, you could use a continuous 2.3kW throughout your stay – although in reality, this doesn’t happen (much to the campsite owner’s relief!). But that power is yours to tap and included in the price. So why not use it?