They’ve got a quite unusual stove that’s got a large battery in it so that it can operate when the power is off, and doesn’t need the installation of a 240v power connection. This avoids the cost of an electrical retrofit of old apartment buildings, which otherwise costs far more.
If you’ve already got your home wired for 240v, you can get an induction stove for far less.
These battery-equipped stoves are expensive right now because they’re being made in quite small numbers. The parts needed are coming down in price quite rapidly, so I expect to see them sold in the $2000/unit price range within a few years.
Sidenote, I love this comment
Would something other than a slab of cast iron work? Thinner or different material like carbon steel?
I know next to nothing about this stuff just trying to understand if we’re talking about conduxtivityand heatsinks or like field dissipation
There are steel plates for that purpose. I have one for cookware that’s not induction friendly, and it works fine, it’s just not very convenient.
The thinner it is, the faster it would respond to changes in energy input. Sometimes that’s what you want, but the guy you’re asking is concerned about burning his food with sudden heat, so he wants something thick that responds slowly.
My carbon steel pan doesn’t work as well, probably because it’s less dense and therefore has wider temperature swings than a cast iron pan.
One way I use my carbon steel with it is if I want to sear something in my instant pot insert. It doesn’t work on induction but I can get it rocket hot this way.