A cooktop with radiant heating elements is none other than what is often commonly referred to as a Ceran hob. However, strictly speaking, the term is incorrect. ‘Ceran hob’ simply means that the hob is made of glass ceramic. Ceran is a brand name of the company Schott AG, one of the leading manufacturers of high-quality glass ceramics and so is frequently used synonymously.
In the case of radiant heating elements, heating coils are located under the glass ceramic plate of the electric cooktop. On these cooktops, energy is transferred by heat radiation. Contrary to induction cooktops, radiant heating elements do not have an automatic pan size recognition function, meaning that any cooking zones that are switched on will become hot even if there is no cookware on them. Cooktops with radiant heating elements are less expensive to buy than induction cooktops but need more power and are not as safe, as the cooking zone is heated to very high temperatures during the cooking process.