I’ll admit I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets and small appliances. But it must have been a well-placed ad that got to me late one evening, when, within the space of half an hour, I went from never having heard of a standalone induction hub to having one in my cart to be delivered the next morning.That order went in a week ago today. In that time, I have used my gas cook top only for conducting comparison tests to see how much time, if any, the induction would save me over the gas. My kitchen is not a certified laboratory, but the results were pretty much as expected, with one surprise.I used 5 different pans for testing. All All-Clad and Tramontina vessels are tri-ply. For the first test I boiled 2 cups of water in the following pans with these results:5” All-Clad saucepan: Induction (I): 3 minutes; Gas (G): 6.75 minutesNOTE: Part of the difference is no doubt due to having to use the smallest burner on the gas stove for this small pan.All-Clad saucepan: I: 3 minutes; G: 5.25 minutesAll-Clad Dutch oven size: I: 3 minutes; G: 4 minutesLe Creuset 2-1/4 quart saucier pan: I: 3.2 minutes; G 4.5 minutesFor the second test, I boiled 5 quarts of water in one pot:Tramontina pasta pot: I: 22 minutes; G: 22.5 minutesWHOA. That last one was a surprise and disappointing one at that. I repeated it somewhat in the All-Clad Dutch oven with 4 quarts of water, and the results were similarly similar. Is the hob working right? Has anybody else had the same results? Still, if it is working right, it’s not a deal killer. I’m used to planning for water to take this long to boil, and I’d much rather be doing it on a heating source that is not polluting my household with deadly gasses for that much time.In addition to the boiling-water tests, I cooked vegetarian chili in the Dutch oven (see photo), made oat-milk chocolate pudding in the Le Creuset, fried eggs in a black steel /carbon steel frying pan, warmed up left overs, heated soup for lunches; and I was happy with all results.As to usability, I was concerned that the interface might be tricky, but I picked it up quickly. Not bad for a seriously senior senior citizen.The pan does have a tendency to slide if you're stirring vigorously. My handles and lids did not get hot; however, so can can quickly keep a pot from getting too far away without burning myself to stop it.I like its look and the design with a controls at a slant. As a shorty, every little detail like that is helpful. It is lightweight, but a bit bulky. I definitely read the size specs before buying it but was probably hoping it wouldn’t really be that big.As a compulsive wiper-upper I found myself accidentally changing settings whenever I automatically swiped whatever I had managed to splatter on it. At least things it cleans up easily, unlike that gas monster.My biggest concern is that when I plug it in, the electricity arcs. What does that mean? Something wrong with my wiring, the unit, nothing to worry about it?I’d like to store it on its side but haven’t found any documentation about that yet.And, finally, regarding the noise it makes. The fan seems a bit loud for such a small device, but it is waaaay less noisy than the exhaust fan above my cooktop that seems to just send the stinky gas fumes to a vent above the microwave and shoot it back into the room. I have only heard the other noise, kind of a hissing noise, a few times. It hasn't been very loud. If I move the pan a little bit, sometimes it goes away. I consider myself pretty sensitive to sounds, and it hasn't bothered me. Fortunately, my floor plan is pretty open. If I was in a closed off kitchen where noise had no place to go, it might be more of a problem.I have a modest-sized kitchen that has no vacant countertop space begging to be filled. If I add something, it most likely means, something else has got to be relocated. For that to happen I have must have a great need or desire for the new product. This is undoubtedly worth it. It saves time in most cases, doesn’t harm the atmosphere, and it takes the pressure off replacing the old gas beast and paying for new wiring to get a new stove. If I had a tad-bit more space, I’d probably get the double-burner version. As it is, I’ll keep using this and add another single burner if I want to later.