Battery in an Induction Stove & other 120 volt options

Game changing 120 volt & resilient options

Induction stoves are a fantastic innovation for the kitchen and climate.  They cook faster and safer and are healthier than gas or traditional radiant electric with better control and easier cleanup while fighting climate change and vastly improving indoor air quality. 

Learn more about the benefits of induction stoves on our Building Electrification page and about the health problems with gas stoves, on the Studies page.  If you are already convinced and are trying to select one, check out our Buying Tips for an Induction Range and check to see if there are rebates or other incentives in our area. 

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But there has been one challenge to switching to induction cooking - power.  Normally, a full size induction range with oven requires a 240 volt outlet, like an electric dryer. That may require an electrician and be costly. But add a battery to an induction range and you replace that 240 volt outlet with multiple benefits:

• The battery induction stove only needs a regular 120 volt outlet. No need to add an expensive new circuit. No electrical upgrade. No electrician. No construction, No permits. It is plug and play.

• When the power goes out, the battery keeps you cooking and baking for several days. Plus you can plug in your refrigerator (and other appliances) to keep going during the outage.  And you can avoid more expensive time of use electric rates.

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How it works

A battery stored in the bottom drawer trickle charges all day so that you have all the concentrated power you need at cooking time. Smart electronics can maximize the charging during low carbon times (e.g. during the day when solar electric panels - yours or the utility's - are producing lots of excess electricity) and take no power from the grid in times of maximum demand (e.g. late in the day when the sun goes down and home electricity use increases).

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When there is a high risk of a power shutoff, such as during a storm or wildfire incident, the system can be switched to prioritize keeping the battery topped off constantly.  Regardless, when the power goes off, the stove seamlessly continues cooking. The 5kWh battery will generally provide several days worth of cooking power. When the electricity service comes back on, the stove automatically starts recharging the battery again.  All of this without the complications and expense of installing a home electrification battery, such as a Tesla Powerwall.

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Save money & the climate

There are both climate and economic benefits to you and the electrical grid, from shifting dinner cooking electricity demands from the early evening to the rest of the day. In most places, the evening is a time of strain for the electric grid with solar panel output going down, just as demand increases. Hence many utilities are increasingly putting customers on time of use rates that charge the most for usage in the early evening. This battery operated stove could therefore cut your utility bill significantly by automatically helping you avoid taking electricity from the grid when the utility is charging the most. It will reduce carbon emissions by helping the utilities avoid firing up more fossil fuel plants as the sun goes down. It will also avoid the need for the utility to expand grid capacity to accommodate more electrified buildings.    

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Cost and availability

The 30" Charlie range, built by Copper based in Berkeley, CA is available with a slide-in or standalone stove & oven combo unit with a 5kWh battery (full specs). Upfront cost starts at $5,999 for stainless steel. This is substantially more that many other induction stoves, but it is a premium stove with features that beat many other offerings. Plus it only needs 120 volts, eliminating the cost to install a 240 volt circuit. 

 

The federal IRA tax credits for batteries did bring the net cost way down (to about $4,200 to $4,480), but the Republicans cut off access to that program for homeowners. ​Other local rebates & other incentives could still bring your price down.

 

The Charlie battery uses lithium iron phosphate chemistry which does not have runaway fire problems and uses no cobalt. It can cook 3-5 meals when the power goes out.  Stove is warranted for 2 years and battery life is expected to be more than 20 years.

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Electra in Brooklyn NY has recently released a stove & oven combo unit for $3,999. I have not yet compared the features to the Charlie.

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For a stovetop only unit, check Impulse Labs  which has developed a similar battery charged and very high power (meaning very fast boil) cooktop.

 

Summit Appliance is developing WattSipper is developing an innovative 120 volt induction cooktop & oven combo that uses smart power sharing instead of a battery to keep burners and the oven at temperature while limiting the total draw to what a singlew standard home circuit can handle. WattSipper is being marketed first for use in multi-family developments, and will likely go retail sometime in 2027. 

 

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Check out NY Times Wirecutter in depth review of the Charlie range in I Tried the Tesla of Induction Stoves. It Could Be the Future (NY Times Wirecutter, Jan 2025) Read about Charlie and Impulse in These new induction stoves want to convince you to ditch gas (Fast Company Nov 2022). Or totally nerd out with an interview with Channing Street's chief scientist and the technology manager at DOE's Emerging Tech program on Induction stoves with batteries built in, and why they matter (Volts podcast, Dec 2022)

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