A new development from Impulse Labs might totally change how we cook food at home.
Electric stoves are an essential piece of the puzzle as we move away from using dirty energy to power our homes. But most homes can't support the increased electric load needed to run an electric stove, so installation often requires expensive panel and wiring upgrades.
Impulse, a San Francisco–based startup, is changing that with the introduction of a new induction stove, which uses a lithium iron phosphate battery in concert with a wall outlet to deliver more power than a traditional electric unit when in use, while also decreasing the amount of power it needs to draw from the electrical outlet. The battery will allow consumers to plug the stove right into a standard 110-volt plug without any electrical upgrades.
"At the end of the day our goal here is to make something fundamentally better that people will *want* AND choose to use," the company said via Twitter.
Lithium-based batteries are nothing new — scientists began developing them in the late 1970s, and now they're used in everything from mobile phones to laptops and electric vehicles. However, lithium-ion batteries are more common in North America since they have traditionally offered more energy capacity with the same size, but lithium iron phosphate is actually considered less flammable and more durable, which makes sense in a stove. This is reportedly the first time lithium battery technology is being used in an electric stove, according to Canary Media.
Impulse's new technology could make induction stoves more accessible than ever, which is good news for consumers. Induction stoves have many benefits. They outperform gas stoves — bringing water to a boil three times faster — and they're safer for families because they don't have any exposed flame. They're also usually easier to clean.
The decrease of gas stoves in homes will also help reduce planet-warming pollution. Currently, 13% of U.S. carbon emissions come from commercial and residential energy use.
Impulse has yet to release the price for its new battery-based stove, and it is not yet taking orders. In the meantime, Impulse founder and CEO Sam D'Amico shared a video demonstrating how its stove can boil water 10 times faster than a gas stove.
Back to the performance story — the argument should be over when you can ship something literally ten times better. Here's a video showing how we're 10x faster than a high end natural gas stove at boiling water. 1 Liter in 40 seconds (the gas stove takes ~400 with the same pan). pic.twitter.com/qMRpMmU7xi
— Sam D'Amico (@sdamico) November 15, 2022
"The argument should be over when you can ship something literally 10 times better," D'Amico wrote in a tweet sharing the clip.
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