Is induction cooking lower carbon than LPG in a factory canteen or hotel kitchen in India?

Not on India's grid average today. Per unit of heat reaching the pan, induction at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh emits roughly one and a half to two times the CO2 of an LPG burner. Induction becomes the lower carbon choice when the electricity comes from rooftop solar or another renewable supply.

Compare per MJ of useful heat

Stove efficiencies here are labelled estimates. Large commercial burners and open flames sit at the low end; well-maintained burners with the right pan size do better.

• LPG: 2.98 kg CO2 per kg / (47.3 MJ per kg x stove efficiency). At 55 percent efficiency that is 0.115 kg CO2 per MJ in the pan; at 40 percent, 0.158.
• Induction: 0.710 / 3.6 MJ per kWh / induction efficiency. At 85 percent that is 0.232 kg CO2 per MJ.

The grid factor at which induction wins

Induction matches a 55 percent efficient LPG burner when electricity carries about 0.35 kg CO2 per kWh, and a 40 percent burner at about 0.48. The CEA average is 0.710, so induction loses on location-based accounting. Power from your own rooftop solar, or renewable power backed by certificates under market-based Scope 2, can bring it below those figures.

How the switch shows in your inventory

• LPG burnt in your kitchen is Scope 1.
• Electricity for induction is Scope 2, reported location-based, and market-based if you hold renewable instruments.
• Do not report a cut in Scope 1 as a saving without adding the new Scope 2.

Reasons to switch other than CO2

Kitchens move to induction for indoor air quality, cooler working conditions, cylinder safety and supply risk. Those can be good reasons. Just do not claim a carbon saving unless the electricity is cleaner than about 0.35 to 0.48 kg CO2 per kWh.

Worked example: a hotel kitchen using 1,000 kg of LPG a month

• LPG: 1,000 x 2.98 = 2,980 kg CO2
• Heat in the pan at 55 percent: 1,000 x 47.3 x 0.55 = 26,015 MJ
• Same heat by induction at 85 percent: 26,015 / 0.85 / 3.6 = 8,502 kWh x 0.710 = 6,036 kg CO2
• If the LPG burners were only 40 percent efficient: 18,920 MJ, so 6,183 kWh x 0.710 = 4,390 kg CO2
• Either way induction on grid power emits more; on rooftop solar the Scope 2 figure falls toward zero

Efficiencies are labelled estimates; measure your own with a water-boiling test. LPG 2.98 kg CO2 per kg and NCV 47.3 MJ per kg are IPCC 2006 defaults.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads LPG invoices at 2.98 kg CO2 per kg and electricity bills at 0.710 kg CO2 per kWh, so the canteen's Scope 1 and Scope 2 before and after a switch come from your own documents.

• LPG emission factor
• CO2 from a 19 kg LPG cylinder
• Staff quarters and canteen electricity
• Market vs location-based Scope 2

Sources: 2006 IPCC Guidelines, Volume 2 Energy, Chapters 1 and 2, CEA CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, version 21.0, GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance

Last reviewed 2026-10-18. The answer depends on the CEA grid factor, which is revised each year.