ABSTRACTEnergy‐efficient practices for users of cooking tops are reviewed, and the opportunities available to appliance‐designers for improving the thermal efficiencies of electric range‐tops are discussed. Several prospective developments relative to existing designs have been analyzed quantitatively. The main alterations suggested are: (1) the introduction of thermally‐insulated pan caps in place of conventional lids; (2) the optimization of pans in terms of their thermal and geometric properties; (3) the employment of intelligent control systems, which allow the rates of energy supply to cooking elements to be regulated automatically (that is, without the cook's supervision) according to the temperature of the pan's contents; and (4) the fitment of insulated reflectors beneath radiant‐ring cooking elements. In particular, the design of an advanced electric cooking system is described: by using it, energy savings of at least 40%, when compared with employing a conventional radiant‐ring cooking element of identical power dissipation, should