If you would have asked me a few years ago about switching to an electric or induction stove, I would have scoffed. I grew up working in restaurants and kitchens. Professional chefs, most of whom I look up to, mostly care about anything BUT gas as a joke.

Cut last year. As a new home owner with concerns about air quality and fire safety — adulthood comes for us all — I began to think the unthinkable. I’m struggling with the decision to go gas or induction. In the end, I decided on induction. Hey, it’s me test kitchen appliances for a living after all; it’s only fair i give induction a shake, i’ve used gas my whole life.

After hours of digging through specs and features, I settled on Samsung’s feature-rich Bespoke Slide-in Induction Range. The oven has app compatibility, Wi-Fi connectivity, a host of cooking modes and other features you won’t find in the average range. Some I found useful and some not so much — but more on that later.

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I have to admit, there are times when I miss the tactile nature of cooking with a gas burner. That said, after over a year of use, I’m happy with the induction switch. It’s faster, safer, cleaner and more energy efficient. I have no intention of going back.

Here are four big reasons why.

1. Air quality and peace of mind

What drives me to move on from gas has nothing to do with cooking. Study after study shows that natural gas stoves are a real risk of environmental contamination. While the scuttlebutt over whether gas stoves are safe and what regulatory guardrails should be put in place has largely died down, the science remains.

Gas stoves have been shown to leak more than previously thought and the leaks used to has been shown to cause respiratory issuesespecially for children. As a lifelong asthma sufferer and owner of a new but poorly ventilated kitchen, it doesn’t seem worth the risk, although most agree more research is needed.

2. Full speed and precise temperature control

Modern induction heat is fast. Like, really fast. Samsung Bespoke brings a pot of water to a boil in less than 5 minutes. A gas stove takes about 8. That may not be a big difference but after coming home from a hectic day and pasta is the only way to turn it back, you will notice.

Instant heat can be used for more than just boiling water. Getting a cast-iron skillet hot enough to sear steaks, chicken and burgers takes seconds, not minutes. Calibrating the temperature without a visible flame takes time and practice, but since I lowered the settings, it has had no effect on my cooking. In addition, the temperature adjusts quickly with a slide of a finger on the touchscreen.

The oven is also fast. It preheats to 350 in just 9 minutes. A gentle ding or an alert sent to your phone will let you know when it’s preheated or when a one-hour cooking session has finished.

3. Is the stove on? Smart app control has saved me hours of driving

I buy smart home features, here and there, but I’m not one who strives for the connection of all my electronics and appliances at home. I ice maker there is app compatibility, for example, but I never thought to use it.

Being able to monitor certain aspects of your oven and stove remotely, however, is a no-brainer. To the point: Recently I was an hour into a long trip when I was completely convinced that I had left a pot with food on a running burner. I am sure that I pulled out with the intention of changing myself at home.

That’s when I remembered to check out the SmartThings app.

To my surprise, the app and range are still connected, even though I haven’t logged in for weeks. View shows all burners set to “off.” I sighed and went back on my way. Even one THERE Wrongly left, I can toggle it right there from the interstate rest stop.

There are other, less terrible uses for smart app integration, like preheating the oven or dialing up the heat of a simmering sauce from another room. I admit that I don’t use the remote control of my range every day or even every week, but in that moment of uncertainty, the connection to the stovetop paid for itself.

The range’s touchscreen hub can also connect to your phone via Bluetooth to play music or scan the internet for recipes and YouTube cooking videos, and show them to you while you cook. I don’t find myself participating often, but I can understand why other cooks do.

4. Cleaning? No one

The most welcome surprise of my induction transition was the cleaning – or should I say, the lack thereof. Anyone who uses gas burners hidden under grates knows that there is no keeping the stovetop clean, no matter how careful you are while cooking.

The scratch-free range, which remains scratch-free for more than a year of use, does not exceed wiping with a wet towel or sponge to clean, no matter how much of the recipe that night it rained.

An involved cleanup after a long day, labor-intensive recipe or while hosting a gathering is one of the biggest buzzkills in home cooking. Eliminating an unavoidable and inevitable task is a great benefit for induction.

Cookware compatibility is not an issue for me

One of the biggest drawbacks of the induction switch is the lack of compatibility with cookware. Induction does not work (or work well) with copper and aluminum pots and pans.

MANY stainless steel, steel iron and ceramic cookware is compatible. I only use pots and pans made from these materials, so I don’t have compatibility issues.

Quality kitchen brands always indicate whether their pots are induction compatible. If you’re switching to induction, do your research and make sure you don’t have to buy new cookware after the fact.

If I could do it over, I would skip the in-oven camera

the Samsung Bespoke Smart induction range I chose those that cost north of $2,000, about twice as much for the same, less heavy part. Samsung model. The main differences are that mine has “more advanced” cooking modes powered by AI and an internal oven camera, so you can monitor food remotely via phone and share time-lapse videos. I don’t use or trust any of them.

The control panels are also different, with the more expensive model having an LCD Display. In my experience, LCD displays have more issues and glitches than simpler digital interfaces, although mine has been working great so far.

For my money, the $1,100 Samsung Bespoke 30-in Smart Induction Rangewhich has all the features that I have taken care of and outlined above in this article, is the better purchase.