Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Electric heating: Equipment and suppliers

Inside the magnetron and a furnace transformer of 280 MVA

What this tab covers For each method, the main pieces of equipment, who makes them (by region) and what they are made of (bill of materials).

Main items: the storage water heater, the induction hob's coil and inverter, the arc furnace with its transformer and electrodes, and the microwave oven's magnetron.

Resistive water heating

Electric storage water heater (geyser)9

Heats and stores hot water for a home.

United States A. O. Smith, Rheem, Bradford White China Haier, Midea Japan and Korea Rinnai India Racold, Bajaj, Havells
Bill of materials
  • Tank: Glass-lined steel with a sacrificial magnesium or aluminium anode Not published
  • Heating element and thermostat: Nickel-chromium wire in a magnesium oxide filled metal sheath Not published
  • Insulation and casing: Polyurethane foam, painted steel jacket Not published

Electric arc furnace steelmaking

Electric arc furnace84121314

Melts scrap or DRI with electric arcs.

Europe Danieli (Italy), SMS group (Germany), Tenova (Italy), Primetals Technologies (United Kingdom, owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)
Bill of materials
  • Furnace transformer and power controls: Very high current transformer (280 MVA for SSAB's 190-tonne furnace); thyristor (SCR) controllers approaching 99.5% efficiency (supplier claim) Not published
  • Graphite electrodes: Consumed during melting Not published
  • Shell, water-cooled panels, refractory hearth: Steel shell, copper or steel cooling panels, magnesia refractory Not published

Induction and microwave heating

Induction hob115161718

Heats pans by eddy currents.

Europe BSH (Bosch, Siemens, Neff brands), Electrolux (Electrolux, AEG) China Midea, Haier
Bill of materials
  • Inverter: IGBT power switches with rectifier and capacitors Not published
  • Coil and top: Copper litz-wire coil on ferrite, glass-ceramic surface Not published
Microwave oven615192021

Heats food with 2,450 MHz radiation.

China Midea, Galanz Japan and Korea Panasonic, LG Electronics
Bill of materials
  • Magnetron: Copper anode block, permanent magnets, heated cathode Not published
  • High-voltage supply and cavity: Transformer or inverter, capacitor, steel cavity with door mesh Not published

Sources

  1. ENERGY STAR Emerging Technology Award 2021: Residential Induction Cooking Tops US EPA / DOE ENERGY STAR, 2021
  2. Steel manufacturing requires efficient electric arc furnaces Advanced Energy, 2023
  3. Energy issues in microwave food processing: a review of developments and the enabling potentials of solid-state power delivery (Atuonwu and Tassou, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition; author manuscript) Brunel University London repository, 2019
  4. High demand for EAFs on the global market: Danieli CEO GMK Center, 2024
  5. A. O. Smith Corporation Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 A. O. Smith / US SEC, 2026
  6. Primetals Technologies chosen as supplier of electric arc furnace based steelmaking plant in Austria (press release, 12 January 2024) Primetals Technologies, 2024
  7. SMS group to install one of the largest EAFs for Swedish SSAB GMK Center, 2024
  8. Tenova to supply Consteel EAF to HKM (press release, 3 August 2026) Tenova (hosted by Heat Treat Today), 2026
  9. Midea Group annual results announcement for the year ended 31 December 2025 Midea Group / HKEX, 2026
  10. Euromonitor names Haier leading appliance brand for 17th year kbbreview, 2026
  11. BSH reports turnover of EUR 15 billion in 2025 (press release, 26 March 2026) BSH Hausgeraete, 2026
  12. AB Electrolux publishes 2025 Annual Report (press release, 19 February 2026) Electrolux Group, 2026
  13. Galanz opens Industry 4.0 microwave oven base in Shunde China Daily, 2020
  14. 35+ years of inverter technology (microwave ovens) Panasonic Canada, 2026
  15. LG introduces NeoChef microwave oven with Smart Inverter technology (press release) LG Electronics, 2018