The CERAN EXCITE® portfolio enables lighting elements to be used throughout the cooktop
Household appliance manufacturers can now implement innovative cooktop lighting solutions with the CERAN EXCITE® product portfolio. The new glass-ceramic materials and coatings enable functional and aesthetic LED lighting with true brilliant colour and contour sharpness in both the cooktop’s control and cooking zone. Household appliance manufacturers can now make induction hobs more interactive and exciting than ever before.
Light kindles a connection between kitchen appliances and the people who use them. It is a long-established design and functional element in the kitchen. In the case of glass-ceramic cooktops, however, lighting applications beyond the classic red 7-segment display have been difficult to implement due to the special transmission behaviour of the glass-ceramic material. To address lighting design issues, SCHOTT is introducing CERAN EXCITE®, a portfolio of light-optimized materials, filters, and coatings that enable LED light sources mounted under the cooktop to shine through with clarity and brightness. For example, white light shines four times brighter than in conventional cooktops. The portfolio supports household appliance manufacturers in realizing customized solutions, and leading brands have already launched products with the new CERAN EXCITE® technologies. The portfolio was presented at the SCHOTT CERAN® Experience 2018 at ewerk Berlin – an exclusive industry event parallel to IFA 2018.
Designers want flexible lighting options, such as allowing adaptable light indicators in the control and cooking zones, and light displays that follow a pan when it moves across the cooktop. CERAN EXCITE® solutions can help make that happen. The international technology group SCHOTT has optimized glass-ceramic for light displays in controls and cooking zone areas.
The materials can be supplemented with coating and filter solutions that enhance the colour location of light elements, light shaping, and homogeneous light distribution.
This enables light to be smoothly guided through the glass-ceramic in a defined pattern with sharp contours. When switched off, the cooktop has a homogeneous black surface.
The CERAN EXCITE® portfolio enables lighting elements to be used throughout the cooktop – even in the cooktop’s heated zones, where high cooking temperatures have to be endured. These lighting concepts have particularly interesting consequences for induction technology, which, unlike gas or electric stoves, has yet to accommodate advanced visual feedback. The lighting portfolio from CERAN EXCITE® provides new possibilities in the user design interface of cooktops, drawing attention to cooking zones for greater safety and an emotional connection with the cook.
Appliance manufacturers can also integrate high-tech smart functions such as light symbols, monochrome, and even high-resolution TFT displays, which are very popular among fans of cooking technology.
“Light is a highly emotional component that makes products more exciting. As an interface of interaction, it can visually support many of the cooktop’s functions, meeting the high demands of users,” says Dr. Joern Besinger, Head of Product Management & New Business Development at SCHOTT CERAN®.
SCHOTT CERAN® was introduced to the market in 1971 as the first black glass-ceramic for cooking. It has been constantly refined and enhanced ever since. Since its market launch, the original formulation has sold more than 150 million units, making SCHOTT CERAN® the world’s bestselling cooktop brand. The black CERAN® glass-ceramic cooktop, produced without the toxic heavy metals arsenic and antimony, is an integral part of modern kitchen concepts, enjoying wide global popularity due to its durability and the flexible use of heating technology (compatible with gas, induction, and electric ranges).
In the fall of 2016, SCHOTT introduced Miradur®, a unique scratch-resistant coating that significantly reduces signs of wear, such as scratches from sand particles or abrasion marks from cleaning sponges. SCHOTT CERAN Miradur® has become a cooktop of long-lasting beauty. Its scratch resistance was recently verified in independent tests by TÜV Rheinland, one of the world’s leading technical service providers of testing and product certification.
CERAN EXCITE® now complements SCHOTT’s comprehensive product portfolio for the cooking sector with an engaging lighting component, enabling the company to offer its global customers and partners a wide range of possibilities for innovative product design.
CERAN®, Miradur® and CERAN EXCITE® are registered trademarks of SCHOTT AG.