Our center island is quite large and I often use it to serve food buffet-style. I have a 30" induction cooktop installed on the end of my center island. It was installed in 2006. It is very efficient and boils water in less than a minute. Prior to that I had a Jennair glass countertop in the same space. I love cooking this way - facing people. I wouldn't want it any other way. I have a Braun downdraft system. The Braun runs at 3 speeds but I keep it on the middle speed. It does get loud at the highest speed. Our downdraft runs underneath the floor/under the house so it doesn't take up any space. It was professionally installed. There is about 4 ft to the prep islands on all three sides. The sink is behind me. Note: my cooktop is 9 years old and I have never had any problems keeping it clean. It is *always* "showroom clean." Why? Because if something boils over onto an induction cooktop, the cooktop surface is not hot, so it's never going to get burned onto it like with a hot stove.
Don't be afraid. I don't consider any of the issues raised to be a problem. It's all good.
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