The simplest (and best) solution would be to put in a gas stove. It's
really not possible to do proper cooking on an electric cooktop anyway.
Thus you solve two problems at one time.

A 30+ yo house should have adequate wiring for such devices though. I
suspect your microwave may be on your lighting circuit. You may want to run
a seperate line for it, if that is the case. Your stove feed should not
have anything to do with the lights dimming unless there's in adequate
service in the main panel to begin with.

s

"Oh no, not again!" wrote in message
...
Two of the 20+ year old appliances in our home are nearing the replacement
stage - the dishwasher and the electric stove. I'm guessing that newer
appliances are more energy efficient, but in general, do they put less of
a "load" on the circuit that's servicing the appliances? Our home is 30+
years old, and I'm guessing that the wiring, while up to code, didn't
anticipate microwaves over the stove, larger refrigerators, and all the
different things that use electric current that didn't exist 30 years ago.
Sometimes, when we're cooking on the electric stove, AND using the
microwave, AND running the dishwasher, AND have the 4 flourescent tubes on
in the kitchen, the lights in the kitchen dim a bit. If I put in a new
flat-surface electric stove, am I likely to see more lights dimming or
will the situation improve? THANKS!