Hot surface igniters for cooktops

A burner system, comprising:

• a burner comprising a crown having a plurality of burner ports, and a selectively energizable hot surface igniter in electrical communication with a power source;
• a supply of combustible gas in selective fluid communication with the burner ports and the hot surface igniter;
• a user control operable to selectively energize the hot surface igniter and selectively supply the combustible gas to the hot surface igniter, such that while a user is performing an ignition actuation operation with the user control, the combustible gas is supplied to the hot surface igniter, and the hot surface igniter is energized at a first average power level, when the user is performing a heating operation with the user control, combustible gas is supplied to the hot surface igniter, the hot surface igniter is energized at a second average power level, the second power level is not more than 90 percent of the first average power level, at the first power level the hot surface igniter reaches a surface temperature exceeding an autoignition temperature of the combustible gas within no more than 4 seconds of being energized, and at the second average power level, the hot surface igniter reaches a steady state surface temperature that exceeds the autoignition temperature of the combustible gas, wherein the user control is manipulable in a first dimension to supply power to the hot surface igniter and in a second dimension to supply the combustible gas to the hot surface igniter, and when the position of the user control with respect to the first dimension is such that the hot surface igniter is not energized, the user control is not manipulable with respect to the second dimension to supply combustible gas to the hot surface igniter.