semiatic

Fast preheat (heat lines with arrows)

Brings the empty oven up to the set temperature faster by running all the heating elements at once (Siemens).

What it is for

Cutting the wait before you cook. It is a preheating mode, so the manual will say which function to switch to once the temperature is reached and whether food can go in during it.

Makes differ, check your oven’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly which elements run and how hot.

What it looks like
Three wavy heat lines with arrows: Bosch puts two arrows under them, Siemens a double chevron (») beside them.
Names makers use
Fast heat (Bosch); Fast preheat (Siemens)

Where makes differ

The » chevrons also appear on Siemens’ coolStart symbol (» with a snowflake and a drop), which is different: it cooks frozen or chilled convenience food straight away without preheating.

Often confused with

Holds food that is already cooked at a steady low temperature without cooking it further.

Other symbols with the same shapes

Sources

No single published standard defines oven function icons, so this meaning is taken from 2 makers’ own guides, each fetched and checked on the date shown:

  • Bosch: Bosch UK — Oven symbols guide — “Fast heat” settings icon (three wavy lines over two arrows): select fast heat to warm the oven faster. Checked 2026-09-23.
  • Siemens: Siemens Home UK — Oven symbols guide — “Fast preheat” pictogram (» beside wavy lines): all heating elements run at once to reach the desired temperature very quickly. Checked 2026-09-23.

Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.