The primary heat generation mechanisms of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic laminates during induction heating are joule losses, junction heating with contact resistance and dielectric hysteresis. In relation, these mechanisms are highly affected by the laminate’s architecture and the anisotropic properties of each ply. A finite element model of the Joule heating process is studied to compare modeling the electrical and thermal properties of each individual ply with a laminate theory homogenization of the thermal and electrical properties. Three different homogenization techniques are compared, and limitations of the approaches are discussed. Experimental induction heating of CF/PEKK panels analogous to the finite element model is performed and quantitative (infrared camera) temperature measurements are compared to the finite element simulations