With the introduction of new energy price caps, many will be looking for ways to save on their bills with energy efficient appliances. The Hometree team broke down the cost of running a kitchen appliance by looking at which one uses the least energy and showed that a £20 Aldi slow cooker sold out in stores costs just 5p an hour.
The energy used by each device can be estimated by multiplying its power rating (in kilowatts) by the remaining minutes/hours. Power information should be on a sticker or in any manual that came with the device. For example, a microwave oven may have a power rating of 700W (1000W in 1kW), and if it runs for 3 minutes, it consumes 0.035kWh. Here’s how the equation works: 0.7 x 3/60 = 0.035 kWh.
The slow cooker is back—and for good reason, it’s one of the most energy-efficient cooking methods when it comes to home appliances.
Even if you keep it on all day slowly simmering a beef casserole, it will use as much energy as a light bulb, cutting down on energy consumption and saving you some money in the process. The slow cooker has less power, so even 8 hours of cooking consumes less energy than an oven or stovetop.
On average, a slow cooker typically consumes about 1.2 kW for 8 hours, which means it only uses about 162.5 watts per hour, or just 5p per hour.
It’s true that microwave ovens aren’t as versatile as traditional ovens, but for some tasks they can be very useful. A good example is reheating, defrosting, melting butter or chocolate, or softening onions.
Baked potatoes are best to start in the microwave and then finish crispy in the oven – you can finish them in the microwave if you don’t mind softer skins. Because they cook or heat food faster, microwave ovens use up to 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
On an average 700W microwave oven, the appliance will consume about 0.058 kWh of energy if used for about 5 minutes. 5 minutes of use will cost about 1.98 rubles.
Deep fryers are more energy efficient than most convection ovens because they cook food much faster, although they use electricity, which is usually more expensive than natural gas. Recent studies show that cooking in a deep fryer costs about half as much as cooking in an oven.
An air fryer is similar to an oven in terms of baking and frying. Still, the main difference is that the heating element is located only on top, with a large and powerful fan.
The average fryer power is 1 kW, which means that using the fryer for about ten minutes consumes up to 0.16 kWh of energy. On average, it will cost about 5 pence.
Whether you’re simmering soup, simmering chickpeas for hours, or cooking pasta, induction hobs use energy more efficiently than gas or electric ceramic hobs. This is because no energy is wasted heating the space around the pot.
Electric stoves are your next best option in terms of efficiency because when you’re cooking on gas, a lot of heat is wasted heating the kitchen, not the food. However, electricity is more expensive than gas, so a gas stove can save you a few pounds a year.
The average power of an electric oven is 2 kW, which means that if the electric oven is turned on for 15 minutes, the electric oven will run at about 0.5 kWh. Each use will cost around 17p.
The same goes for stoves and stoves: natural gas is cheaper than electricity, but electricity is more efficient. In any case, if you are reheating food, the Energy Saving Trust recommends using a microwave oven, especially if it has a good energy rating.
Daily use of the oven can waste energy and therefore money. However, if you must use the oven, there are ways to maximize energy efficiency. For example, do not store baking sheets in the oven while cooking, as they may block airflow. In addition, regular cleaning of the oven helps to maintain more efficient heat distribution.
The average power of the oven is about 3kW, which means that if it runs for about 20 minutes, it consumes about 1kWh or about 34p.
Post time: Oct-12-2022