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The best air fryers are generally considered to be energy-efficient appliances, using less energy than traditional ovens or deep fryers, which has seen people snap them up in order to save cash.
But do they really save you money?
There’s no doubt they’re cheap to run, but factors such as wattage, what you’re cooking and for how long will impact on the cost – and sometimes, the oven will still be a cheaper option.
“Air fryers are generally cheaper to use, and this mainly comes down to their size and the fact that they tend to have much quicker cooking times in comparison to ovens,” says Jennifer Warren, from Energy Guide.
“Ovens typically have a much larger surface area and so take much longer to heat up, so even though gas is cheaper than electricity, it can still work out more economical to use the air fryer in many cases.”
The exact energy consumption of an air fryer will depend on factors such as the model, size and cooking time. And as Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis revealed on The Martin Lewis Podcast, while air fryers can be cheaper to use than an oven, if you have a higher wattage model, that won’t always be the case.
He said: “If you own an air fryer that is a lot more powerful, you could be using near enough the same energy as an oven. For example, the 2,000W air fryer costs 34p per use, that’s 13p more than an oven.”
His advice?
If you’re cooking something small that doesn’t take much time, use the air fryer or microwave, otherwise go for the oven.
As there are many variables to consider when working out how much an air fryer costs to use, Warren says it’s best that you verify exactly how much energy your appliance is consuming.
“Homeowners can check their smart meters to see exactly how much energy their air fryer is using,” she says.
“It's a good idea to then compare this with other cooking methods, for example, the microwave, as well as the oven, to see which is cheapest in their circumstances.”
If you don’t have a smart meter, you can still get a rough estimate of how much your air fryer is costing by using an energy calculator. You’ll need to know the wattage of your air fryer as well as how much time you’ll be cooking your item for.
Alternatively, you can work out how many kWh (kilowatt/hour) of electricity your appliance uses with this calculation.
If you are going to be cooking something for longer than an hour, the calculation changes slightly.
For example, the Ninja Air Fryer Max AF160UK has a wattage of 1,750W. Using the energy calculator or the above calculation, you can work out how much it will cost to cook oven chips in the air fryer. These take 15 minutes, so this would work out at just over 10p.
Compare this to a traditional electric oven, of around 2,000W, and you’re looking at around 50p for a cooking time of 45 minutes (this includes the pre-heating cooking time of ten minutes).
Gas ovens work out cheaper than both air fryers and electric ovens, coming in at 12p for a cooking time of 45 minutes.
“Ovens are generally bigger than other cooking appliances, meaning they require more energy to heat up than smaller appliances such as air fryers,” explains Joanna O’Loan, knowledge manager at Energy Saving Trust.
“If you have a gas oven, this doesn’t necessarily mean it will be the more expensive cooking appliance to run because at the moment gas is a cheaper fuel than electricity (at current Energy Price Guarantee tariff prices it’s around 10.3p/kWh for gas and 24.5p/kWh for electricity).
"While your gas oven might use more energy, you’re charged less for this energy than the energy you use when cooking with electric appliances.”
Remember though that gas ovens do produce more direct carbon emissions than an electric air fryer.
If you’re preparing smaller quantities of food – e.g. for one or two people – you might want to consider using an air fryer instead in order to reduce your carbon footprint.
The Energy Saving Trust recommends that whatever appliance you use, avoid opening the appliance's door any more than necessary while it’s on. This keeps in hot air and reduces wasted energy.
Don’t always assume your air fryer is the most economical option. As Warren explains, it all depends on the quantity of food you’re cooking.
“If your air fryer isn't large enough to cook the portion you need for your family meal, you might be better off using the oven, where you can cook everything at once, rather than in two-to-three different intervals,” she says.
“Cooking the same thing twice in an 800W air fryer could cost you more than using the oven.”
The large size of an oven not only makes it a better option when cooking for large groups, but also if you want to batch cook, you can cook numerous meals at once, making it good value for money.
When it comes to choosing an air fryer that is cost-effective to run, there are a few things to consider, starting with the capacity. Warren says,
“It’s important to use an air fryer that has enough capacity to cook the volume of food you will need to cook.”
“Otherwise, you may end up using the air fryer for even longer than you would your oven, in which case, you will likely make no savings at all, or even worse, end up using more energy.”
If you’re cooking for more than two, choose an air fryer such as the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300UK (£219.99) that comes with two baskets, enabling you to cook double the portions.
Air fryers such as the Instant Vortex Plus with ClearCook (£139.99) feature a window that stops you from opening the drawer more than is necessary, which lets out heat, wastes energy and can end up costing you more.
So, are air fryers cheap to run? Warren says that even though air fryers are super-versatile, they are better used as an occasional appliance, rather than your go-to.
“To save money on your energy bill, consider using your air fryer for smaller meals or snacks instead of relying on it for all of your cooking needs,” she says.
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