Are air fryers more energy efficient? According to research by consumer expert magazine Which?, cooking in an air fryer is, on the whole, cheaper.
'With the air fryer, you're heating a significantly smaller area; it heats up very quickly and cooks food efficiently, so you're likely to make a saving.
Using an air fryer for 15 minutes cost 13p, while a microwave costs 8.5p to run for the same time. Meanwhile boiler insurer Hometree says a slow cooker can use as little as 5p an hour in energy costs.
Using slow cookers, microwaves and air fryers when you can, are all great options for low-maintenance, low-cost, low-carbon cooking. Microwaves: When comes to cooking quickly and cheaply, microwaves are going to be your best friend.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, a slow cooker is one of the most energy efficient kitchen appliances. On average, a slow cooker draws about the same amount of energy as a standard electric light bulb. This means that despite being on for a longer period of time, a slow cooker actually uses very little energy.
Air fryers don't use a lot of electricity, with most requiring between 800 and 1800 watts (W) to run, though some large models need more. Air fryers also use less electricity than electric ovens, which typically use around 2,200 W to 5,000 W, and therefore cost more to run.
Slow cookers typically cost less to run than an oven. They won't necessarily save you money compared with using an induction hob, or even a gas hob.
Slow cooker
Slow cookers are among the kitchen's most energy-efficient appliances.
Use a slow cooker for some meals instead of the oven as slow cookers are more energy efficient despite being used for longer periods of time. Batch cook meals and freeze or chill the leftovers so that they can later be reheated in the microwave.
Is It Cheaper to Cook or Eat Out? For those who want a quick and easy answer: It's generally cheaper to cook food at home than eat out.
Air fryers are more energy efficient than ovens. Air fryers heat up quicker than ovens; therefore, they use less electricity to reach the required cooking temperature. Air fryers cook quicker than ovens. Most air fryers run on 1400 watts to 2000 watts, whereas ovens are more around 2500 watts and above.
If you can invest in one, a slow cooker is even more cost-efficient to run than a microwave. The slow cooking method, simmering food at low temperatures for a few hours, brings out the flavour of cheaper ingredients like root vegetables and budget-friendly cuts of meat.
With this electric air fryer, you can air fry and slow cook with more confidence and flavor. Air fry food on its own for a delicious, crispy texture or brown and crisp food after slow cooking to elevate its flavor and texture. Go from air frying a quick snack to browning a slow-cooked meal any day of the week.
Why you will love it. No effort "roast" chicken - There is minimal prep that goes in to slow cooker rotisserie chicken. Just mix together the seasonings and pour over the chicken and then cook. Cheaper - Using the slow cooker is cheaper than using the oven, so this a budget friendly way to cook a chicken.
A typical hob uses about 1500W – so will cost about 45p an hour to run. A medium slow cooker costs about 53p for eight hours so it's more expensive than an electric hob. But if you only use the slow cooker for six hours it would cost about 40p – so cheaper than the hob.
Ben Gallizzi, an energy expert at Uswitch, says: “Consumers can save energy while cooking depending on the method they pick. For instance, microwaves, slow cookers and air fryers all tend to be cheaper ways of cooking meals than using an oven.
Microwaves, slow cookers, electric pressure cookers and air fryers all consume significantly less energy than ovens, so using these instead, if possible, will save you money. “Microwaves are particularly energy efficient,” Dr Reynolds says.
"Cooking in the air fryer uses less than half of the energy required to cook the chicken or the jacket potato in the oven," says Greg. "So, cooking in the oven costs more than double what it costs in an air fryer."
Is it cheaper to use an air fryer than a microwave? Both appliances are fairly energy efficient when compared with lots of other kitchen machines (such as energy-sucking washing machines or ovens), but as mentioned, most experts agree that microwaves tend to be cheaper to run than air fryers.
Benefits of an electric cooker
Although gas tends to be a cheaper fuel to run, electric heats more efficiently than gas. Opting for an induction cooker or a cooker with a ceramic hob for example can dramatically reduce residual heat lost from the hob when cooking – meaning less energy wasted.
According to Hunting Waterfalls, an oven is much more expensive to run than a slow cooker. A slow cooker will use between 1.2 and 1.7 kWh (16-22 cents) to cook a meal for 8 hours, while an oven will use, on average, 2.4 kWh (31 cents) per hour, or $2.48 for the eight hours.
Research from Uswitch.com has said that an air fryer running on 1,000 watts costs 17p per 30 minutes of use and 34p per 60 minutes of use. Meanwhile, a 1,500W air fryer costs 26p for 30 minutes and 51p for an hour, whilst a 1,800W air fryer costs 31p for 30 minutes and 61p for an hour.
Is it cheaper to run a slow cooker or an oven? It's much cheaper to run a slower cooker than it is to run an oven. They cost, on average and at the current price cap, 16p a day to use, whereas an oven costs you about 30p a day if used only once a day.
Because it's small, using an air fryer can often be cheaper than using your oven for the same meal. This makes it ideal for preparing smaller amounts of food for one or two people. Top tip: Try not to open the compartment any more than necessary to avoid letting out heat and wasting energy.
Saves time and money
Air fryers can cook food much more quickly than your oven. Heating up the air necessary to fry your food takes less energy than heating an oven – fast food just got faster. Reduced cooking time means a reduction in your energy bills, too.