Cheapest method of cooking

Ben84

I believe a full oven (particularly if it's gas which is cheaper) will cost less per item than the microwave, but this only makes sense if you need several items cooked at once. Often my oven is used for just one item, but then in the evenings right now the waste heat is helping heat the house so the gas boiler is running proportionally less. Depending on your cooker's location in the house, if the heat finds its way in to the living space, then there may well be a net loss from not using when the central heating is lit. Most cookers vent all their waste heat in to the house while cooking your food, a gas boiler might only deliver 60-80% of the heat from burning gas to your radiators and doesn't do any cooking either.

As for microwaving pizza, unless you're reheating I'm not sure it would work that great? Microwaves don't bake food to give them the crispy browning some dishes need, their cooking style is more like boiling or steaming things! A pizza that isn't precooked would surely turn to hot goo?

Skint_yet_Again

Ben84 wrote: »

I believe a full oven (particularly if it's gas which is cheaper) will cost less per item than the microwave, but this only makes sense if you need several items cooked at once.

My oven is electric
Often my oven is used for just one item, but then in the evenings right now the waste heat is helping heat the house so the gas boiler is running proportionally less. Depending on your cooker's location in the house, if the heat finds its way in to the living space, then there may well be a net loss from not using when the central heating is lit. Most cookers vent all their waste heat in to the house while cooking your food, a gas boiler might only deliver 60-80% of the heat from burning gas to your radiators and doesn't do any cooking either.
So are you saying its cheaper to heat your home with a gas oven rather than a gas combi boiler ?
As for microwaving pizza, unless you're reheating I'm not sure it would work that great? Microwaves don't bake food to give them the crispy browning some dishes need, their cooking style is more like boiling or steaming things! A pizza that isn't precooked would surely turn to hot goo?

My MW is a combi oven/grill so it bakes/grills/browns at the same time, which takes less time than my electric oven

Norman_Castle

I am sure most of my electric consumption is my washing machine

See here ,,, https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3704485

My small under counter fridge which costs approx £30 per year is my most expensive. Old slyle bulbs can account for 20% of some bills.

These http://www.maplin.co.uk/plug-in-electricity-cost-and-usage-calculator-223573 are good and are on offer regularly.

Ben84

Skint_yet_Again wrote: »

My MW is a combi oven/grill so it bakes/grills/browns at the same time, which takes less time than my electric oven

That means you can do a lot more with it so hopefully save more energy by using it.

As for heating a house with a gas oven, the average house would not be heated effectively with a gas oven alone as they emit modest amounts of heat, about as much as one radiator. The typical gas oven however is an unvented gas appliance (they're about 100% efficient) and emits some useful heat in to the house during use. I find mine can heat the kitchen pretty well, causing the thermostatic radiator in there to turn off when it's lit.

Large gas appliances like boilers however need to have a chimney as they emit too much carbon dioxide and moisture to be safely vented in to the house, so they burn the gas under a heat exchanger and send the fumes plus any heat not transferred through the heat exchanger up the chimney. How much depends on the boiler type, but it can be anywhere from about 10-40% of the heat going up the chimney.

So, if the gas oven is lit the central heating will burn a few less kWh of gas to heat the house. The heat output from the gas oven is also slightly more efficient than heat produced by the boiler.

My conclusion is that if you have a gas oven and the heat from it helps heat living space in your house that would otherwise be heated by the boiler, it would slightly reduce your gas bill if you use it when the central heating is running. So, if you have a gas cooker and the heating is on, you might as well cook. It won't cost you more, possibly cut a few pence off the gas bill each month. You're not going to make massive savings, but it's basically free cooking available whenever the central heating is on.

wileycat

Norman_Castle wrote: »

See here ,,, https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3704485

My small under counter fridge which costs approx £30 per year is my most expensive. Old slyle bulbs can account for 20% of some bills.

These http://www.maplin.co.uk/plug-in-electricity-cost-and-usage-calculator-223573 are good and are on offer regularly.

Same here, my built in freezer (a Westinghouse one) uses alot more electricity than my standalone Zanussi, its worth checking them out!

Also 3 and 4W GU10 LED are starting to become affordable now as a viable replacement to kitchen and bathroom halogens..

[Deleted User]

I have a microwave,a Remoska and a slow cooker and have cut my bills considerably from using the electric hob and big oven.I only use the big oven maybe once a week if I am doing a big bake up and make sure all the shelves are in use.Utility prices being what they are its important to use them carefully and to their full potential