The cost of fuel for cooking?

gayleygoo

I have never given much thought to the cost of using my cooker/oven. The electric credit ran out this morning, when I'd just topped it up on Monday (£5). I checked the meter and it turns out I used nearly £3 of electric yesterday, not sure how - we don't have any heating on yet and aren't leaving lights on unnecessarily.

Does anyone have a rough idea how much an electric cooker/grill/rings cost to run? My electricity rate is 18p per k/w and I'd like to able to plan my cooking more efficiently. I sometimes turn the oven on just for a handful of potato wedges or a few fish fingers, which I know is wasteful but if I knew how much it cost it might make me think more carefully about it!

maman

gayleygoo wrote: »

I have never given much thought to the cost of using my cooker/oven. The electric credit ran out this morning, when I'd just topped it up on Monday (£5). I checked the meter and it turns out I used nearly £3 of electric yesterday, not sure how - we don't have any heating on yet and aren't leaving lights on unnecessarily.

Does anyone have a rough idea how much an electric cooker/grill/rings cost to run? My electricity rate is 18p per k/w and I'd like to able to plan my cooking more efficiently. I sometimes turn the oven on just for a handful of potato wedges or a few fish fingers, which I know is wasteful but if I knew how much it cost it might make me think more carefully about it!

Sorry but I've no idea how to work it out but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can. I suspect it's complicated as you will be paying more per hour as you've a prepaid meter.

Thanks for the post as I really need to think this through myself. I've always used my oven a lot as it doesn't need watching as much as things on the hob or grill and means I can get on with other things.

What I have been told is that a slow cooker uses about the same as a lightbulb so for stews and casseroles that's a no brainer.

Gigervamp

A while ago, I was noting down how many units we used each day. During the week it was pretty consistant at 20 units a day. However, on a Sunday, when I had the oven on for a few hours making the roast dinner and bread or cakes, it jumped up to 30 units. :eek:

closed

depends on how long you have them on, how big the oven is,(about 1-2kw/h oven/grill) and at what temperature - take meter readings and see, and use microwave for microwaveable things.

your unit cost is high

refrigeration, showers, halogen or incandescent lighting, kettles are often the highest users of electricity when the heating is off, cookers may use a fair amount, but shouldn't be on for long.

20 units a day is on the high side too.

calicocat

I don't know how much it costs to use different appliances, but I do use a slow cooker to make big batches of casseroles and stews to freeze which has got to be cost effective as then it's just reheating.

Anne_Marie_2

Can't give any help on fuel costs, but do you have other kitchen gadgets such as a halogen oven, slow cooker, George etc.? These are far cheaper to run than the main cooker as far as electricity costs are concerned.

RAS

Hi

This is the best I can find about oven use

http://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/buying-household-appliances/cookers

Note that the hobs use a lot more energy that the cooker; if you have all of them on they use more power per hour than ovens and unlike ovens they do not reach the required tempurature and then only use power to maintain the tempurature.

Gigervamp

Hmm. I have a ceramic hob and the rings click on and off during use. Maybe it's different if you have the solid hotplates or metal spiral rings.

eamon

You really get ripped of by token meters. Pay up front and get charged more! Its a bizzare situation and it is shocking that the regulator still allows this.

gayleygoo

Thanks for your replies I have a slow cooker and try to use it once a week, and make use of one-pot dishes or steamer baskets on the hob to save energy, but baking is my downfall! I guess should try more often to bake when I'll be turning the oven on for dinner anyway, or get a few things in the oven at once. Or just make rice krispie buns

HAS I didnt know that about the hob rings, but it makes sense, it's rare that I'd be using them all at the same time. We rent our house so I don't know much about the cooker really!

According to our electric supplier, prepaid meters are cheaper than the standard bill-pay tariff as they have a discount for being paid up front. The price rose from 14p per kw (I think) to 18p over the summer, to bring it in line with the other electric companies here.

I'm just not sure sometimes what to put on, say for one tray of food that can be grilled or oven cooked, I wonder which would be cheapest - small top oven, large fan oven, or the grill? Although possibly it would just even out!