Air fryer v oven

ariarnia

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

ariarnia said:

Deleted_User said:

Then I'm seeing people putting hob-based dishes in it such as a Spanish omelette in the air fryer which is almost certainly more costly and less efficient than using a gas hob and the traditional method.

.. that's a lifestyle choice. using an air fryer isnt only about saving money. its about it fitting what you want to cook better than the alternative. if i want to cook only a few sausages or warm a role then it will definitely be quicker and cheaper in the air fryer than the big oven. 

Yes fair enough, I'm not knocking an air fryer as a lifestyle choice, just trying to get to the bottom of whether it actually saves any money as that is what the OP asked and this forum is called "money saving".

So far I conclude it doesn't save money but suits certain lifestyles and I'm awaiting data that says it saves money.

Granted I can see for a single person that warms one roll or cooks 3 sausages then it probably works out to be really convenient and possibly cheaper but alas no data yet.

youve already said it does save money compared to a big oven at 15p a meal for whatever it was you worked out. other people on the forum have done there own calculations and said it saves about half the cost. but it will always depend on what you are cooking and how you are cooking that if you dont have an air fryer. one potato in an oven vs in the microwave vs in the air fryer vs part cooked in the microwave then in oven or air fryer. all very different results. so it HAS to be down to lifestyle. 

and i also think its a bit rich that you talk about the cost of the air fryer but not how most ovens take a lot more kitchen space and cost a lot more than most air fryers

Yes but that 15p saving per meal for a £150 air fryer means that it takes 1000 cooking cycles just to break even - so using it 5 days per week means it takes 4 years just to break even. By the end of year 5, you have saved £39.

Most people already have an oven in the kitchen. If you don't have one already, then you can buy a fan-assisted one for £150-£200 anyway so it isn't a big difference in cost and you have enough space to do an Xmas roast for example.

For most kitchens, the work surface space needed for an air fryer is more of a premium than the below-the-counter cupboards that an oven occupies and the air fryer will half-fill a similar-sized cupboard anyway when stored.

and what about the £75 model? or the sub £50 bought on black friday compared to the £500 fan oven from john lewis? 

and i've not used our big oven in 10 years, have cooked Christmas dinner for 5 or 6 quite happily every year with a little planning. 

i get what you are trying to say but there are to many different things that will shift the cost one way or another. anyone can pick any numbers they want to prove its worth it or not but its how the individual will use it that will say if it saves money for them (or if its worth it even if it doesn't save money)

mmmmikey

@[Deleted User] whether it saves money or not is going to vary hugely from one person to another, depending on how much they use it, what they use it for, what they pay for electricity (i.e. solar vs SVR vs E7, etc.) what they would otherwise have done, what assumption you make about energy prices over the life of the air fryer and so on. There are so many variables, so isn't trying to establish a general case somewhat hypothetical? Nothing wrong in trying to work out an average if that's what interests you, but isn't asking how much and air fryer is going to save a "how long is a piece of string" question?

Someone like my Mum, who uses her air fryer every day as a direct replacement for her fan oven is likely to recover the cost well within the device's life time, especially if energy costs go up as predicted next year. 15p per day is £54.75 over the course of a year if you use it every day as she does, which is roughly what she paid for it. OK, maybe a few days missing, but also likely that energy costs (and hence savings) will rise in April. Someone who uses it twice then puts it to the back of the cupboard to collect dust with the soup maker they also don't use will have wasted their money. Someone who received their air fryer as a gift will save money the first time they use it. And so on.

kinger101

Don't forget to throw in the cost of the amount of additional food that ends up in the bin using the air fryer.

mmmmikey

Quote extracted from a WhatsApp message from my Mum earlier today. This isn't a new, novelty device - Mum bought her Tower air fryer on special offer from Asda for £55 about 4 months ago It's been used pretty much every day since

"Made myself delicious toasted cheese and tomato sandwich in the air fryer much tastier than using the toaster bags."

mmmmikey

kinger101 said:

Don't forget to throw in the cost of the amount of additional food that ends up in the bin using the air fryer.

Think you must be using it wrong if you're having to throw stuff away

[Deleted User]

mmmmikey said:

@[Deleted User] whether it saves money or not is going to vary hugely from one person to another, depending on how much they use it, what they use it for, what they pay for electricity (i.e. solar vs SVR vs E7, etc.) what they would otherwise have done, what assumption you make about energy prices over the life of the air fryer and so on. There are so many variables, so isn't trying to establish a general case somewhat hypothetical? Nothing wrong in trying to work out an average if that's what interests you, but isn't asking how much and air fryer is going to save a "how long is a piece of string" question?

Someone like my Mum, who uses her air fryer every day as a direct replacement for her fan oven is likely to recover the cost well within the device's life time, especially if energy costs go up as predicted next year. 15p per day is £54.75 over the course of a year if you use it every day as she does, which is roughly what she paid for it. OK, maybe a few days missing, but also likely that energy costs (and hence savings) will rise in April. Someone who uses it twice then puts it to the back of the cupboard to collect dust with the soup maker they also don't use will have wasted their money. Someone who received their air fryer as a gift will save money the first time they use it. And so on.

Thanks, that is more like it.

Rather than saying an air fryer is best and saves money like most other comments above, I agree, it totally depends on the circumstances and this is what I was trying to get from the commenters who were just saying "yes it saves money" without qualifying it.

What people should be saying is something like this:

An air fryer may be more suitable or cheaper if:

• Typically oven-cook smaller meals for 1-2 people
• You oven cook regularly

But may not be suitable or cheaper if you

• Would more often do quick cook things like a curry / stir fry/ rice / noodles / pasta vegetables on a hob (80% of my meals)
• Cook for a larger family of 4 or more
• Cook big things such as pizza, garlic baguettes etc that won't fit in an air fryer.
• Eat healthy meals with salad and veg

That's not exhaustive and I'd see that improved if people were more impartial rather than cult-like about air-fryers. 

I am actually tempted to buy one anyway, not for money saving but for the acclaimed crispness without frying.

If you really want to save money on energy, then there is no need to even cook, plenty of hearty cold meals that are nutritional and satisfying.

Spoonie_Turtle

A disabled acquaintance has just bought one, I can't remember whether she actually has an oven in her flat but if she does she physically can't use it.  Hers cost ~£50, and she can actually cook for herself now rather than having to heat up ready meals or buy takeaways.  So while it's possible she may be using more electricity now that she can actually cook, the price difference between ready meals/takeaway and being able to cook fresh food will no doubt outweigh that (especially as the air fryer is quick). 

Bit more of a complex calculation but it certainly has non-monetary benefits - and to me saving the takeaway cost must surely be the biggest factor.  Even if she used a whopping 1kWh to cook, that's what, 34p.  She'll be saving multiple pounds every time.  Take out the cost of ingredients, still must be saving multiple pounds every time (takeaways cost extra when you need them delivered).
Even if at a bare minimum she only saved a pound over takeaways, and 50p over ready meals, still going to pay for itself quite quickly.  Not quite the same as the general 'air fryer vs oven' discussion but a very good illustration that it does very much depend on what you would have done otherwise!

ariarnia

[Deleted User] said:

mmmmikey said:

@[Deleted User] whether it saves money or not is going to vary hugely from one person to another, depending on how much they use it, what they use it for, what they pay for electricity (i.e. solar vs SVR vs E7, etc.) what they would otherwise have done, what assumption you make about energy prices over the life of the air fryer and so on. There are so many variables, so isn't trying to establish a general case somewhat hypothetical? Nothing wrong in trying to work out an average if that's what interests you, but isn't asking how much and air fryer is going to save a "how long is a piece of string" question?

Someone like my Mum, who uses her air fryer every day as a direct replacement for her fan oven is likely to recover the cost well within the device's life time, especially if energy costs go up as predicted next year. 15p per day is £54.75 over the course of a year if you use it every day as she does, which is roughly what she paid for it. OK, maybe a few days missing, but also likely that energy costs (and hence savings) will rise in April. Someone who uses it twice then puts it to the back of the cupboard to collect dust with the soup maker they also don't use will have wasted their money. Someone who received their air fryer as a gift will save money the first time they use it. And so on.

Thanks, that is more like it.

Rather than saying an air fryer is best and saves money like most other comments above, I agree, it totally depends on the circumstances and this is what I was trying to get from the commenters who were just saying "yes it saves money" without qualifying it.

What people should be saying is something like this:

An air fryer may be more suitable or cheaper if:

• Typically oven-cook smaller meals for 1-2 people
• You oven cook regularly

But may not be suitable or cheaper if you

• Would more often do quick cook things like a curry / stir fry/ rice / pasta vegetables on a hob
• Cook for a larger family of 4 or more
• Cook big things such as pizza, garlic baguettes etc that won't fit in an air fryer.
• Eat healthy meals with salad and veg

That's not exhaustive and I'd see that improved if people were more impartial rather than cult-like about air-fryers. 

I am actually tempted to buy one anyway, not for money saving but for the acclaimed crispness without frying.

If you really want to save money on energy, then there is no need to even cook, plenty of hearty cold meals that are nutritional and satisfying.

you're complaining about general statement then making a load of general statements

we're a family of 4 who eat what i would call 'healthy' meals with salad and veg. the air fryer bakes not fries and makes wonderful salmon stakes or baked squash. and we make our own pizza dough so make individual bases the exact size needed for our fryer. need i go on...?

[Deleted User]

ariarnia said:

[Deleted User] said:

mmmmikey said:

@[Deleted User] whether it saves money or not is going to vary hugely from one person to another, depending on how much they use it, what they use it for, what they pay for electricity (i.e. solar vs SVR vs E7, etc.) what they would otherwise have done, what assumption you make about energy prices over the life of the air fryer and so on. There are so many variables, so isn't trying to establish a general case somewhat hypothetical? Nothing wrong in trying to work out an average if that's what interests you, but isn't asking how much and air fryer is going to save a "how long is a piece of string" question?

Someone like my Mum, who uses her air fryer every day as a direct replacement for her fan oven is likely to recover the cost well within the device's life time, especially if energy costs go up as predicted next year. 15p per day is £54.75 over the course of a year if you use it every day as she does, which is roughly what she paid for it. OK, maybe a few days missing, but also likely that energy costs (and hence savings) will rise in April. Someone who uses it twice then puts it to the back of the cupboard to collect dust with the soup maker they also don't use will have wasted their money. Someone who received their air fryer as a gift will save money the first time they use it. And so on.

Thanks, that is more like it.

Rather than saying an air fryer is best and saves money like most other comments above, I agree, it totally depends on the circumstances and this is what I was trying to get from the commenters who were just saying "yes it saves money" without qualifying it.

What people should be saying is something like this:

An air fryer may be more suitable or cheaper if:

• Typically oven-cook smaller meals for 1-2 people
• You oven cook regularly

But may not be suitable or cheaper if you

• Would more often do quick cook things like a curry / stir fry/ rice / pasta vegetables on a hob
• Cook for a larger family of 4 or more
• Cook big things such as pizza, garlic baguettes etc that won't fit in an air fryer.
• Eat healthy meals with salad and veg

That's not exhaustive and I'd see that improved if people were more impartial rather than cult-like about air-fryers. 

I am actually tempted to buy one anyway, not for money saving but for the acclaimed crispness without frying.

If you really want to save money on energy, then there is no need to even cook, plenty of hearty cold meals that are nutritional and satisfying.

you're complaining about general statement then making a load of general statements

we're a family of 4 who eat what i would call 'healthy' meals with salad and veg. the air fryer bakes not fries and makes wonderful salmon stakes or baked squash. and we make our own pizza dough so make individual bases the exact size needed for our fryer. need i go on...?

Can you seriously put a pizza to feed 4 people in an air fryer? I've seen the size of them, you must be kidding with me.

As for salmon, a couple of mins in a pan is all it needs, I'd never oven-cook a salmon steak, it would just ruin it.

ariarnia

[Deleted User] said:

ariarnia said:

[Deleted User] said:

mmmmikey said:

@[Deleted User] whether it saves money or not is going to vary hugely from one person to another, depending on how much they use it, what they use it for, what they pay for electricity (i.e. solar vs SVR vs E7, etc.) what they would otherwise have done, what assumption you make about energy prices over the life of the air fryer and so on. There are so many variables, so isn't trying to establish a general case somewhat hypothetical? Nothing wrong in trying to work out an average if that's what interests you, but isn't asking how much and air fryer is going to save a "how long is a piece of string" question?

Someone like my Mum, who uses her air fryer every day as a direct replacement for her fan oven is likely to recover the cost well within the device's life time, especially if energy costs go up as predicted next year. 15p per day is £54.75 over the course of a year if you use it every day as she does, which is roughly what she paid for it. OK, maybe a few days missing, but also likely that energy costs (and hence savings) will rise in April. Someone who uses it twice then puts it to the back of the cupboard to collect dust with the soup maker they also don't use will have wasted their money. Someone who received their air fryer as a gift will save money the first time they use it. And so on.

Thanks, that is more like it.

Rather than saying an air fryer is best and saves money like most other comments above, I agree, it totally depends on the circumstances and this is what I was trying to get from the commenters who were just saying "yes it saves money" without qualifying it.

What people should be saying is something like this:

An air fryer may be more suitable or cheaper if:

• Typically oven-cook smaller meals for 1-2 people
• You oven cook regularly

But may not be suitable or cheaper if you

• Would more often do quick cook things like a curry / stir fry/ rice / pasta vegetables on a hob
• Cook for a larger family of 4 or more
• Cook big things such as pizza, garlic baguettes etc that won't fit in an air fryer.
• Eat healthy meals with salad and veg

That's not exhaustive and I'd see that improved if people were more impartial rather than cult-like about air-fryers. 

I am actually tempted to buy one anyway, not for money saving but for the acclaimed crispness without frying.

If you really want to save money on energy, then there is no need to even cook, plenty of hearty cold meals that are nutritional and satisfying.

you're complaining about general statement then making a load of general statements

we're a family of 4 who eat what i would call 'healthy' meals with salad and veg. the air fryer bakes not fries and makes wonderful salmon stakes or baked squash. and we make our own pizza dough so make individual bases the exact size needed for our fryer. need i go on...?

Can you seriously put a pizza to feed 4 people in an air fryer? I've seen the size of them, you must be kidding with me.

no we cook 4 individual calzones (pizza pasties) in two lots. helps with the fussy eaters and gets everyone involved in cooking (plus good way to use up the last little bits of things). we could do two open pizzas but i tend to do that if were using the last couple of pittas or something with soup. 

tho i guess that depends on what you mean 'feed four'. if you only cook one shop bought pizza (say 30cm) then yes you could fit that in ours but it would need to be square not round. or we could do two (which would again cater for tastes). our air fryer pan is 8 inches square so thats' 64 inches total? it cooks a whole chicken 

As for salmon, a couple of mins in a pan is all it needs, I'd never oven-cook a salmon steak, it would just ruin it.

good job your not at ours to eat it then. you seem to cook a lot on your hob. i'm not sure we even own a frying pan