Ninja Foodi Possible Cooker - energy consumption

hildasmuriel

Hello - we have just bought one of these from Ninja..... https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-possiblecooker-8-in-1-slow-cooker-sea-salt-grey-mc1001uk-zidMC1001UK   ...... and one of  the benefits is that you can do lots of one pot cooking as it switches from saute mode to either braise/slow cooker etc. 

Can anyone advise me what data I need and what I need to do to work out if it is cheaper to cook in this than on a conventional cooker (gas hob, electric oven). I don't want to use it for months before finding out is costing me a lot more.

I don't know what I need to do to work it out.

TIA

EssexHebridean

If you have smart meters then a combination of checking your half hour data then comparing with historic use should give you the answer. Ultimately though, if you are using it in place of using the oven then the very fact that it has both a lower power draw, and that it is heating a smaller space should mean that it will cost less to cook that way.

Last night I used my multi cooker to cook sausages and chips. The total time the multi cooker was on was less than the time the oven would have been, the oven is rated at 3kWh, the multi cooker at 1500w. I’ve not yet done any actual maths around it but logic suggests to me that cooking that way must have been cheaper for me. 

(And apologies to the better informed that my terminology here may be more “layman” than “expert” - it comes down to the fact that I am a layman, not an expert… 😉)

Mister_G

OP - You could always get one of these, they're under a tenner:

https://www.toolstation.com/tp-link-p110-smart-wi-fi-socket-with-energy-monitoring/p11430?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=CjwKCAjwg4SpBhAKEiwAdyLwvNyT5WZAalQ7veYXZm93rhHwLsB5dvL06guCuWT4bEzleG0_vMlXNRoCZ6cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

You could then use it to check on the consumption of other appliances that plug into a 13amp socket

matelodave

Just as an example, we've got a multi-purpose cookpot thingy that works like a slow cooker, pressure cooker, bakes stuff as well.

We had it on for eight hours yesterday producing the most succulent of braising steak stews with dumplings - the eight hours plus 20minutes of high heat for the dumplings came to 726wh which is an average of 87w per hour.

In the end, you can work out how much energy stuff takes using either the TAPO smart plug mentioned above, which gives you an ongoing plot or one of these which give you an instantaneous readout and a total - https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=plug+in+energy+monitor&mid=46331E3586AFA83A9F2846331E3586AFA83A9F28 (this is what I used)

Its much more difficult to do a comparison against using a electric hob or oven unless you are pretty dedicatedly going to watch your smart meter and work out what your appliances are using. Same with gas, you need to be able to isolate what you are using with the hob or oven from what the heating or hot water is using.

Spoonie_Turtle

If your oven is gas, then it's unlikely to be cheaper as electricity is 3-4x the price of gas per kWh.

If your oven is electric, I guess the simplest test is to compare a month's electric usage with the oven against a month's usage with the Ninja, obviously subtracting any differences in heating if you use electric for that.

Smart meter data-wise, you can look at the half-hourly usage data from days you used the oven (and any other appliances it's replacing), and from days you use the foodie, then compare the average amount of energy it's taken to cook a meal.  It's going to be difficult to get an exact comparison but that should give you some idea.

ArbitraryRandom

It might also be that some things are cheaper and some more expensive - sautéing in a pan, then switching to the oven, for example, probably includes a lot of 'lost' heat which might be preserved in a one pot situation. 

While plug in energy monitors will tell you what your single appliance is doing, it's harder if you can't get at the cooker's socket or you're using several appliances (or if it's gas); so in that situation, if you are really interested then I'd suggest you take meter readings, turn everything off and cook a meal, and take another set of readings - then the next day rinse and repeat (as closely as you can) using the one pot. 

Please do share your findings as it's always interesting. 

Alnat1

I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine the cooker you already own will probably last longer than any new counter-top type appliance, even if it does cost a few more pence each day to run.

People need to factor in the cost of buying an extra appliance, it hasn't saved you anything until the amount of savings has fully covered the cost of buying it in the first place. This could be several years.

matelodave

Alnat1 said:

I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine the cooker you already own will probably last longer than any new counter-top type appliance, even if it does cost a few more pence each day to run.

People need to factor in the cost of buying an extra appliance, it hasn't saved you anything until the amount of savings has fully covered the cost of buying it in the first place. This could be several years.

or possibly never, if it becomes another kitchen appliance/gadget that gets relegated to the back of the cupboard once the novelty has worn off 

wild666

I have the Ninja 11 in 1 and I have used 5.2 kWh of electric this month, 0.651 kWh per day, an electric oven would use more than double that. 
I also have a one plate induction hob and that will use about the same to cook a meal, the only time the induction hob is on full power is to boil water if the food I'm cooking is in water. 

born_again

Alnat1 said:

I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine the cooker you already own will probably last longer than any new counter-top type appliance, even if it does cost a few more pence each day to run.

People need to factor in the cost of buying an extra appliance, it hasn't saved you anything until the amount of savings has fully covered the cost of buying it in the first place. This could be several years.

As well as once you have used the oven, leave door open & use the heat to warm the kitchen, thus slightly reducing heating bills. This is MSE after all 👍

ArbitraryRandom

born_again said:

Alnat1 said:

I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine the cooker you already own will probably last longer than any new counter-top type appliance, even if it does cost a few more pence each day to run.

People need to factor in the cost of buying an extra appliance, it hasn't saved you anything until the amount of savings has fully covered the cost of buying it in the first place. This could be several years.

As well as once you have used the oven, leave door open & use the heat to warm the kitchen, thus slightly reducing heating bills. This is MSE after all 👍

And why I avoid using the oven like the plague during summer - there's disadvantages to having a well insulated house