Energy saving tips for an electric oven.

Jay1_2

Other than batch cooking, or cooking more than one thing at a time, is there an efficient way to use an electric oven? I already turn it off a few minutes early.

Is there anything can put in my oven to make it smaller? Like you put something in the toilet cistern so you use less water. Not that it's very big but being an oven rather than an air fryer, it's bigger than I need quite often. 

I don't know whether it's worth buying an air fryer just for saving electricity maybe once or twice a week. 

Green_hopeful

We never preheat our oven unless we are baking. We pop everything in from cold and start looking at it when it has been on for the right time. We check to make sure everything is cooked through but lots of things are cooked at the listed time. We also have a fan oven so its on at a lower temperature. 

Spoonie_Turtle

I'm guessing probably not but just in case: do you have a smaller top oven?  That's what we usually use when something's too big for the air fryer (which we bought before they became popular, but were glad of it when electricity did shoot up).

prowla

On seeing the thread title, my immediate thought was to suggest an air fryer.

Since buying one I've only used my oven occasionally when I've needed to cook a number of things at the same time.

david29dpo

I use a combi mirowave for nearly everthing now.

Stubod

A above, an air fryer is the way to go, hardly used our main oven since we had our air fryer...(we got the double tray version)...

Bigphil1474

We've got one big oven that doubles as the grill. Hate it. In our old house we used to have a range cooker with 2 smaller ovens, a fan and a convection one, and a separate grill, which was much better. We went down the air fryer route as well. We only use the oven about once a week now. Otherwise it's a combination of air fryer , microwave, or hobs. I can do most of my regular meals that way, just use the oven for Sunday roast. Having said that, we have very recently started getting half price electricity on a Sunday for 5 hours so have started doing some batch cooking then.

Our air fryer has two baskets, and I'd say it cooks in about 75% of the time of the oven, but you are heating a much smaller space so must save electricity although I've not measured usage. 

Screwdriva

This may not help now (perhaps in the future). We purchased an AEG A++ rated oven precisely because we use our oven daily.

I have noticed it has a triple glazed glass front and is well insulated, which helps it draw substantially less than the unit it replaced. 

TroubledTarts

prowla said:

On seeing the thread title, my immediate thought was to suggest an air fryer.

Since buying one I've only used my oven occasionally when I've needed to cook a number of things at the same time.

Well of course the oven is paid for and working

The air fryer is a new investment that needs to pay for itself when another form of cooking is available.

I would add for the OP and others  that air fryers are more efficient as they heat a smaller space but unless they come with a decent manufacturers warranty might not pay for themself before failure.

Really does depend on the cost of the air fryer(making sure it's good enough to replace the over a good percentage of the time) how long the warranty is and of course what's the average price per kwh the household pays for electricity.

For us that's 14-17p kwh over a year so even using an air fryer everyday and saving 1kwh a day ould only equate to a £62 saving at maximum and of course we won't use it everyday. More like 4 days a week so that's a saving of £35 a year and then it means the air fryer might not pay for itself before warranty ends and may never pay for itself.

Just a thought whilst between meetings lol.

Scot_39

But then you can buy a small supermarket branded air fryer for that sort of money if you get it on offer.

Think I saw one c4l sub £30 the other day and a larger one c£35-40 maybe 6l for instance.

Even if only has a 1 year warranty - you would be covered - and most goods will last longer.

TroubledTarts

Scot_39 said:

But then you can buy a small supermarket branded air fryer for that sort of money if you get it on offer.

Think I saw one c4l sub £30 the other day and a larger one c£35-40 maybe 6l for instance.

Even if only has a 1 year warranty - you would be covered - and most goods will last longer.

As said large enough to replace a good percentage and for that saving that's replacing the oven fully as we only use it max 4 times a week and then holidays and summer with the BBQ more so the savings might be as low as £15 a year. Do cheap come with a decent warranty? What does a ninja 2 draw with 5+ year warranty cost?

Small air fryers are useless unless for one. A regular sized  family needs at least a two draw and more especially with teenagers who are air fryer whizzes and always cooking up something.

I just don't think the push of air fryers as this magical money saving appliance always adds up.