Gas or electric oven - which is cheaper to run?

savvyme_4

Does anyone know whether electric slow cookers are cheaper to run than gas ovens?

[Deleted User]

Stumbled across this thread when googling about convection oven costs and induction hobs. I will answer the above first. I have always used gas and loved it. Moved 7 years ago to a flat with no gas and was horrified at the thought of electric. I settled for a ceramic, halogen cooker. I would never have gas again. I find the electric very controllable, it looks stylish, and you are not releasing gas into your air everytime you turn it on. I cannot speak about cost, but electric cooks quicker, so you don't have your oven on as much, so i would think it would even itself out. I am now having a new kitchen installed and was thinking about getting an induction hob, would anyone recommend this.

macman

Going back to the original post (a long time ago) an electric cooker costs about 2.5 times as much to run, based on the difference in kWh price. However an electric cooker is 100% efficient, a gas cooker is not.
As to which is nicer/better-that's an entirely different question.

[Deleted User]

am i right in thinking an induction is even more efficient,

macman

You can't get more efficient than 100%...
Induction may possibly be faster.

[Deleted User]

lol i meant with regards to speed/cost, but didn't explain it properly. Thanks.

macman

But speed and cost are different things. Because it cooks faster doesn't mean it's necesarily more efficient-it may use more energy to achieve that.

auroan

macman wrote: »

However an electric cooker is 100% efficient, a gas cooker is not.

I beg your pardon. I believe you need to go back to school and re-study science.

There is nothing on this planet that will convert 100% of the electrical energy to 100% of the available heat energy

How can an electric oven ever be 100% effecient ?!?!

patriick

For those comparing Induction and Gas hobs.

Using prices from Eon (SaveOnline 9) Elecricity is 10.689p per kWh and Gas is 3.11745p per kWh.

Assuming an Induction Hob is 90% efficient and a Gas Hob is 50% efficient.
Then to put 1kWh of energy into a saucepan needs 1.11 kWh of electricity or 2kWh of gas.

This costs 11.87p for electricity or 6.23p for gas.

This makes an Induction Hob nearly twice as expensive to run!

I realize that an Induction Hob has other advantages such as safety, cleanliness etc.

I'd welcome it if people point out any errors in my calculations/assumptions!

HappyMJ

auroan wrote: »

I beg your pardon. I believe you need to go back to school and re-study science.

There is nothing on this planet that will convert 100% of the electrical energy to 100% of the available heat energy

How can an electric oven ever be 100% effecient ?!?!

Well I suppose you are right according to the all knowing and 100% accurate Wikipedia a standard electric hob is 71% efficient at transferring the heat generated into the food. A gas hob is 40% efficient. An induction hob is 84% efficient. Even a microwave is only 64% efficient.

I suppose the same works with the oven you do have the light and the fan which isn't generating as much heat and all that waste heat at the end of the cooking time. Although it sure helps keeping the kitchen warm.