Air fryers

The team at Hometree have compared costs of running cooking appliances by looking at which ones use the least amount of energy, and have revealed Aldi's £20 ...

An air fryer is similar to an oven in the sense that it bakes and roasts. The same applies to ovens and hobs: gas is cheaper than electricity, but electricity is more efficient. But if you do have to use an oven, there are ways to maximise your energy efficiency. Electric hobs are your next best bet in terms of efficiency because when you’re cooking with gas, a significant amount of heat is lost to heating up your kitchen, rather than your food. An induction hob uses energy more efficiently than a gas or electric ceramic hob regardless of whether you’re gently heating up soup, simmering chickpeas for hours, or bringing pasta to a boil. For example, refrain from storing baking trays inside the oven when cooking, as they block the airflow. [air fryers](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/iceland-selling-popular-energy-saving-28168949) and slow cookers have boosted, but there is still questions as to whether they are cheaper to run than the classics like ovens and microwaves. Air fryers are much more energy-efficient than most convection ovens because they cook food much faster, though they do use electricity, which is typically more expensive than gas. As they can cook or heat food more quickly, microwave ovens use up to 80 per cent less energy than conventional ovens. You should be able to find wattage information on the appliance's label or in the user manual. Here are the workings of the equation: 0.7 x 3/60 = 0.035kWh. Slow cookers have low wattage, so even cooking something for 8 hours will use less energy than an oven or hob.