Airfryers are helping to reduce your electricity bill! Have you already made the switch?

The oil-free fryer has become one of the most popular kitchen appliances in recent years, especially because in addition to fried foods, it can cook many other foods. In fact, in a similar way to what happens with an oven. One of the biggest selling points of what are also known as Air Fryers is that they are much healthier. But in reality they are a kind of oven. At least in the way they work. But between an oil-free fryer (Air Fryer) and an oven, which one uses more? The quickest answer we can give you is that Airfryers are helping to reduce your electricity bill.

Airfryers are helping to reduce your electricity bill! Have you already made the switch?

The operation of the Air Fryer is very similar to that of a conventional oven. That said, we have an element of heating and then a fan to quickly move hot air around the food. Fan furnaces do the same thing, but because they are larger, the hot air doesn’t move as quickly.

But if you want to save energy, which is the better choice – an oil-free fryer or an oven?

How much electricity does an oil-free fryer use?

A fryer typically uses between 1.4 kWh and 1.8 kWh of electricity every hour it is on. Considering most recipes for an air fryer have a cooking time of 15-20 minutes, this means you would typically use between 0.35 kWh and 0.6 kWh of electricity. Air fryers are fast and powerful, so they cook food quickly.

In reality, air fryers do not use much electricity compared to other cooking devices, including ovens. Typically, they use about half the energy of a conventional oven, and a similar amount of energy allocated to an oil-free fryer. If we compare Air Fryers with a microwave use twice the power.

Does an oil-free fryer use less electricity than an oven?

Yes but not always. Deep fryers tend to use between 1400 and 1800 watts of power, while an oven will use between 2000 and 5000 watts of power. More specifically, the average air fryer uses 1700 watts while the average oven uses 3000 watts. So the short answer is that deep fryers use less energy.

In other words, if you are comparing the foods you can cook in either of the two, a fryer will always be the most economical option.

This is not only because the fryer uses less energy while it is on, but because it also cooks food faster. This way we don’t have to leave it on for so long. It also doesn’t need heating.

However, they are not perfect for all situations, and if you need to cook multiple dishes or larger batches of food. In these cases an oven can use less electricity as it can do everything at once, rather than having to use a deep fryer multiple times.

The cost of airfryers vs oven

The cost of running an air fryer, versus running an oven, will depend on what you’re cooking with – but in general, an air fryer is faster and uses less energy.

Let’s use French fries as an example because they are one of the most common foods.

The average air fryer uses 1700 watts of power (or 1.7 kilowatts).

Typically, you only need to cook fries for about 15 minutes, which means we only use a quarter of that energy – 0.425 kilowatt-hours.

Assuming an average electricity cost of 0.14 cents per kWh. This means that cooking a batch of fries in the air fryer costs just under 6 cents.

The conventional oven uses around 3000 watts of power (or 3 kilowatts).

Typically, fries have a cooking time of around 20 minutes in an oven, but this is when you preheat to the right temperature. Let’s assume you need to turn on the oven for 25 minutes.

This gives a total power used for the oven of 1.25 kilowatt-hours, which at this average cost of 14 cents per kilowatt-hour, means that the same portion of fries costs 17.5 cents to cook – almost triple the cost.

Is it worth buying an oil-free fryer?

Air fryers are definitely worth buying. But be careful. Look at the type of food you like to eat and see if an air fryer will be able to help. In some cases no.

As for electricity costs, if you use a fryer daily, you can save somewhere between 10 and 15 Euros per year on electricity bills compared to the oven.

But the benefits are not just economic. Food cooks faster, which can save valuable time.