Finance guru Martin Lewis warns that completely pushing your oven aside for time-saving air fryers may just come at a price – adding to already astronomical energy bills
We all know and love air fryers – but they might be just too good to be true.
Air fryers are all the rave right now, with food fanatics using them to make anything from quick pot roasts to vindaloos. But Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis warns that pushing aside your oven for this time-saving alternative may come at a cost.
While these devices are ideal for perfecting ‘small things that cook quickly’, the finance guru claimed that adding too many different foods will only use more energy, costing you even more money. Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, he said: “If it’s being done for taste, I don’t want to get involved.
“Air fryers are good for small things that cook quickly. If you’re gonna have to use your air fryer 15 different times for different items generally on energy usage, you’d be better off to use an oven. So it’s an interesting thought.”
Martin’s views come as millions of Brits are grappling with astronomical energy prices and inflation, in the midst of an international cost-of-living crisis. Which? research also suggests you can make huge savings when air frying small amounts, but this soon drops off with bigger meals.
Steph Kipling at Which? said: “The savings soon drop off if you have to cook in batches. And if you’ve got lots to cook you might well, as air fryers don’t have as much space as a typical oven or hob. So if you’re cooking a large amount of food, the oven or hob may still be the most economical choice.”
However, costs of an air fryer should be assessed on a case-by-case basis as you’ll pay different amounts for different sized machines and basket types. For example, Tech Radar claims that a 1500-watt basket used for around 30 minutes each day will cost around £1.78 a week, but a 2400-watt air fryer used for the same duration will cost £2.85 a week.
Electric ovens on the other hand generally consume between 2,000 to 5,000 watts of electricity per hour, though this also depends on the level of heat being used. “General equation is, find the wattage of an item, then work out how many kilowatts or what fraction of a kilowatt it’s using, then multiply that by 34p per hour of use,” Martin said in a recent podcast.
Steph also added: “The air fryers we’ve tested cost anywhere between £30 and £250 to buy. So even though it may save you money compared with using an oven, it could be a while before it starts to pay for itself if you go for a pricier model.”
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