MANY are switching out their ovens for air fryers as we move into an expensive winter, but it's useful to know how much they cost.
You can buy a new air fryer pretty cheap if you know where to look, so the purchase shouldn't break the bank – you'll just want to know whether it adds to your energy bill.
Currys is selling a nifty 1.2 litre air fryer for £40 – although keep an eye out for delivery costs on top of that.
On the more expensive end, Aldi has a version that's £150.
The price to buy an air fryer depends on where you go and which model you buy – some excited shoppers recently found a bargain model for £60 less than usual.
Even so, it's important to factor in how much it's going to cost to run once you've found a home for it on the kitchen counter.
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The good news, is it's not much.
That could be welcome news to homeowners, particularly as energy bills have risen now the price cap has come into effect.
There's plenty of other price rises on the way too, from tax bills and broadband tariffs to the groceries in your next food shop.
So cutting costs from the way you cook dinner could be a welcome way to save some pennies.
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We explore exactly how much it would cost to have one of the quirky devices in your home.
How does an air fryer work?
When you use an air fryer, the food goes in a tray or basket and then the machine gets to work.
A heating element provides the heat needed while a fan distributes this around the food, helping it cook quickly and evenly.
Between the heat and the drying effect of the fan, the food will become crispy – and plenty of people consider it to be a much more healthy way to prepare dinner.
How much does it cost to use?
The answer won't be the same for everyone, as what you pay for electricity will depend on your tariff and also how large and efficient your appliance is.
As with any appliance, a newer model is likely to be more efficient, and be cheaper to run than an older version.
The power of an air fryer is measured in watts, and this determines how much energy it uses – and the cost of using it.
But the more powerful the appliance, the quicker it will cook your food too.
The equation you need to work out the cost of using any appliance is: Cost = power (kilowatt) x cost of one kWh (pence) x the length of time (just the one off meal, or over a week or month.)
Some of the cheaper models will typically use around 900 watts.
And you're probably going to need to use it for around 20 minutes to cook your dinner to perfection.
Under the new price cap a kWh, which is 1000 watts, of energy costs 28p, but the short time you'll need the air fryer on means it won't be quite so costly to run.
The experts at Uswitch told The Sun that if you used a 900-watt air fryer for 20 minutes, it would cost about 10p per meal.
A larger 1,500-watt air fryer used for around the same amount of time, would cost almost 17p per meal.
So if you used the smaller fryer five days a week for a year, that would cost a total of £26.52, and around £44.20 for the larger model.
Is it cheaper than using the oven?
You shouldn't always assume that your new gadget is going to save you money as well as calories. But sometimes it might help.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “Ovens can be quite an energy intensive way of cooking food, especially if you’re only using one of the racks.
“Some air fryers use a similar amount of power to an oven, but you save money because you need to use them for a much shorter time.
“Whereas it can take up to ten mins for some ovens to get up to temperature, most air fryers are ready in just three.
“Two boneless chicken breasts may take 15-18 minutes in an air fryer, but up to half an hour in an oven.
“So while it could cost around 17p to cook the chicken in an oven, it would cost about half that in an air fryer.”
Ovens aren't the biggest energy suck in the home, but they do guzzle a fair amount of electricity, especially if you use them often and for long periods of time.
An air fryer will be smaller and more energy-efficient than a full-sized oven, so you could save money on your bills if you used it for your midweek meals, and save the oven for a single batch-cooking session at the weekend.
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We explore how much it costs to run a slow cooker, for example.
And we take a look at how much it costs to run a microwave too.
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