If you’re looking to save money on your energy bills, then it could be worth considering this kitchen gadget instead of your typical oven.
Over recent years, a growing number of people have been swapping their traditional ovens for air fryers. These handy kitchen gadgets offer a quicker alternative to cooking food and, as they use little to no oil, they’re often hailed as a healthier option too.
Their rapid nature also means less energy usage, which is a bonus for your monthly bills.
However, there’s another gadget that’s said to be giving air fryers a run for their money, and they cost less than £40 to buy as well.
Halogen ovens are being touted as an “easy” alternative, and often cheaper too, reports the Express. They consist of a glass bowl with a lid containing halogen bulbs and a fan, and when switched on, beams of infra-red radiation are emitted to generate heat.
This heat is then circulated all around the food by the fan, cooking it to perfection.
You can purchase a Crystals 17L halogen oven from Amazon for only £33.97. Fans of the Amazon model have given it a strong rating of 4.2 stars out of five, with numerous reviewers commending how swift and straightforward it is to operate.
One customer commented: “This is my 2nd halogen air fryer and I love it. I did borrow an air fryer for a couple of weeks but as soon as I got the halogen one delivered I went straight back to it and I haven’t looked back. You can cook anything in it even a cake which I have done.”
Another customer said: “I use it to cook two different meals for two people. Thanks to the extension it can also a small turkey! I prefer it to any typical air frier as the main cooking bowl is made of glass.”
And another wrote: “Easy to use for a variety of recipes, more energy efficient than a conventional oven. Very good piece of equipment.”
Though some customers pointed out that the lid was quite heavy, and the tongs provided weren’t the best quality.
One purchaser commented: “This was sent back as we think it was very easy to burn yourself as the tongs are not up to the job and the lid is hot and heavy to handle compared to the the normal ones with a handle.”
Back in 2022, Energia conducted research suggesting households should consider using microwaves and air fryers for cooking, as it often proved cheaper than using a conventional oven. Their team of experts worked out precisely how much electricity each appliance uses, and what that would equate to in terms of cost per hour of usage.
Oven
The average energy consumption (wattage) for an oven is 1575, which translates to a running cost of 50p per hour.
Air fryer
The average energy consumption (wattage) for an air fryer is 1500, which means it costs 43p to run per hour. Hence, using an air fryer for 30 minutes would cost 22p.
Microwave
The average energy consumption (wattage) for a microwave is 1750, which means it costs 57p to run per hour. Therefore, using a microwave for five minutes would cost 0.04p.
