Before you purchase any type of new appliance, do you consider how much electricity it may use? Don’t get too excited about finding a bargain, or the initial low price tag of your new kitchen device, until you do.
If your new appliance uses a lot of electricity, you may end up spending more than you would have hoped for in the first place.
Air Fryers, for instance, have transformed the modern kitchen. But, do air fryers use a lot of electricity – Frugal minds want to know! We explain what we found out below.
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How Do Air Fryers Work?
Air fryers have been gaining in popularity in the past few years for their ability to cook food until it’s crisp and delicious without using too much oil. Instead of using oil, a fan system heats the inside of an air fryer and cooks the food in a more healthy way by using air.
Air fryers are available in many shapes and sizes. (Check out our guide to choosing the right size air fryer!) Each one has a unique number of functions so you can fry, bake, grill, broil, and more in a short amount of time.
Thanks to a quicker cooking time, you would hope air fryers are pretty cost-effective when it comes to electricity use. Read on as we find out how much electricity air fryers use so you can decide whether these healthy appliances are right for you or not.
Do Air Fryers Use A Lot Of Electricity?
If you intend to use an air fryer as your main source of cooking, then it’s even more important to understand how much energy and electricity these devices use, especially when compared to an oven.
The good news is that air fryers do not consume a great deal of electricity. Compared to ovens, air fryers are very efficient energy-wise. Furthermore, air fryers can reduce cooking times significantly.
In most cases, they can cut these times by up to 25%. This means that air fryers do not need to be powered for as long as most other appliances, which also means less energy is used.
Some air fryers cost only one cent for every 5 minutes of running time. Of course, this varies depending on the cost of electricity per kWh in your area but you shouldn’t expect much more than this most of the time.
Understanding The Costs of Using Your Air Fryer
The wattage of an air fryer also determines how much electricity it uses and how much it will cost to power it. These appliances usually feature wattage on the label.
By multiplying wattage by the amount of time the air fryer has been used, you can get a better understanding of how much it costs to run the product.
For example, you can calculate the estimated cost of using an air fryer to cook some fries. Just take the wattage of your air fryer, then multiply it by the time it has been on.
In most cases, you would not use an air fryer for longer than 20 minutes. As a matter of fact, the average cooking time when using an air fryer is only 12 to 15 minutes. The shorter the time an air fryer is used, the less electricity it will use and the cheaper it will be.
If you use an air fryer for 15 minutes and the wattage of the appliance is 1450, you would calculate 1450 x 0.25 (for a quarter-hour). This equates to 362 watts per hour. This will give you a rough idea of how much electricity your air fryer is using.
In order to understand the exact costs of using your air fryer, you first need to find out the costs of electricity in your region. For instance, if electricity costs 10 cents per kWh (kilowatt-hour), you would need to convert 362 watts to kilowatts which is .362 kilowatts per hour. Then multiply the kilowatt per hour number by the cost of electricity. So, .362 x .10 which is 0.036 or 3.6 cents per hour.
Comparing The Energy Consumption of Air Fryers Versus Other Appliances
To have a clearer perspective on the amount of electricity air fryers use, we need to make a comparison with other household appliances that are used to cook food.
Here are a handful of household appliances and the average amount of electricity they may use. Of course, these are estimates and the costs will vary depending on the price of kWh in your region and the device itself.
Deep Fat Fryer
The standard wattage of a deep fat fryer tends to stand between 1500 and 1800 watts. Let’s say this appliance is 1650 and runs for half an hour. The total cost would equate to $0.082 in an area where electricity is 10 cents per kWH.
Compared to an air fryer, you are more likely to use a deep fat fryer for longer as you will need to wait for the oil to heat up and reach boiling point. Therefore, deep fat fryers tend to cost a little more than your average air fryer.
Electric Oven
Standard electric ovens typically run on 2500 to 5000 watts. As you can guess, this makes it the most expensive method of cooking between itself, deep fat fryers, and air fryers.
That being said, all of these appliances are relatively cost-effective when compared to other appliances throughout the home.
Even if you used each appliance for half an hour, every day, they shouldn’t cost more than $30 throughout the whole year. Considering electric ovens are the most expensive of the three, that’s a pretty good outcome.
If you’re curious about the average power consumption of other household appliances, you may find this list helpful.
In Summary
Air fryers are not only beneficial for your health, but they also tend to cook food in a short amount of time. On top of this, they use relatively low amounts of electricity, which makes them a great energy-efficient cooking option for your kitchen.
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