It’s a trendy, handy item that’s increasingly found in more and more kitchens but air fryers have turned from a flash in the pan fad to a permanent fixture in millions of homes up and down the country. They’re easy to use, they can be healthier to cook with than a traditional oven, and they often cost a lot less to run than a big oven. But an air fryer still costs money to run, and now experts at energy firm Utilita have worked out exactly how much an air fryer costs to run for an average amount of use for an average household, compared to a traditional oven.
Utilita’s Power Price List sets out exactly how much it costs to run all sorts of everyday appliances based on the latest Ofgem price cap standard variable tariff. But not only does it list the typical pounds and pence average use cost, it also explains the environmental impact of various appliances.
It explains how many miles of driving the amount of energy used by each appliance is equal to, in a bid to draw attention to the cost to the environment of running household items.
Utilita said: “Utilita has updated its Power Price List – the UK’s only live database that translates Ofgem’s price cap into the real‑world cost of powering everyday household electrical items.
“The update reflects Ofgem’s latest direct debit price cap, effective from July 1.
“The Power Price List breaks down the cost of running more than 100 common appliances and activities, from heating and cooking to laundry, lighting, entertainment and more.”
It adds: “The less energy we use, the better it is for the planet. That’s why the Power Price List also shows how the usage of common electrical items compares to the miles driven by a car – households may be shocked!”
According to Utilita, it costs 15p to run an air fryer for one typical use. Across an entire year, that’s £28.07.
In terms of miles driven, that equals 0.60 miles of driving per air fryer use, or 110 miles per year. That means using an air fryer for a year on typical use is roughly the same cost to the environment as driving from London to Birmingham.
The good news is that comparing it to a traditional electric oven shows the saving, both in raw monetary cost and the cost to the environment.
Utilita says that an electric cooker costs 53p per use, or £98.14 per year to run. Amazingly, that’s over 2 miles per use, or 385 miles per year.
It means using your oven for a year, just 18 miles short of driving from London to Glasgow.