MOST of us will be looking for ways to slash our energy bills after prices rose by 10% last month and are set to climb again in January.
Bills increased for millions of households in October after the energy regulator Ofgem increased the maximum price suppliers can charge consumers for energy.
The energy regulator Ofgem confirmed the new price cap yesterday, which comes into effect on January 1, 2025.
The average dual fuel bill for those not on a fixed deal will rise from its current rate of £1,717 a year to £1,738.
As more households feel the pinch, many will be looking for ways to cut their energy use and save precious pounds.
One way you can do so is to cook with an air fryer instead of using an oven.
These handy gadgets can save you time in the kitchen while helping you to reduce your cooking costs.
Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch, said: “Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller portions of food, as you don’t have to waste energy heating a large oven.”
We’ve crunched the numbers to explain how long it takes to cook popular supermarket meals – and how much it will cost you.
Iceland provided us with a list of its ten most popular foods which can be made in the air fryer and how long they take to cook.
We then asked price comparison website Uswitch to calculate how much this would cost.
All figures were calculated using the current price cap for electricity, which is 24.5p/kWh.
The cooking times were calculated based on a 1400-watt 4-litre air fryer.
Some people have different rates, for example, if they pay less at night, so the exact cost may vary slightly.
How much you will actually pay will depend on how often you use an appliance as well as your make and model.
What energy bill help is available?
There’s a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you’re struggling to get by.
If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.
This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.
If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.
Several energy firms have schemes available to customers struggling to cover their bills.
But eligibility criteria vary depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.
For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.
British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.
You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.
EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.
Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).
The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill.
Some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.
Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.
Most expensive items to air fry
Our research reveals that one item costs substantially more to cook than all of the other foods.
Half a bag of the Iceland Barbeque Chicken Wings (£4) took 18 minutes to cook at a temperature of 180 degrees.
The popular meal cost 10.3p to make in the air fryer – double the cost of some of the other items.
Cooking this meal every week would cost you £5.36 over the course of a year.
Meanwhile, a popular lunchtime treat was the second most expensive item to cook in an air fryer.
Cooking just one of the Iceland Jumbo Sausage Rolls (£1) which come in a pack of two would set you back 9.1p.
The pastry takes 15 to 17 minutes to cook at a temperature of 200 degrees in the air fryer.
Tucking into a sausage roll each week would add £4.73 to the cost of your bills over the course of a year.
Just behind the sausage roll was the Iceland Battered Fish Fillets (£1) which take 14 minutes to cook at 180 degrees.
Making two fillets in an air fryer would use 8p worth of energy, just 1.1p less than the sausage rolls.
Eating this meal every Friday for a year would cost you £4.16.
Cheapest item to air fry
In comparison, some items in our test cost just pennies to cook.
The Iceland Potato Pops (£1) are easy to make after a long day at work and cost just 4.6p to air fry.
Half a bag takes only eight minutes to cook at a temperature of 200 degrees.
Plus you only need to turn them once after four minutes to make sure they are crunchy and golden.
Eating them every week for a year would set you back just £2.39.
Iceland’s chicken range was also a dinner winner.
Cost and cooking time of each item
Here we explain how long each item took to air fry and how much it cost to cook.
- Iceland Barbeque Chicken Wings 850g: Cooking Time: 18 minutes, Cost: 10.3p.
- Iceland Jumbo Sausage Rolls 2 Pack: Cooking Time: 15-17 minutes, Cost: 9.1p.
- Iceland Battered Fish Fillets 2 Pack: Cooking Time: 14 minutes, Cost: 8.0p.
- Iceland Hash Browns 800g: Cooking Time: 12 minutes, Cost: 6.9p.
- Iceland Crispy Chicken Strips 500g: Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes, Cost: 6.3p.
- Iceland Thin & Crispy French Fries 1.25kg: Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes, Cost: 6.3p.
- Iceland Breaded Crunchy Coated Chicken Strips 500g: Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes, Cost: 6.3p.
- Iceland Chicken Bites 200g: Cooking Time: 8-10 minutes, Cost: 5.1p.
- Iceland Southern Fried Chicken Popsters 600g: Cooking Time: 8-10 minutes, Cost: 5.1p.
- Iceland Potato Pops 500g: Cooking Time: 8 minutes, Cost: 4.6p.
A whole bag of Chicken Bites (£1) takes only eight to ten minutes to cook at 200 degrees.
They cost just 5.1p to make in an air fryer and only need to be shaken once during the cooking process.
The Southern Fried Chicken Popsters (£3.50) also cost just 5.1p to make.
They take eight to ten minutes in an air fryer which is set to 200 degrees.
Cooking these meals every week for a year would cost you just £2.65.
Iceland’s Crispy Chicken Strips (£4), Thin and Crispy French Fries (£2) and Crunchy Coated Chicken Strips (£4) all cost just 6.3p to cook.
The items need ten to 12 minutes to cook and must be turned halfway through.
Eating just one of these meals every week for a whole year would set you back £3.28.
Meanwhile, it costs 6.9p to cook six of Iceland’s Hash Browns (£2).
They take 12 minutes to cook at 200 degrees and must be turned just once during the cooking process.
Including them in your weekly fry-up would set you back just £3.59 over the course of a year.
How to save money when using an air fryer
The capacity of your air fryer will limit how much you can cook in it at once and therefore how much money you can save.
If you are feeding a whole family then you should consider buying a bigger air fryer than if you are just cooking for yourself.
Bigger air fryers tend to be more expensive to buy but they will usually help you to save more money in the long term.
Elise Melville said air fryers use a similar amount of power as an oven but they are cheaper to run as they can halve cooking time.
She said: “A 1.4kW air fryer, for example, would cost 17p to run for 30 minutes, while running a 2kW oven for an hour would cost 49p.
“Ovens can be very useful – and energy efficient – when cooking for large gatherings that require the use of both shelves, such as at Christmas.”
You should also try not to open the air fryer compartment any more than is necessary to avoid letting out heat and wasting energy.
Also consider how much you are planning to cook before you get started.
Consumer champion Which? suggests the amount of money you can save will decrease if you need to cook in batches.
“If you have lots to cook, you might well end up batch cooking as air fryers don’t have as much space as a typical oven,” it recommends.
“So when cooking a large amount of food, the oven may still be the most economical choice.”
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