Can air fryers save energy and money? We put one to the test

Air fryers promise to save time, money and energy in the kitchen. But are they actually cheaper than a conventional oven? And how versatile are they? Here’s what Lily Canter found when she tried one out.

Our kitchen counter is already cluttered with a toaster, microwave, slow cooker, blender and food processor so I was a little reluctant to add another bulky device to worktop.

But when I heard air fryers were supposedly cheaper to run than a fan oven I was keen to find out what all the fuss was about.

Demand for air fryers has been steadily increasing in line with the staggering rise in electricity and gas.

Retailer Lakeland recorded a 51% increase in air fryer sales in 2022 whilst price comparison website PriceRunner claims the top-selling models have risen in popularity by more than 3,000%.

Air fryers operate in a similar way to a conventional oven or grill and can cook a variety of foods including meat, fish, vegetables and desserts.

Both air fryers and ovens are convection devices which heat the air inside in order to cook the food.

The difference with an air fryer is that the fan is a lot more powerful and the space inside is much smaller making it far more energy – and therefore cost – efficient.

The initial financial outlay is also less, with air fryers ranging in price from £50 to £500.

First impressions of my air fryer

I opted to test the nine litre Lakeland Dual Basket Air Fryer which sells for £149.99

This has a double basket (a big one and a smaller one) meaning you can cook two different things, at different temperatures simultaneously.

I felt this was the best mid budget device to feed a family of four.

The first thing to note is that it does take a bit of trial and error to work out how long to cook things for and at what temperature.

Frozen food can generally be cooked at whatever the fan oven instructions say but everything else can vary.

I found the preset buttons and cooking time guidelines in the manual, were not high enough.

So, following the advice of a friend I whacked everything on at the full temperature of 200 degrees.

I used my smart meter to calculate the electricity usage and the cost, making sure no other devices were on at the same time.

Did my air fryer save me any money?

The main disadvantage with an air fryer is the size.

You may be able to cook all the ingredients of a roast dinner in one but even a dual drawer machine will not be able to cook it all at the same time.

I calculated that cooking eight sausages, roast potatoes, carrots and Yorkshire puddings in the oven for an hour cost £1.30 in total including the 17p used to heat the oven.

This would have been half the cost and time in the air fryer but would have taken two batches to cook.

And then I would have to put the oven on to keep the first batch warm, completely negating any cost savings.

That being said, there are plenty of meals or side dishes that I found the air fryer useful for and it is definitely far cheaper than cooking in the oven.

Baked potatoes were the biggest winner.

We could cook four medium potatoes in one air fryer drawer for 30 minutes at a cost of 15p, or 0.36kwh.

But in the oven the exact same meal cost 35p and took 40 minutes.

The taste in the air fryer was also far superior with the potatoes much more moist, soft and flavoursome whilst the oven-cooked potatoes although crisper on the outside, were anaemic and drier inside.

The same could be said for bacon which could be quickly cooked in the small draw for seven minutes at a cost of 4p, compared to nine minutes under the grill for 9p.

And again the air fryer retained much more of the flavour and colour of the meat.

Much to my surprise it was also possible to cook a cake in the air fryer although it had to be half the size in order to fit in.

It took the same amount of time in the oven and the air fryer (35 minutes) but cost 42p in the oven and 21p in the air fryer.

Much of this is due to the oven taking at least 10 minutes to heat up at a cost of 12p to 17p depending on when it was last used.

Would I recommend an air fryer to save money on energy bills?

Over the weeks I found the air fryer became a handy alternative when cooking smaller things, much in the same way a microwave is, the advantage being that air-fried food is much more tasty.

Chips, chicken nuggets and grilled aubergine all came out crisp and flavoursome and were quicker to cook because I didn't have to wait for the oven to heat up.

In the past, if I peeled some apple skin it would seem quite wasteful to turn the oven on and cook them to make a tasty sweet snack since they took up little room and the process was about half an hour.

But when I could peel them straight into the small air fryer draw and stick it on for 10 minutes it suddenly seemed more economical and worthwhile.

The air fryer is quite clearly half the cost to run than the oven and the results are good once you get the hang of it.

But cooking a meal for four people is quite tricky and it's much better suited to snacks and sides, or meals for one or two.

For our family, the slow cooker, which also uses less energy than the oven, is much more versatile as it can cook an entire meal for four including lasagne, stew, chilli or curry.

But as an extra money-saving device the air fryer is an added bonus.