With the cost of living crisis worsening, many of us are trying to find ways to lower bills where we can.
Millions of people across the UK breathed a sigh of relief when Prime Minister Liz Truss announced the Government would guarantee the average household will pay no more than £2,500 in energy bills. However, the guarantee is a maximum price per unit of gas and electricity, so households which consume more than the average will see their bills higher than that.
The Energy Trust has said our cooking habits account for around 4% of our energy bills, with this including the hob, oven, kettle and microwave.
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While this doesn't sound like much, it can soon add up, especially over the course of a year. Which? has shared an easy way to save money when using your oven.
Many of us are guilty of leaving baking trays and other cooking tins in the oven, even when we're not using them.
But many people don't know this can block airflow and mean your oven has to work overtime and use more energy. By spending just a few seconds removing them, it will also mean your food is more likely to cook evenly.
Anyone using an oven should also avoid opening the door often as it decreases the internal temperature, increasing cooking time and wasting energy.
An even cheaper way to cook is to use a smaller cooking appliance such as a microwave, air fryer, slow cooker or similar. These will often be cheaper to run than an oven, completing the same cooking task with less energy.
A microwave can be used for everything from quickly steaming vegetables to baking potatoes. Combi microwaves with built in convection ovens are even more versatile. An air fryer can make tasty fried food with less oil and less energy.
In effect it is a small convection oven, but uses less energy as the space it is heating up is smaller. You can also use an air fryer to bake, with many including recipes for brownies, cookies and more.
A slow cooker is on for many hours at a time, but as it uses such a small amount of energy, in the end it is more economical. Just like with an oven though, don't be tempted to keep peeking at your dinner. Keep the lid on to avoid reducing the temperature and wasting energy.
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