2022 Gets even worse with spiralling costs
Putin’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine attempt is now in its seventh month. The price of oil is slowly on the way down, if it manages to go sub 60 dollars, then the Putin regime will be out of cash, as gas exports seem to be their only income, now that western sanctions are biting.
Countries like Germany, with high dependence on gas imports, are now suffering the consequences, with a cold winter ahead. The headlines from the Guardian today are “Economists demand urgent action on energy bills to avoid a catastrophe”.
Updating my previous article from April here is one way you can lower your bills, by adopting an appropriate technology to do your cooking. The table below details the current (end – August) costs of each cooking method and the advantages or otherwise of each one. For families, it will be more important to cook at least one meal for everyone, every day, simply to save costs.
| Appliance | cost per day | cost per week | cost per month | cost per year | Score for pre heating | Score for small qty | Score for versatility | Final Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Cooker | 87 | 609 | 2610 | 31755 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
| Gas Cooker | 33 | 231 | 990 | 12045 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
| Slow Cooker | 16 | 112 | 480 | 5840 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
| Air Fryer | 14 | 98 | 420 | 5110 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
| Microwave | 8 | 56 | 240 | 2920 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 25 |
| Halogen Cooker | 7 | 49 | 210 | 2555 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
| Multi Cooker | 14 | 98 | 420 | 5110 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
How to select your Cooking Appliance
The table has been compiled from data available on Utilita, the supermarket Iceland and figures from the manufacturers. The best appliance for you will be determined by circumstances.
If you have a large family and cook the same meal for everyone, possibly the main gas cooker will be your best bet. If you live alone, then you will cook small quantities, and there are big savings to be made with Halogens, microwaves and Multicookers.
Microwaves are very cheap to run but don’t brown the food, like a gas oven or Halogen oven. So they are not as versatile as the other choices. Air fryers are cheap to run but for a big family, the capacity is a bit limited.
Halogens do a brilliant job, no pun intended, and have room to cook both the main course eg Chicken and the vegetables to go with it, all in one go.
Making Cups of Tea and Coffee
Should you use a kettle or a pan on the gas cooker hob? This gave a surprising result, since the amount of energy taken using the hob is actually greater, but the COST of boiling the water is less using the gashob, such is the difference in price between the two energy sources!
The Decline of Convenience Food
Takeaways are going to become much less popular as people realise just how much they cost, above the cost of the food and the cooking. By taking even the first step, for example buying a frozen pizza with your usual weekly shop, at a good supermarket, you can more than halve the cost of the take-away version, and many big supermarkets now make your exact choice of topping, on the spot, so you can compare like for like.
For microwaves, halogen ovens, air fryers, and multi-cookers one major advantage sits above all else, if you live alone, they are just so much more economical to run. A big standard oven will take a long time to pre-heat or reach cooking temperature, and from my own experience our oven can still be belching out hot air 15 minutes after the cooking is finished!
Speaking of pizza. It is possible to get a fairly large one in a Halogen oven, but not in an air fryer, if that is your choice it’ll have to be cut up first.
Maintain the Food Quality
Your first reaction may be to say, I’ll cut down and manage with less. But beware of putting yourself on a diet, try to maintain the calorie input, the protein and fibre, just cut out those snacks and sugary things that don’t really benefit anyone, and you’ll manage much better.
Many people are going to struggle with the heating bills, so a good nutritious and satisfying meal helps you to maintain your body temperature much better than eating rubbish.
Gas or Electric?
The price of both is going to be reviewed, every 3 months instead of the current yearly review. Tthe price cap (will be raised and it will probably jump up in October to over 5k, and there is talk of over 6k cap in January 2023 just as winter hits and the temperature starts to drop off. The best, most economical choice of appliance is going to have to be made now, to make the biggest savings.
Recommendations
Halogen Oven
Air Fryer
Philips has been the world leader for almost 10 years with many copycat models available all at very reasonable prices, read all about the plus and minus points with these high-tech fryers.
Multi Cooker
