Experts have shared how much it would cost to cook Christmas dinner using different appliances, including an oven, an air fryer and a slow cooker.
With cost-effective cooking devices exploding in popularity, the experts at Uswitch wanted to find out which one would save you the largest amount of money.
It comes as the utility switching company found that a fifth of households turn to air fryers as many overestimate the energy costs of cooking Christmas dinner.
People are turning away from traditional cooking methods as they try to save energy, with the proportion of households using the oven this year falling four percent, according to Uswitch data. Those using the hob and microwave are down six percent.
Slow cookers, which use less energy than an oven by heating food at lower temperatures for longer, have seen their popularity rise 41 percent
Meanwhile, five million households – about 18 percent of homes – will use an air fryer to cook part of their Christmas dinner this year to cut their energy bill
People believed that the full festive feast would add about £15 to their energy bills, yet it is actually about £3.60 according to the experts.
Swapping the oven and hob for alternatives like a slow cooker, air fryer or microwave offer a small saving – cutting the energy cost of the meal to £3.53.
Air fryers usually offer large energy savings compared to a traditional oven when cooking simple meals, but this doesn't always remain true when cooking up bigger meals.
With so many ingredients in a Christmas dinner, it’s the one time the whole oven is being used, making it more energy-efficient.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: "We've all spent the year monitoring our energy use at home, and Christmas dinner is no different, with half of households planning to change cooking methods to reduce their bills.
"Air fryers were a relatively new phenomenon this time last year, but almost a fifth of households plan to use them to reduce their energy consumption on Christmas Day.
"Appliances like air fryers, slow cookers and microwaves can be the most energy-efficient kitchen devices to cook with, especially if you’re not making enough food to fill the whole of the oven."
The expert adds that Christmas is one of the few times of year when households use the whole oven, meaning that you may be better off financially.
What will you be using to make your Christmas dinner? Let us know in the comments below.
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