New research by energy supplier Utilita suggests that households reliant on oven cooking could save more than £600 per year by changing the way they prepare food and the appliance they use to make it. Batch cooking, simmering instead of boiling and choosing the right pot size, could help cut costs this winter.
The energy giant has teamed up with frozen food specialist Iceland in a partnership that aims to help those struggling with the rising cost of living by offering practical solutions and advice on how to save money.
The launch will also see the introduction of both brands selling one of the best value 4.5l air fryer's on the market from Tower Housewares retailing at the discounted price of £35, enabling consumers to make their investment back in around 47 days of avoiding the oven. Air fryers will be sold at Iceland stores nationwide and online at www.iceland.co.uk, and at Utilita’s High Street Energy Hubs.
Ofgem is set to announce the next price cap on August 26 which could see bills go up to £3,600 per year from October.
To offset the soaring costs during what is forecast to be the most expensive winter ever, Utilita and Iceland’s ‘Shop Smart, Cook Savvy’ collaboration will officially launch in early September to help families better understand the cost of cooking, and to help identify the most economical cooking methods available to them to make budgets stretch further.
As part of the joint campaign, both brands have committed to 11 pro-consumer, pro-planet pledges in total, which includes a massive overhaul of Iceland’s own-product packaging to reflect more energy efficient cooking appliances and methods, and a national ‘Cooking High 5’ consumer awareness tour, facilitated by Utilita outside Iceland stores.
Changing cooking behaviour
The new research from Utilita reveals the cost to cook, per minute for each of the main types of cooking appliances found in the kitchen.
It also explores a range of common cooking methods and offers recommendations on how to change their behaviour to reduce energy usage and save money on bills.
The data found that households spend approximately 43 minutes cooking each day and almost half (42%) admit to using the oven by default for the main part of their cooking needs.
More than half of UK households admitted to not knowing which of their cooking appliances cost more to run (52%).
Utilita’s in-depth research presents a list of the main seven types of cooking appliances, starting with the most energy intensive - the electric cooker - and finishing up with the most economical to run - the microwave.
In anticipation of the list becoming every household’s go-to cooking calculator, the research has been based on the energy consumption of 92 appliances across 24 sources, including academic research, legislation, and data collected from popular shopping websites.
The ‘Shop Smart, Cook Savvy’ research reveals how the cost of cooking can be cut by up to 60-90%, enabling households to save hundreds of pounds each year.
How much your cooking appliance costs to run
Electric cooker
- Cost per day: 87p
- Cost per week: £6.09
- Cost per month: £26.38
- Cost per year: £316.54
Dual cooker (part electric, part gas)
- Cost per day: 72p
- Cost per week: £5.08
- Cost per month: £22
- Cost per year: £264.03
Gas cooker
- Cost per day: 35p
- Cost per week: £2.32
- Cost per month: £10.07
- Cost per year: £120.83
Slow cooker
- Cost per day: 16p
- Cost per week: £1.15
- Cost per month: £4.98
- Cost per year: £59.76
Air Fryer
- Cost per day: 14p
- Cost per week: £1.01
- Cost per month: £4.40
- Cost per year: £52.74
Microwave
- Cost per day: 8p
- Cost per week: 58p
- Cost per month: £2.50
- Cost per year: £30.02
Commenting on the collaboration, Bill Bullen, Utilita Founder and CEO, said: “For as long as we can remember, our kitchens have been designed around the oven being the main cooking method, which isn’t the case for many households today. Much more economical cooking appliances such as air fryers, slow cookers and microwaves have become increasingly more popular. However, the cooking instructions on food packets haven’t reflected this.
“Utilita and Iceland are closely aligned in our mission to help households make their money go further. There are so many factors that neither Richard nor I can control today, but the cost of cooking is mutual ground that we can help consumers with. This unique partnership will hopefully urge other supermarkets to do the same and help consumers choose the most economical cooking methods.”
Five ways to save over £600 each year when cooking
As part of Utilita’s national education programme, Iceland customers and all households will be invited to attend thousands of free workshops on the 15 ways to cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds each year, including five ways to save up to £604 when cooking.
This includes looking at cooking behaviours and the savings to be made over a year just by making a different choice:
- Use more energy efficient appliances - saves £287
- Batch cook, when possible - saves £158
- Use the right size pan with a lid - saves £72
- Simmer rather than boil - saves £68
- Don’t overfill the kettle - saves £19
- Total savings over a year: £604
Commenting on the partnership project, Richard Walker, Iceland’s Managing Director, said: “The cost of living crisis continues to be the biggest national issue facing consumers and as a private, family-run business, we’re constantly looking at both short, and long term initiatives that can offer any support.
“Our ‘Shop Smart, Cook Savvy’ collaboration with Utilita is so important, as it shines a light on the relationship between what we buy and how much energy we use cooking it, helping to empower our customers and provide them with access to information that can help stretch their budgets further.”
David Buttress, former CEO of Just Eat and New Cost of Living Business Tsar, added: "This is the type of consumer awareness campaign that will stick in our minds because it’s enabling every household to rethink the way we cook, which hasn’t been done before. We are delighted to list both Utilita and Iceland as official Help for Household partners for their efforts in enabling and assisting consumers to make impactful savings that will make a big difference, whilst reducing carbon emissions. I am hopeful that other supermarkets will follow suit to help their consumers identify the cheapest way to cook.”
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