Do Air Fryers Use a Lot of Electricity? Benefits and If It’s More Economical Than Oven

An average American home uses approximately 40% of energy. Where 15% of it is consumed by the kitchen appliances. Using an air-fryer can pull down the energy utilization by 75%.     

Air fryers are all the hype nowadays. Well, we would not be surprised. Everyone’s looking for an easier way to prepare healthy yet yummy meals for their families. You can save a lot from taking out meals for your favorite cafe. And air fryers let you cook food that tastes as good as the other traditional kitchen equipment. So you won’t find it hard to stay away from take out boxes. 

Also, air fryers use little if no oil at all. So it’s a rather convenient way to lose weight. And that’s without depriving yourself of the foods that you want to eat. You can even eat fried chicken with less guilt! 

But did it ever cross your mind just how much electricity an air fryer consumes? Let’s take a quick look so you know what to expect from your utility bills. 

Factors That Affect Energy Consumption

Electricity consumption of Air-Fryer depends on 4 Factors:

• The size of the air-fryer
• Cooking settings
• The amount and type of food
• Wattage

Air fryers come in all sizes and capacities. Several factors will affect how much power an air fryer consumes. 

The Size of the Air Fryer

Similar to most appliances, the bigger the capacity, the more power it consumes.

It also has a lot to do with how air fryers work. These countertop kitchen appliances work by heating air in a confined space. So the larger the air fryer, the more heat it needs to produce to cook the food. Hence, the higher the consumption.

So should you just buy a smaller size? That depends on your needs. If you are cooking for the entire family, you’d still save energy by using a larger air fryer. So you need to cook in one large batch versus several small batches. This will still equate to more savings in your electric bill.

Additionally, with a 50 percent increase in the size or capacity of the air fryer, there will be a 30 percent increase in energy consumption. So if you need a small yield of food, it’s better to get a smaller size.

Cooking Settings

Some air fryer models come with multiple cooking options. And sometimes, some of these options may require more energy consumption

For instance, an air fryer that lets you turn on the light inside while you’re cooking will need more energy. 

Some air fryers come with different cooking options such as broil, dehydrate, toast, and rotisserie. And each function would require different amounts of energy.

The Amount and Type of Food

Cooking more food in the air fryer will technically increase the cooking time. And more often, the longer cooking time would reflect in higher consumption. 

It would also depend on what type of food you’re cooking. If you’re cooking tougher meats such as beef, it might need longer cooking time compared to cooking fish.

Wattage

If you try to compare two air fryer models from different brands with the same capacity, they might not yield the same energy consumption. That boils down to the manufacturer.

Each air fryer model might have a different amount of power that it needs to function. Thus, different models have different wattages. The higher the wattage, the higher the energy it will produce. Most air fryers range from 800 to 1275 watts.  

And to get the kwh or the amount of electricity that an appliance produces, you have to multiply the wattage by the length of time the appliance runs. 

Can You Compute Electric Consumption Based on the Rated Watts

It can be challenging to compute electric consumption based on the rated watts. What’s reflected in the maximum watts or the maximum amount of energy an appliance will produce. And because your air fryer will not always run on max, the rated wattage alone isn’t enough to compute how much energy it consumes. 

And to be able to compute how much electricity your air fryer consumes, you have to know the running watts. And this isn’t easy to do.

Unless you have a metering device that will monitor the running watts of your appliances, that’s the only time you can make a precise calculation of how much electricity an appliance would really cost.

On the flips side, the rated wattage or maximum watts will still give you an idea of how much electricity an appliance would consume. You just might not be able to know the exact amount. 

Is an Air Fryer More Economical Than an Oven

Though we cannot precisely quantify how much electricity your air fryer consumes, one thing for sure, it is more economical than your oven.

The amount of electricity an appliance would consume would largely depend on how much time it is running. And since an air fryer needs significantly less time to cook than an oven, it will require less energy or electricity.

On an average, air fryers operate at about 1500 watts. In contrast, an oven pulls power of an estimated 2.3 kilowatt. 1,000 watts equal to per kilowatt. Hence, we can say, an air fryer uses about half the energy of a conventional oven. If your air fryer gets defected, it may use more power than normal.

Ultimately, when compared to a convection oven, air fryers can use 25% less electricity.

Benefits of Using an Air Fryer

Some of the key benefits of using an air-fryer are:

• More economical
• Less heat
• Less oil
• Makes leftover more palatable
• Cooks food faster
• Occupies tiny space

Let’s elaborate more on how an air fryer can save you on energy consumption. Plus we’ll toss in other benefits of this nifty countertop kitchen appliance.

1. More Economical

When compared to ovens, air fryers do not draw a lot of wattage. Hence, they are more economical. This pretext has something to do with the way an air fryer works. Air fryers don’t emit too much heat, so instead of heating the entire room, it focuses on heating the food.

This cooks the food faster and results in less heat release. You would notice that your kitchen gets hotter every time you use an oven, this doesn’t happen with an air fryer. 

2. Less Heat

As mentioned above, air fryers do not release heat in the environment. So even if you’re baking or roasting on a scorching hot day, it would not be uncomfortable. 

3. Makes Leftovers More Palatable

Air fryers help you save money by making your leftovers more palatable. Compared to a microwave, ovens, and pans, air fryers can reheat the food without drying it out. So, from now on, reheat your fried chicken and other favorite meals without a worry. 

4. Less Oil

You can even fry chicken without oil. Or if you must use oil, you only need a significantly less amount. 

You may also like: Does Pumpkin Pie Need To Be Refrigerated? 

5. Cooks Food Faster

You’ll be able to enjoy a smorgasbord of healthy and yummy food in less time. It’s easy to make one-pot meals with an air fryer. You can also cook multiple meals at a time. 

6. Only Need a Small Space in Your Kitchen

Since air fryers are countertop kitchen appliances, they will only require a small space in your kitchen. Compared to a traditional oven or a convection oven, air fryers are more suitable for smaller homes. 

Last Word

So, are air fryers expensive to run? In short, the answer is, No! 

Similar to small kitchen appliances, they don’t require much wattage. Air fryers can also benefit you in more ways than one! You can create an array of healthy and yummy dishes with this economical kitchen appliance. So it’s more than just the hype!