Over recent years, a growing number of people have been realising the benefits of swapping their oven for an air fryer. These handy kitchen appliances offer a faster way to cook food and, as they use minimal or no oil, they’re often hailed as a healthier option too.
Plus, their speedy nature means less energy usage, which is a bonus for your monthly bills. However, there’s a new gadget on the block that’s reportedly even cheaper to run than an air fryer, and they cost less than £40 to purchase.
Halogen ovens are being praised as an “amazing” alternative to air fryers, and at a fraction of the price. They consist of a glass bowl with a lid containing halogen bulbs and a fan, and when switched on, beams of infra-red radiation are emitted to generate heat, reports the Express.
This is then circulated around the food by the fan, cooking it to perfection. You can grab a Daewoo 17L halogen air fryer from Amazon for just £35.99, or Argos also has a Tower model available for £50.
The Amazon version has received an impressive rating of 4.3 stars out of five, with many reviewers commending its speed and ease of use. One person commented: “I absolutely love this item it’s really good, quick, easy to use once you have used it a few times it gets easier it’s so much better than my electric cooker and cheaper to run, and also cheaper than an air fryer so if you want a good healthy fryer it has to be this one.”
One satisfied customer exclaimed: “It is so easy to use, unlike a lot of air fryers, just select the temp, and the time….done, and to clean is also simple, just wipe the big glass bowl with a sponge, also, it is the cheapest to run one I have ever had, thank you.”
Another commented: “Cheaper than an oven I prefer this to the air fryer. Much cheapest and fats drain out. Not sat in grease whilst cooking.”
A happy user detailed their experience: “I got this to replace an airfryer, which I never got on with. This is so much better: larger, glass so I can keep an eye on the food as it cooks, manual controls so much easier for me.”
They added: “I can fit my casseroles etc in and I just love it. Will not go back to airfryers when this is so much simpler, cheaper and easier to use.”
Some, however, highlighted a potential downside noting the weight of the bowl: “The product is a good size however it makes it awkward to clean and the bowl is very heavy and I chipped mine in 2 days of owning it.”
The critique continued: “The heat doesn’t disperse evenly and the items on the top tray tend to burn or cook way quicker so keep that in mind. The lid, when hot, becomes very awkward to set down. Other than that it works well and fits loads in at a time and even 2 large pizzas! “.
Indeed, in 2022, Energia conducted research, advising households to consider using microwaves and air fryers for cooking as they can be more economical than using an oven.
Their team of experts have worked out exactly how much electricity appliances use, and what that would cost per hour of usage.
Oven
The average energy usage (wattage) for an oven is 1575, which means it costs 50p to run per hour.
Air Fryer
The average energy usage (wattage) for an air fryer is 1500, which means it costs 43p to run per hour. So, using an air fryer for 30 minutes would cost 22p.
Microwave
The average energy usage (wattage) for a microwave is 1750, which means it costs 57p to run per hour. So, using a microwave for five minutes would cost 0.04p.