I now save so much on household bills using these three kitchen appliances
With energy bills rising by 80% last year thanks to the new energy cap of £3,459, our reviewer Rebecca Astill, was looking for any way to cut down small uses around the house. Now, especially over the summer months, it is important for families to find new ways to save at home in preparation for winter.
Here we found how our reviewer Rebecca, found these three appliances which, for the most part, really did help her reduce some costs around the house.
Most of my bills go on showering, washing clothes and cooking.
Unfortunately showering and washing clothes is non-negotiable, but there were a few ways I could cut down on cooking energy. Instead of constantly using the oven, which is a big consumer of energy, I looked at alternatives.
One appliance money saving expert was a slow cooker, which he said can cook a meal for 23p. Another is the air fryer, which is much more energy efficient than an oven because of the speed it cooks food.
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A third appliance which could be switched out in favour of a more energy efficient alternative is the kettle. I previously used as old Russell Hobbs kettle that can no longer even be bought online, it was definitely due a new cheaper upgrade.
With saving energy in mind, I tried a Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK , an Andrew James Slow Cooker , and a Laica Dual Flo Electric Kettle , which has the option of a one-cup boil.
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK: 10/10
The Ninja Air Fryer would be my top recommendation as you can use it everyday
An air fryer should be cheap to run, versatile and easy to use. The Ninja Air Fryer delivers on all of those things. With a wattage of 1550W, it’s around a quarter more energy efficient than the average oven, which tends to be around 2000 to 2200W.
The Ninja air fryers have four settings, air fry, roast, dehydrate and reheat, so you can use them for pretty much any sort of cooking. I’ve even made breakfast in mine.
Yesterday I put it to the ultimate test, cooking a full roast dinner in the air fryer. I worked out I saved just over 16p in energy costs, compared to cooking a roast in an oven.
That’s based on a small roast for one, I would have saved nearer 50p on a more extravagant or slow cooked roast. This air fryer is also self-explanatory, and easy to clean - one thing many air fryers are not. The bottom basket just pops into the dishwasher, or can be hand washed.
It did take me some getting used to, as I cook at the wrong temperature a couple of times and found the outside of my food burnt and the inside uncooked, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a complete game changer in the kitchen. I now use it for most meals.
Buy the air fryer from £99.99 on Ninja UK.
Andrew James Slow Cooker: 8/10
The Andrew James Slow Cooker is my second recommendation although I wouldn't want to use it all the time
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A slow cooker is not a new phenomenon, like the air fryer, nor particularly hyped, but it's not one to overlook. According to the money saving expert, a slow cooker uses on average 23p a meal.
My slow cooker only costs £24.99 on Amazon , which I think is a worthy investment. Not only does it save energy costs, it’s also big enough to batch cook, so I often find myself with three or four meals from one effort.
Of course, there’s the age-old slow cooker criticism that all food tastes the same out of a slow cooker thanks to the mushy texture it produces. It’s not wrong, but you just have to learn what food works best like curries and casseroles.
I’ve also found I can use cheaper cuts of meat in the slow cooker, because the time it takes to cook tenderises even the toughest of pork or beef. I certainly wouldn’t want to eat slow cooker food everyday, but I whack it on once every two weeks, and that does me four out of fourteen meals for very little money.
Buy the slow cooker from £24.99 on Amazon.
Laica Dual Flo Electric Kettle: 4/10
The Laica Electric Kettle is great in theory but needs a little work
The Laica Dual Flo Electric Kettle is my most used new purchase since buying, because I mainly work from home and drink a lot of tea and coffee. Sadly it’s probably my least favourite.
The kettle has a flap at the front which opens up and doubles as a hot water dispenser. When open, the kettle only boils the required amount of water for one cup, and pours it directly into a cup.
In theory, it’s brilliant. You save energy and water costs by only boiling the exact amount.
In practice, the kettle needs work. There’s a dial at the top which lets you change how much water you want, but the kettle definitely has a mind of its own in that department, the volume of water produced is inconsistent.
The kettle is also noisy, which makes me wonder if that is counteracting the energy efficiency. All in all I do think I’ve saved money overall thanks to the one-cup function, but for £69.99 there are definite improvements which need to be made to the kettle.
Buy the electric kettle from £69.99 on Amazon.
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