Tips To Reduce Oven Consumption (And Save Money)

The oven is one of the household appliances that consume the most electricity in the home. It costs an average of €55 per year for French households according to ADEME. To give you an idea, it’s more than your fridge that works 24 hours a day! Knowing how to reduce the electricity consumption of the oven is therefore essential to reduce your energy bills!

Easy to say, but how do you tell me? Well know that there are plenty of small eco-gestures to get there. And I can tell you that since I’ve been using them, I’ve somehow managed to lower my bill.

1. Use the convection mode

2. Don’t open the oven door all the time

When we cook our dishes, we have the annoying habit of always opening the oven door. Well that’s understandable, because we want to check that the cooking is good. The problem is that by doing this, the heat escapes . The device must therefore restore this heat, which will make it consume a lot of energy each time. So how do you watch the cooking without opening the door? Simply by looking through the glass. And if it’s all dirty, use this trick to clean it even between the panes.

3. Do not use pyrolysis too often

Most recent ovens are equipped with the pyrolysis option. You know, it’s this option that allows you to clean the interior without doing anything. Pyrolysis heats up to a very high temperature to burn fat and food that dirty the interior. So it’s super practical for sure; on the other hand, it is very very energy-intensive… So, avoid triggering it too often; otherwise, you risk seeing your bill skyrocket! Instead, you can apply this trick to clean your device effortlessly. If you still go for a pyrolytic cleaning, little advice, do it just after cooking a dish. This way, the oven is already hot and the pyrolysis mode takes less time to engage.

4. Defrost food before cooking

Food straight out of the freezer obviously takes a lot longer to cook. It is therefore more electricity spent, which directly impacts your bill. Remember to take your food out well before cooking. With a little anticipation and organization, you can get there without any worries. Oh yes ; Also avoid defrosting dishes with the defrosting mode of the oven, because it is very energy-intensive. Same for the microwave . Again, plan your meals in advance, it will cost you much less in electricity.

6. Turn off the oven before the end of cooking

A little trick that you never think of and which nevertheless saves a lot of electricity. Especially in the long term. It is to turn off the oven before the end of cooking of the dish. As it still remains hot for a while, this allows you to finish cooking without using electricity! Smart, isn’t it?

7. Use the oven during off-peak hours

If you have an electricity supplier that offers you off -peak hours , take advantage of it! For example, if your oven is dirty and you plan to clean it with pyrolysis, do this at night. Newer ones can be scheduled to start at certain times. You just need to use the timer on the device to turn it on at night. Electricity during off-peak hours can save up to -30%!

8. Choose an energy class “A” oven

We said so in the introduction. It is one of the most energy-consuming appliances in the house. This is especially true for older models. Much progress has been made on recent models. So if you can, equip yourself with an energy class “A” model. This label guarantees consumption of less than 0.80 kWh compared to 1 kWh for other energy classes. In concrete terms, these models allow electricity savings of nearly 30%! At a rate of use of 10h/week, it is still almost 20€ saved over the year. And as long as you choose a new oven, get one with as thick a wall as possible. Because the thicker the wall, the better the heat is retained, which in turn reduces electricity consumption. Finally, if you are alone or in a couple, equip yourself with a small model. Because the bigger it is, the longer the interior takes to heat up. A small oven has the advantage of raising the heat more quickly, which consumes less energy.

9. Reduce preheating time

To make your meals a success, you don’t need to preheat for too long. Less than ten minutes is enough, especially for recent or good quality ovens. And then no need either to preheat with a temperature higher than that of cooking. For example, if you want the heat to be 150°C, no need to preheat to 200°C to go faster. This practice consumes much more electricity without necessarily saving on the preheating time.

How much and how to calculate what an oven consumes?

Several parameters influence the consumption of an oven. But take the case of a device with a power of 2500 watts (this is the most widespread) which consumes 1 kW per hour. Using 3 hours per week, this amounts to 156 kWh per year (3 kWh x 52 weeks). In this specific case, an electric oven costs less than 30 euros per year (taking the EDF price of 0.1740€). But that ‘s when you use it relatively little. On the other hand, if you use the oven for 2 hours a day, it is very expensive! 2h x 7 days x 1 kWh x 52 weeks = 728 kWh per year or €126! So take it easy on its use and above all, apply the solutions seen above to limit consumption. Oh yes ; one last thing I do that works great. My neighbor hates cooking while I do. So we made arrangements accordingly. I prepare good little dishes that I share with him, but in return, the cooking is done in his oven. So if like me you get along well with your neighbor, be collaborative with him!

Your turn…

Have you tried our tips for reducing your oven’s electricity consumption? Let us know in the comments if it worked for you. We can’t wait to read you!