Do air fryers consume a lot of electricity? We’ve been asking ourselves a lot about this, as well. Are they really economical?
If you look at it holistically, air fryers may consume a lot of electricity over time, but to get the correct answer, let’s look at it from different points of view.
Air Fryer Wattage as a Stand-Alone Unit
When you consider the benefits that an air fryer offers, it definitely comes across as an economical appliance. So, how much electricity does an air fryer use? Most air fryer wattage range between 800W up to 2175W and higher for units such as the Philips Air Fryer XL.
The average wattage for air fryers works out to around 1425W. Generally speaking, the higher the wattage, the higher the temperatures that it can generate.
I will make a comparison with other household appliances further down, but just to make a quick comparison, regular ovens have a wattage range of 1000W to 5000W or an average of 2400W.
At face value, the air fryer definitely uses less power. Coupled with the fact that it generally takes a lot less time to prepare food in an air fryer, the odds look definitely staked in its favor. Making fries in an air fryer, for example, takes about 10 minutes as opposed to 20-30 minutes in an oven.
Air Fryer Power Consumption In Comparison to Other Appliances
Now, let’s look at how the air fryer compares against other high-consumption household appliances like the oven and refrigerator. As already stated, the wattage for ovens ranges from 1000W to 5000W, with most modern ovens operating at 2400W.
The average size refrigerator uses about 780W, and this seems to be a smaller figure in comparison and doesn’t look like it needs to be in this conversation but consider this.
A refrigerator runs day and night. This means that the numbers add up, and when you run the math, it consumes a lot more power per day.
That being said, though, refrigerators come insulated and can keep in the cold more efficiently. This means that a fridge runs about a third of the time because of the thermostat mechanism.
A regular oven also has insulation and a thermostat that maintains optimum temperatures. An oven, therefore, runs only about a quarter of the time.
When you put this into consideration, the power consumption doesn’t seem as bad as previously believed. An air fryer runs throughout the cooking process.
If I were to compare, 20minutes of cook time in a regular oven and air fryer were not created equal. Power Consumption Comparisons Let’s bring in some figures to bring things into context.
The formula for calculating consumption is: (Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption Let’s take the average 1425W air fryer and calculate just how much power you are consuming with it.
Using the formula we just stated above, here is how you calculate. Let’s assume you are cooking food that takes 30 minutes to prepare.
Your calculations will be as follows: 1425 x ½ hr / 1000 = 0.7125kWh Now, let’s look at an oven. Assuming the average wattage of 2400W, and we are cooking the same amount of food over 1 hour (It sometimes takes twice as much time to cook the same food as in an air fryer).
I also stated that in practice, an oven actually runs about 25% of the time because the thermostat will be regulating the temperature.
The formula, therefore, would look like this: 2400 x ¼ hr / 1000 = 0.6kWh Even though the air fryer has a lower wattage, it actually consumes more energy.
Air Fryer Power Use Rating
Air fryers usually come at around 1000 to 1700 watts. For smaller models with a capacity of up to 2 quarts, the electricity use rating is about 1000 to 1200 watts. On the other hand, larger air fryers with a capacity of around 3.5 to 6 quarts will use up about 1700 watts of power. The power rating is based on the size, cooking capacity, and amount of heat required. For example, frozen meat may take up more power as it needs more heat to cook.
How Air Fryers Cut Costs
Several answers will help you understand the reason behind the minimal addition in the electricity bill:
- Their use of less heat – less heat goes hand in hand with less energy consumption, and thus Air Fryers cut energy costs.
- Use of less oil – well, they use only a spoon of oil where a deep fryer would use more than 20 times that amount. Hence we can conserve more resources.
- Adjustable wattage – some air fryers these days come with wattage that can be adjusted to suit our needs. This indeed is a cherry on a perfectly iced cake!
FAQs
1. How much power do air fryers use?
In short, Air Fryers generally uses an average of 1425Watts slightly better than other kitchen appliances such as an oven and electric kettle.
2. Are air fryers more economical?
In the short term, yes, cooking in an Air fryer proves to be more economical and saves a lot of electricity, but in the long run, they tend to be less and less economical in terms of power usage.
3. Is an air fryer expensive to run?
No, just like most small kitchen appliances, air fryers are not expensive to run, most average households in America can afford to cook using Air Fryers, and they are quite convenient as well.
4. How many amps do an air fryer use?
A small air fryer will use around 9 amps, while a larger unit will use more than 15 amps.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. The evidence actually points to air fryers consuming more power in the long run. Armed with this information, you can make the best decision as far as the power economy requirements of your household are concerned.
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