An oven is designed to keep a constant temperature. The thermostat measures the temperature and turns the heating element on or off accordingly so that the oven will maintain its set temperature. This also influences how long it takes for an oven to cool down, This article aims to shed the light on the time it takes for your oven to cool down.
How long does it take for an oven to cool down?
The average time it takes for an oven to cool down is 45 minutes, this ranges from 30 minutes all the way to 90 minutes depending on a few factors such as how hot the oven is when you turn it off and how much air is in the oven.
Factors that determine how long it takes an oven to cool down
Outside temperature:
The lower the outside temperature is, the shorter it will take for the oven to cool off. Even if it looks like the oven is off, don’t assume that it’s completely cool. The temperature inside your oven stays pretty close to its set temperature so even though you think your oven has cooled down, you still have a little heat inside.
Ramp down:
If you hit the cancel button on your oven when you first turn it off, the heat will start dissipating faster because it is no longer being heated.
Stirring:
The more you’re stirring, the more air you are adding to the mix. The less air that is in your cooled down mixture, the faster it will cool down.
Humidity:
If you open the oven door when your oven has cooled down, the heat coming from the top will equalize with the heat in the oven. This means it will be very hot once you open the oven a second time. If you leave it open for a longer amount of time, don’t expect a cooldown. The more humidity in your house, the less heat will stay inside your oven, and therefore, you will have to let it cool off longer.
Warming up:
When you warm up your oven, you increase the temperature in the oven by approximately 40° F. If you keep your oven at this temperature after it has cooled down, it will be hotter than normal the next time you use it.
Heating Temperature:
If your oven is too hot the temperature might not drop quickly enough to cool down. The temperature of your oven will drop approximately 50-100° F every 30 minutes after it has cooled down.
Type of Oven:
Convection ovens and toaster ovens are more efficient than standard oven temperatures and therefore, they take less time to cool off.
Amount of Time used:
If you use your oven a long time, it will take much longer to cool down. The longer you use your oven, the higher the temperature and therefore the slower it will cool down.
How to quickly cool down an oven without turning it off?
This is a great trick I learned from a friend who was helping me out with my cooking classes. You can make an oven cool down by leaving the door open. Ovens are designed to maintain a constant temperature. It is the thermostat inside of the oven that controls it. If you leave the door open, this will allow the heat to escape evenly. This will decrease your time from 45 minutes all the way to 25 minutes depending on how warm your house is at that time.
The most important thing is to try not to put anything in and out of your oven while it’s still hot because it takes up space in your oven and therefore, its ability to cool down well is hindered.
Final Thoughts
So to answer the question how long does it take for an oven to cool down, the average time is around 45 minutes. However, it really comes down to how long you keep your oven on and what other factors might alter the temperature.
So here’s a little trick I like to use: I turn my oven off and open the door a little bit for about 3 minutes. This way the heat can escape evenly and not get trapped in so I can make sure that my oven is totally cooled off before storing it for later.