Does An Air Fryer Really Use Less Electricity Than An Oven?

It's hard to imagine a kitchen without an oven; they've been a core necessity in many homes for centuries. It's impossible to make good roast chickens, baked salmon, or mozzarella sticks without an oven. That is, until air fryers came along. 

There's a lot of benefit in having one in your kitchen. For one, it's a much healthier alternative to regular frying and it can replace using a large traditional oven for some recipes. They work similar to a convection oven, pushing superheated air onto the food placed in its basket. The major drawback is that it has a small capacity compared to an oven — which could be one of the most important things to know before buying an air fryer.

That said, there may be an additional overlooked advantage that air fryers have over modern ovens: power consumption. Air fryers, due to their size and method of heating, actually use less electricity than the average full-size oven — we're talking up to 84% in extreme ranges. Depending on where you live, gas may be more efficient, but it comes with some health and safety concerns. Therefore, an air fryer, when replacing an electric oven, could be a safer and cheaper way to cook, the latter being even more important with all the rising energy costs. That's why we recommend an air fryer as one of the must-have kitchen appliances when moving into a new home on a tight budget.

We need to first examine how much power an air fryer and an oven use to examine just how much energy you can save. Air fryers typically use about 800 to 2,000 watts, depending on the size and brand, while ovens use something within the 2,000 to 5,000 watts range. On average, a full-size oven uses about 3,000 watts per hour — that's 3 kilo-watt hours (kWh). However, modern electric ovens are becoming more efficient and even incorporating air fryers into their systems.  Regardless, a standalone air fryer is less demanding even if it's just because of size.

Next, we have to consider how long you'll need to run an oven versus an air fryer. Preheating an air fryer takes only about 5 minutes, if preheating is required at all. An electric oven might need to sit for up to 15 minutes. Something like a bag of frozen french fries would need to cook for about 25 minutes in an oven before it's well-done, while an air fryer can get it ready in about 15 minutes. In this instance, an air fryer could be about 20% more efficient. However, if you have more food to cook, it might save more energy per pound of food to use a full-size oven since it has more space.

If you wanted to find out just how much more money you could save by using an air fryer instead of an . You'll need to find out the cost of energy in your area then multiply by the kWh used.  

For instance, this CNET scenario says that New Yorkers could save $113 every year switching from a gas oven and $122 yearly swapping from an electric one if you consider an air fryer's reduced cooking time. While it may not seem like very much, those numbers could run into thousands over the decades. And it's not just about the money — air fryers also use less energy overall, which means a smaller carbon footprint. When you add up the efficiency, speed, and long-term savings, the humble air fryer starts looking like a smart investment for your kitchen.

You can also check out our list of well-reviewed Amazon air fryers, and run their wattage on an electricity cost calculator to see if they fit your budget.