How to choose a cooker

GAS COOKERS V's ELECTRIC COOKERS

Running costs for gas and electric cookers

Whether you choose a gas or electric cooker your decision is likely to be influenced by previous experience and your personal cooking preferences.

There are significant differences with the costs of cooking with gas and electricity. If you cook with an electric cooker you’ll use fewer units of energy. You should however take
into consideration that because electricity costs more than gas (per unit), cooking with electric could end up costing you more.

Test

If you use your cooker’s oven, hob and grill for about 1 hour and 20 minutes a day for the period of 1 year, an electric cooker will cost approximately £53 to run. A gas cooker will cost £16, giving you an estimated annual saving of £37, or approximately £222 over the life time of your cooker.


GAS COOKERS V's ELECTRIC COOKERS : pros and cons


Gas cooker pros

• Gas hobs These offer instant heat, and flames licking and spreading round the bottom of pans means that heat spreads right across the hob-ring.
• Cost Gas is cheaper than electricity so you’re likely to save yourself some money if you cook with gas.

Gas cooker cons

• Uneven oven temperature You do not usually find fans in gas ovens, this makes it harder for the heat to circulate properly. This means that a gas oven will in most cases be hotter at the top than at the bottom.
• Installation Gas cookers must be professionally installed by a GasSafe registered engineer.

Electric cooker pros

• Even oven temperature Electric ovens will offer you more control over temperature of the oven, and most electric cookers have fans to help spread the heat right around
  the cavity.
• Multi-function ovens You are able to cook with a combination of heat from the top and the bottom of the oven.
• Easy-to-clean hobs Electric cooker’s ceramic hobs are much easier to wipe clean than the hobs and metal risers used on a gas cooker.

Electric cooker cons

• Cost Electric cookers cost significantly more to run than gas cookers.
• Slow hobs If your cooking pan is bigger than the electric hob ring, it will take much longer to heat up with electricity than with gas.