A typical 500g frozen meal costs 2p to heat up, whereas the same meal heated in an oven will cost 23p. That means if you heat 1 frozen meal a week in the microwave it could save you about
£11 per year (= 37kg of CO₂)
Boiling vegetables in water uses up to 4 times more energy on an electric hob than in a microwave (with a minimum of water), saving up to 6p per time. If you microwave vegetables 4 times a week this will save around £13 per year = 42 kg of CO₂.
Baking 2 medium sized potatoes in a 2KW electric oven for 1 hour costs around 7p. Cooking the same 2 potatoes in a 1200W microwave for 11 minutes costs around 3p. If you baked 2 potatoes twice a week for a year that means a saving of £4 = 14kg of CO₂.
Microwaves come in varying sizes, so choose the most appropriate volume for your household needs:
20-25 litres for 2 people
30 litres for 4+ people
Enter the weight and (with some models) type of food, and the microwave automatically selects the oven temperature, microwave power output and optimum cooking time.
Simply input the food’s weight and the microwave sets the best program.
Variable setting ovens allow you to choose the power setting needed to prepare food. Settings run from ‘High’ to ‘Low’ on most ovens. Setting can also be shown as wattages for example ranging from 900W to 250W.
