How to save on energy when cooking Christmas dinner

From Quality Street tubs emptied within hours to plates piled high with roast potatoes and fridges full of cheese, it’s all about indulgence.

But if you are in charge of Christmas dinner this year (another festive staple) whether it’s for two or 10 people, you might be worried about your energy costs due to hours of cooking in the kitchen.

With the cost of living yet to settle, you are not alone if this is something you have been dreading, as experts at 100Green have given some advice on how you can save on energy this Christmas.

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How to save on energy when cooking Christmas dinner

100Green has pulled together their top six tips for saving on energy and emissions when cooking Christmas dinner this year:

Avoid opening the oven door

Before the big day, ensure to give your oven a thorough clean so you can see clearly through the oven door. Keeping the oven door open for periods of time will decrease the internal temperature, with some suggesting that keeping it over for just 30 seconds could drop the temperature to just 150° or less.

How many people are you cooking Christmas dinner for this year? (Image: Getty)

This means more energy is needed to re-regulate the temperature each time you open the oven door.

Don’t preheat the oven

Despite what we’re taught, or what the back of the packet says, we don’t actually always have to preheat the oven for everything we cook. Waiting for the oven to reach the full temperature is essentially a waste of energy, and you can start cooking as soon as you turn your oven on.

Crisp to perfection with the air fryer

It’s no secret that air fryers have stolen the hearts - and stomachs - of the nation over the past few years. Using the oven to cook everything for your Christmas dinner can be costly, with the standard oven costing 71p per hour, meaning that to cook a 5kg turkey the recommended three hours, it would cost £2.13.

However, turkeys can be roasted in the air fryer and also take a much shorter time to prepare than in the oven. Research from Uswitch suggests that air fryers cost between 34p and 61p per hour, depending on wattage.

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No-bake treats

After tucking into your Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, why not opt for some no-bake sweet treats instead of baking a Christmas pudding or chocolate cake? Trifles, fruit salads and cheese boards are consistent no-bake-after-dinner Christmas treats, but what about tray bakes? You can easily set these in or out of the fridge.

Use the slow cooker

Many of us groan at the thought of using the slow cooker after a childhood full of slow cooker meals, but in the winter, they have an appeal that our conventional ovens just can’t rival.

There’s no denying coming home to a hearty pot of food ready to eat is a joy, and at Christmas, slow cookers can be a massive help. It’s estimated slow cookers cost as little as just 4.5p per hour to run, making them a cost-efficient, energy-saving alternative for cooking meats.

Have you started using your slow cooker a lot more this year? (Image: Getty)

The slow cooker is also ideal for making mulled wine with virtually no effort.

Microwave to perfection

Using a microwave to cook your veggies is another great way to cut energy costs for your Christmas dinner. Most veggies can be cooked in the microwave in just a couple of minutes, with 10 minutes of usage costing an average of just 6p - or around half the cost of using the hob.

Doug Stewart, CEO at 100Green comments: “Winter is a tough time for many people in the UK when it comes to energy spend, without the added pressure of Christmas.

“As the public become increasingly concerned about climate change, we’re also becoming increasingly conscious of the impact that big events such as Christmas can have on our carbon footprint, with our new survey showing that a whopping 3 in 5 people in the UK want to have a greener Christmas this year.

How you can reduce your energy bills

“It’s quite astounding how much CO2e one family meal creates, so thinking creatively about how we can reduce that impact is important – especially because I would argue Christmas dinner is the most important part of our day.

“From trying new ways of cooking to growing your own trimmings, there are plenty of ways to make a real difference to both your purse and the environment over the festive period."