Microwave versus stovetop

Most Australians have a love – hate relationship with their microwave: they’re happy to use it for reheating but not so much for cooking. So we find out whether you could be saving money if you used it more often.

Before we get started, though, let’s discuss a few things. Firstly, we’ll address the radiation issue. Microwaves are called microwaves because they emit electromagnetic radiation called microwaves to cook your food. Microwave radiation is not cancer-causing, it just causes food molecules to move faster, and it’s this motion that heats your food.

Secondly, microwaving will not adversely affect the nutrients in your food any more than heating it on the stove or in the oven. When boiling vegetables, in particular, nutrients leach into the water in which they’re cooked, so, because you use less water when heating in a microwave, you may even preserve more of the food’s nutritional value.

Now, let’s get down the the nitty gritty: microwave versus stovetop – which one will save you money?

Well, as best I can work out, cooking a pot of carrots on a stovetop will take around five minutes for the water to boil, then a further five to eight minutes to cook the carrots. Whereas, it only takes about five minutes to cook carrots in a microwave. Based on these minimum estimates, here’s a breakdown of the cooking costs:

The national average cost of electricity per kilowatt hour is 26.38 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh). Costs taken from estimates by the Australian Energy Market Commission
Estimated appliance costs taken from www.essentialenergy.com.au
Gas costs based on estimates taken from www.essentialenergy.com.au

Surprisingly, cooking a pot of carrots on a gas stovetop was the least energy efficient of the bunch, with the microwave being at least twice as efficient as electric cooktops. It is worth mentioning that we have not assessed induction stovetops, which are twice as efficient as gas and electric stovetops. But if we were to make an estimate based on the above calculations, an induction cooker would still be less efficient than using a microwave.

So, it seems the microwave is the least expensive option, but there are still tips you can follow to save even more money.

Stovetop

• Use clean, flat-bottomed saucepans to ensure the best heat transfer possible.
• Always use the right-sized hotplate. If your pot covers the hotplate, you are ensured better heat transfer.
• It’s actually more energy efficient to cook on low heat for longer rather than high heat in short bursts.

Microwave

• Turn off your microwave at the wall because the clock on your microwave consumes more power than cooking does.
• Defrost frozen food in the fridge rather than your microwave.
• Using your microwave for cooking and reheating uses less energy than doing so in your standard oven (it may not taste as good though!).
• A clean microwave will operate more efficiently than a dirty one.

Do you have any power-saving cooking tips for our members? Why not share them?

Read more at www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

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