6 Ways To Reduce The Running Costs Of The AGA Cooker

16 June 2009

Image by Ivydale via Flickr

Here are 6 ways to reduce the running costs of your AGA cooker:

1. Have the cheapest AGA cooker to run which is the 30 Amp AGA cooker which costs about £11 a week to run. The others cost about £25 a week to run with the 13 Amp maybe higher.

2. Fit AIMS to your AGA so you can program your AGA energy use - you can now fit retrospectively to GAS and OIL AGA cookers. See Discover the The New Smart Way to Programme Your AGA. Though as an aside I think they have spelt 'Programme' wrong. In the UK when we program in the computer sense it is spelt in the same as in the US. Perhaps they thought they are going to give the AGA a schedule and therefore it should be spelt 'Programme'.

3. Do not keep the lids up for long periods on the AGA as it looses heat. If you follow the standard AGA cooking rule of using the top for 20% of the cooking and the ovens for 80% then you are doing it right and the AGA will retain its heat. If you are spending all your time cooking on the top of the AGA then you are doing it wrong.

4.Turn it off in the Summer. It's lovely and hot today and in our kitchen where our 30 Amp AGA sits it is 40C. Hmm I must remember to open the door and windows. But if I really wanted to reduce the running costs I'd switch the AGA off.

5. Turn the AGA down. You may want to put it on a lower setting but this will mean that it will take longer to cook everything.

6. Get your AGA cooker cleaned and serviced regularly. Get the AGA cleaning carried out in the morning and then serviced in the afternoon.