You’ve been cooking your dinner wrong – and it’s adding hundreds to energy bills

MAKING a few small changes to the way you cook your dinner could save you up to hundreds of pounds on your energy bills a year.

Homes are hit with eye-watering energy bills after the The energy price cap rose in April.

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Bills jumped to an average of £1,971, adding around an extra £700 to the bills of millions of customers.

The energy price cap is expected increase even more in October.

That means households are looking for ways to reduce their gas and electricity consumption.

But you may not know that the way you’re cooking your dinner could be driving up costs.

We explain how ditching your oven and switching to air fryers and microwaves could help you save up to £173 a year.

Use a microwave – up to £25

Yes you can use a microwave to cook your food, it might be an idea to use it instead of turning on the oven.

Uswitch estimates that you can save 24 pence by cooking your baked potatoes in the microwave, based on the daily mail.

It costs 27 pence to cook one in the oven, but only 3 pence in the microwave.

That means if you ate a baked potato twice a week for every week of the year, you’d save £24.96.

Use an air fryer – up to £34

Using an air fryer it could be healthy for your belly, as well as your bank balance.

Appliances are known for cooking meals that are healthier because they use less oil, and they could also save you money on your energy bills.

For every 40 minutes you spend cooking your food in the oven, it takes 15 minutes in a fryer and costs 22 pence less.

So if you swap out the oven for your air fryer three times a week, this adds up to a saving of £34.32 a year.

Change hot meals for cold ones – €15

homes have been enjoying warmer weather recently when the summer sun has finally kicked in.

In hot weather, it might be an idea to try eating cold foods instead of cooking a meal to reduce the cost of running your oven.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen previously told The Sun that this could you save £15.

Get rid of the extra fridge – £99

Warmer weather means barbecue season.

You may want hook up a second fridge to hold all the extra hamburgers, sausages and alcoholic beverages.

It’s easy to leave it on if you’re not using it, but you could be adding £99 a year to your energy bills, according to Loop.

Avoid using it entirely this season if you’re worried about the extra cost, or remember to turn it off when friends and family leave.

A money saving expert reveals the five appliances in your kitchen increasing your energy bills.

Y a simple change in the way you use your dryer could drastically reduce the time it takes to dry your clothes and potentially save you a lot of money.