Feeling the squeeze of inflation in Australia and the cost-of-living crisis, more and more Australians are cooking up their own ‘how to save money’ solutions in their kitchens to curb spending on dining out and takeaways. In fact, seven in ten households have been making more meals at home over the last 12 months, which makes good sense. However, many also find themselves asking, “Why are my electricity bills so high?” A recent study by The Mix Australia and New Zealand has revealed some surprising facts about how much inefficient energy-guzzling cooking appliances are adding to the cost of living in Australia.
Inefficient appliances are costing households almost $900* million every year.
What are the top power-hungry kitchen appliances?
Topping the list of offending appliances pushing up the average electricity bill are electric ovens. Owned by seven in ten Australians, in a typical week, electric ovens are used by households for 2 hours and 15 minutes, costing the nation a whopping $542 million** annually. This is followed by electric cooktops/stoves at an estimated $340 million***.
How to save on electricity bills by just changing a couple of habits
The new research also showed that it’s not just the use of inefficient appliances that’s costing families money, it’s inefficient cooking habits too! Are you one for forgetting to put a lid on it? You’re not alone. 59% of Australians admit to boiling food without a lid at least sometimes. And 54% say they often open the oven while it’s still cooking to take a peek**** rather than just taking a look through the door. We’ve all done that, but they’re two habits we can change to help with electricity bills.
How to invest more wisely in energy efficiency at home
How many of us are guilty of investing in items that are simply sitting unused and gathering dust? Our research found that four in ten Australians admitted to not using all the kitchen appliances they own every week. And of the one in four Australians that have 11 or more kitchen appliances at home, almost half admit they don't use all of them every week*.
But one savvy family in Victoria isn’t letting their hard-earned dollars go to waste. Anthony Plummer and his family began their quest to improve energy efficiency at home and reduce their carbon footprint in 2018, long before the cost-of-living crisis hit and have been closely monitoring their home’s energy usage and average electricity bills ever since.
For Anthony and his family, cost saving in the long term is about investing in energy-efficient appliances like the Thermomix®, delivering value for money over the long term.
Cost saving in the long term is about investing in energy-efficient appliances like the Thermomix®, delivering value for money over the long term.
“Investing in a small collection of appliances that actually work has been life-changing for our family. In the kitchen, the biggest change we’ve made is cooking with a Thermomix®, which we’ve found is much more energy-efficient than a gas stove. We use it for everything – to make our porridge in the morning, we might bake a cake during the day before using it again at night for our evening meal. It’s literally our second pair of hands in the kitchen. In the last year, we’ve made over 2,000 meals and saved hundreds by cooking more efficiently with the Thermomix®.”
“We’ve made over 2,000 meals and saved hundreds by cooking more efficiently with the Thermomix®.”
How much can Thermomix® help with electricity bills?
The makers of Thermomix®, Vorwerk, have also recently run trials in Germany, revealing some impressive results in improving energy efficiency at home with Thermomix®.
Tests found that, in some cases, Thermomix® TM6 used only 35% to 45% of the electricity consumed by some cooktops or steamers to prepare a meal for a family of four.
Further testing with one of the most frequently cooked family favourites – the classic bolognese^ – showed that using the Thermomix® TM6 Slow Cooking mode consumed up to 65% less electricity than some ceramic or induction cooktops*.
Thermomix® TM6 consumed up to 65% less electricity than some ceramic or induction cooktops**.
Multiple tips for saving money with multi-layer cooking
Because Thermomix® gives you all the capacity, tools and modes to harness ‘multi-layer’ cooking, you can prep and cook many or even all the elements of a meal using just the Thermomix® in place of multiple, more inefficient appliances.
In fact, when you put them all together, your Thermomix® Varoma, Simmering Basket and Mixing Bowl create one super energy-efficient appliance capable of cooking multiple elements for one meal, or multiple courses for entertaining, or multiple dishes for your weekly meal prep cooking. All. In. One. Go! That’s helping you save on electricity bills, save time and leave less mess to clean up too.
“It’s a really efficient way to cook and there are so many multi-layer recipe options,” says Thermomix® Australia founder, Grace Mazur. Find out more about how cooking with vapour and aroma is a real game-changer on so many levels.
Cook a complete meal for four people in under 30 minutes, using just the right Thermomix®.
“Just recently, we added a new recipe to showcase at our Cooking Demonstrations – Chinese-style chicken and rice – which cooks a complete meal for four people in under 30 minutes using just the Thermomix®!” adds Grace.
If you’d like to see Thermomix® in action, book to host a demo now and get rewarded. Or are you curious to discover how else a Thermomix® can save you money? See how much you could save on your next grocery bill using the new Savings Calculator.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Methodology
This study was commissioned by The Mix Australia and New Zealand and conducted by YouGov online between 31st July – 2nd August 2023. The sample comprised of a nationally representative sample of 1,017 Australians aged 18 years and older. Following the completion, the data was weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest ABS population estimates.
*In the study commissioned by The Mix Australia and New Zealand, based on combined estimated hourly running times for electric ovens, and electric and induction stoves/cooktops.
**Based on an estimated hourly running cost of $0.682 (sourced from Ausgrid data https://www.ausgrid.com.au/-/media/Documents/energy-use/Appliance-energy-use-guide.pdf, adjusted to 2023 assuming an electricity cost of 32.5 cents per kWh based on Canstar Blue’s estimates https://www.canstarblue.com.au/electricity/electricity-costs-kwh/) and 9,808,428 households in Australia (https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing census/2021).
***Based on an estimated hourly running cost of $0.549 (sourced from Ausgrid data https://www.ausgrid.com.au/-/media/Documents/energy-use/Appliance-energy-use-guide.pdf, adjusted to 2023 assuming an electricity cost of 32.5 cents per kWh based on Canstar Blue’s estimates https://www.canstarblue.com.au/electricity/electricity-costs-kwh/) and 9,808,428 households in Australia (https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing census/2021).
****In a test carried out by SLG Prüf- und Zertifizierungs GmbH. 3062-22WW-23-PB002. 2023-01. www.slg.de.com* Tests are based on overseas models and results will vary depending on appliances and individual circumstances.
^Based on recipes most frequently cooked using the Thermomix® recipe platform, Cookidoo.