These hobs are ideal for kitchen islands where you wouldn’t want a hood getting in the way. You’ll have to pay a bit more for this new and innovative technology, but it could be worth it if you’re designing a luxury kitchen.

Many of these hobs come with advanced features such as sensors that sense how much extraction power is required and adjust it accordingly.
 

About Integrated Extractors

Pros and cons of integrated extractors

Some of the advantages of induction hobs with a built-in extractor are:

• No cooker hood required – This is great for kitchen islands, open-plan kitchens and countertops where there isn’t enough space above for a cooker hood. It means you won’t accidentally bang your head on the cooker hood, and if you’re cooking on a kitchen island you can talk to people elsewhere in the kitchen without a hood getting in the way.
• No rising steam – This makes them safer and prevents moisture from accumulating on the wall/kitchen cabinet etc.
• Steam & smells tackled at source – It’s less likely that cooking odours will spread into the room.

However, there are a few drawbacks:

• Vent takes up room on and under the cooktop – You’ll need more space on your kitchen countertop than you would with a regular induction hob. You’ll also need space underneath for the extractor itself and any ducting.
• Expensive – Hobs with an integrated extractor are uniformly expensive. There don’t seem to be any budget models on the market.

How well do built-in extractors work?

The short answer is yes, built-in extractors do work, and a good one will work just as well as a regular extractor. In this video, Steve from Roots Kitchens Bedrooms Bathrooms uses a humidistat sensor to test the effectiveness of a built-in extractor. The video shows that the humidity around the hob returns to normal after the built-in extractor is turned on.

The integrated extractor can be either ducted or use recirculation. If it’s ducted, this means it will be connected to outside. If it uses a recirculation system, it will filter and clean the air using a carbon filter and then release it back into the kitchen.

It’s important to remember that you will need space (usually at least 20 cm) underneath your kitchen countertop for the extractor itself and any ducting.

Integrated extractor vs. downdraft extractor

One alternative to buying an induction hob with a built-in extractor is to buy a separate downdraft extractor. This is installed behind your hob and sucks the air horizontally and then down rather than up, making it a good option if you can’t or don’t want to install a cooker hood over your hob.

Downdraft extractors usually rise up around 40 cm from the hob, so aesthetically the effect is quite different to an integrated extractor that is flush with the hob surface.

Buying a regular induction hob and installing a separate downdraft extractor could be cheaper than buying one of the hobs listed above, though it depends on exactly which products you choose.

Will spilt liquid damage the extractor?

One thing you might worry about with venting hobs is what happens when a pan boils over. Will it damage the extractor?

Most venting hobs are designed to be able to handle water and other spilt liquids, so this won’t be a problem. It will be held within a container, which can then be emptied.

Can you buy a 5-ring induction hob with a built-in extractor?

As far as we are aware, there aren’t any five-ring induction hobs on the market that come with a built-in extractor. The biggest hobs with this feature have four rings.

Conclusion

If we had to pick just one of these induction hobs to recommend, it would be the NEFF N70 V58NHQ4L0 since it is very powerful and highly rated by hundreds of users

The post Best Venting Induction Hobs with an Integrated Extractor (2026 UK) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

How to Calculate Energy Costs

Whilst you would need modern technology to calculate a 100% accurate figure for how much electricity an appliance uses, it is possible to calculate a good estimate using simple mathematics.

To calculate an estimated energy cost, you just need three figures:

1. The first is the wattage of the appliance. This should be on the energy efficiency label if you’re looking at a new appliance, or you should be able to find it on an inconspicuous plate on the appliance itself, or, failing that, in the manufacturer’s guides.
2. You’ll then need to know the average number of hours you use the appliance each day.
3. Finally, you need to know the price you pay per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity. If you don’t know it, you should be able to find your rate per kWh on your energy bill.

Calculating the cost

Once you have the above figures, you’re ready to calculate the cost of running your appliance using our handy calculator.

Here’s how the calculator works.

First, it multiplies the device’s wattage by the number of hours your appliance is typically used each day.

Next, it divides that number by 1000. This converts watts to kWh, which is how you are billed.

Last, it multiplies this figure by the rate your electricity supplier charges you per kWh of electricity.

Example

As an example, if you have a 150W television that you use for five hours a day, this consumes 750 watts (150 x 5 = 750). You then need to divide 750 watts by 1000, to give 0.75 kWh.

Then multiply 0.75 x 24.67 pence (the current average electricity cost per kWh), giving you a running cost per day of 20 pence.

If you want to, you can then multiply this number by seven to give you the cost for a week, or 30 to give you an estimated cost for a month.

Current Energy Costs in the UK in 2026

According to Ofgem , the average household energy costs for the Energy Price Cap (EPC) period from 1 April to 30 June 2026 are:

• 24.67/kWh for electricity
• 5.74p/kWh for gas

Average kWh for Different Household Appliances

We used CompareTheMarket to find these figures.

Kettle

Energy usage: 0.11 kWh per use

The average kettle uses just 0.11 kWh of electricity to heat a single litre of water. Over the course of a year, most households will use their kettle around 1,542 times, giving an annual energy usage of 170 kWh.

Tumble dryer

Energy usage: 1.95 kWh per hour

How much a tumble dryer will cost you can vary greatly depending on the energy rating of the appliance. However, the typical condenser tumble dryer will use around 1.85 kWh of electricity per hour, and most households will use it two or three times a week.

Fridge freezer

Energy usage: 1.1 kWh per day

A typical, energy efficient fridge freezer that runs 24 hours a day will use 408kWh of electricity over the course of a year. On a daily basis, this is approximately 1.1 kWh.

Dishwasher

Energy usage: 0.91 kWh per cycle

The average 13-place dishwasher will use approximately 0.8 kWh of electricity per cycle.

Induction hob

Energy usage: 0.71 kWh per use

Induction hobs are easily one of the most used appliances in our kitchens at an average of 424 uses a year, and fortunately, a single use will only use an average of 0.71 kWh of electricity.

Electric oven

Energy usage: 1.56 kWh per use

Ovens are one of the more costly appliances to run, at approximately 1.56 kWh per typical use. The annual cost will vary depending on how frequently you use your oven and how long for, but on average, they are used 135 times a year.

What Affects the Running Costs of an Appliance?

There are a range of different factors that can influence how much an appliance will cost you to run, depending on the appliance in question. 

Cleanliness and maintenance

One common reason an appliance will use more electricity than you expect is that it is not clean or has been poorly maintained.

This is especially true with appliances that have heating or cooling elements. If the element is dirty or poorly maintained, the appliance will need to use more power to achieve the same output.

Both of these potential problems become more common as appliances age. The older the appliance the more likely it is that components will start to struggle or that there will be a build-up of dirt and debris in all the nooks and crannies.

Airflow

Airflow is another common problem that can cause some appliances to run less efficiently. Poor airflow can lead to appliances overheating, which, in the case of appliances like fridges, will lead to them using more power to keep cool; and that’s on top of the extra wear and tear that the appliance will face.

Settings

The settings you use when you run your appliance will make a big difference too. If you run your washing machine or oven on a higher temperature, it will use more power. If you run it at a lower temperature or use an eco setting, you’ll use less energy.

How Can You Get a More Accurate Energy Calculation?

Whilst our calculator will give you a good indication of how much energy you are using, it will not be 100% accurate. This is because there are loads of variables that cannot be easily taken into account.

As an example, appliances will not use the maximum amount of power all the time.

Many appliances, such as ovens, will instead use the maximum amount of energy whilst they heat up, and then the usage will drop down whilst the temperature is just being maintained.

In addition to this, the ambient temperature, weather conditions, the appliance’s condition and so many more factors can impact the running cost, making the use of a simple formula inaccurate.

Home energy usage monitors

The best way to get an accurate energy reading for your entire home is to use an energy monitor.

These can be standalone, or you may be offered one if you have a smart meter installed. The display should give you a live view of how much energy your home is using at any given time.

These monitors will be able to give you a running tally of how much your energy is costing you, but it can be tricky to determine how much is due to a specific appliance.

If you want to be really specific, you’ll need a monitor that does recognise individual appliances, or, a dedicated appliance monitor.

Appliance energy monitors

Appliance monitors are the gold standard in tracking how much energy an appliance truly is using.

Many of these monitors simply plug into the wall socket and then you can plug the appliance into the monitor. This gives you an accurate, live reading of how much an appliance is using whilst it is on or on standby.

Smart plugs

As an alternative to a traditional, clunky plug-in energy monitor, you could always use a smart plug.

Most smart plugs will be able to give you a reading of how much energy an appliance has used over the course of time.

However, it is worth remembering that this method only works for small appliances like blenders or TVs, and does not work for bigger appliances such as fridges or ovens.

The post Appliance Electricity Cost Calculator (2026 UK) – Price Per kWh appeared first on Chef's Pick.

The power usage of different hob ring types is very similar:

• Average induction hob ring power usage (per hour): 1.95 kW
• Average gas hob ring power usage (per hour): 1.95 kW
• Average ceramic hob ring power usage (per hour): 1.65 kW

However, because induction heats pans in a much more efficient way, it is much quicker to cook with, and will therefore use less energy to produce the same results.

As an example, the average induction hob will use about 0.117 kWh to boil a pan of water, while a gas hob would use 0.269 kWh and a ceramic hob would use 0.203 kWh.

In this article, we’ll explore induction hobs and the reasons why they are so energy efficient. We will also have a chat about the other great things that induction hobs feature too.

So, if you are considering a new hob for your home and want to get the most energy efficient one you can, induction hobs should be your hob of choice.

What Makes Induction Hobs So Energy Efficient?

Induction hobs are more energy efficient than other hob types because there is very little wasted energy. They heat pans directly using induction heating, which involves creating a magnetic field between the hob and the pan.

In contrast, conventional hobs such as gas and electric plate hobs heat pans indirectly, which means a lot of energy is wasted. This explains why conventional hobs feel hot if you put your hands near them, as the wasted energy is escaping into the air rather than heating the pan.

A conventional hob (an old-school gas or electric plate hob), has quite a bit of waste. In fact, about 50% of the energy is wasted. This is because the heat is dissipating around the pot or pan as you are heating it. This means wasted energy, and that costs you money and is bad for the environment.

An induction hob creates a magnetic field. When electricity is passed through the coil (which is underneath the glass), this creates electromagnetic energy. This passes directly into the pan, creating a current that produces heat.

So, your induction hob isn’t actually creating the heat as such. It is the pan and coil together creating the heat. Your hob is just creating a magnetic field, really.

Are Induction Hobs Cheaper to Run Than Gas?

Since induction is more energy efficient than gas, you might assume it would also be cheaper.

However, things aren’t that straightforward, since gas is cheaper than electricity.

During the current energy price cap (EPC) period from 1 April to 30 June 2026, the average energy costs per kWh in the UK are:

• 24.67p/kWh for electricity
• 5.74p/kWh for gas

Since gas is so much cheaper, this means that gas hobs are actually cheaper to run than induction hobs, despite being less efficient.

According to our calculations, the cost of running the average induction hob ring for one hour would be 48.1p, whereas a gas hob ring would cost just 11.2p to run for an hour.

However, since induction heats pans much more quickly than gas, you wouldn’t need to use it for as long compared to a gas hob, so the cost difference would’t be so great.

Induction hobs are cheaper to run than other electric hobs, but aren’t as cheap as gas hobs since gas prices are so much lower per kWh.

Benefits of Induction Hobs

Induction hobs are incredibly energy efficient and will help you lower your carbon footprint. However, there are loads of other benefits to an induction hob too.

Safety

For starters, these hobs are extremely safe. Only the pan generates heat. Also, because of the way an induction hob works, if a pan isn’t in contact with the surface, the hob shuts that ring off. It will also shut the element off if a pan is too small for that element.

Easy to clean

Also, induction hobs are very easy to clean. As the surface of an induction hob doesn’t heat up anywhere near the amount of any other hob type, any food that spills on an induction hob won’t burn.

Other Energy-Saving Cooking Appliances

Ovens and hobs are the main two cooking appliances found in all UK homes. However, there are other smaller cooking units you might want to include in your energy efficient kitchen. For example, microwaves, slow cookers, and air fryers.

A microwave is the most energy-efficient cooking appliance found in the kitchen, topping both an oven and a hob in terms of energy usage.

They cook food extremely quicky and so don’t use as much energy. In fact, they are up to 80% more efficient than a conventional oven!

However, while microwaves are an energy-efficient alternative for reheating food or cooking vegetables, they’re not suitable for cooking everything.

Thankfully, slow cookers and air fryers are a great oven-alternative to cook the foods that microwaves can’t.

The average slow cooker can use used on the highest energy setting for eight hours and only use 1.68 kWh of energy. This is because these appliances use a low current and trap heat inside the pot to facilitate cooking.

Air fryers don’t need any preheating and cook most things within 5 minutes. Therefore, they are also an efficient way of cooking!

How to Cook Using Less Energy & Electricity

Fitting your kitchen out with an induction hob and convection oven is a great step to a more eco-friendly home.

Cooking using your cooktop instead of the oven is also beneficial. And using a microwave, slow cooker, and air fryer in place of your oven further helps to cut energy usage, reduce your household bills, and better our planet.

However, appliances are only half of the equation! Here are some other considerations for energy-efficient cooking you can use to keep costs down.

1. Cook food in bulk

A great way to reduce your energy usage is to cook food in bulk. For example, cooking a lot of food at once in your oven means you can use more of the energy to cook food and less to heat empty oven space.

You can then freeze or refrigerate leftovers and reheat them using your microwave – the most energy-efficient appliance of them all.

2. Choose the right cookware

Choosing the right cookware can also impact your energy usage. A big consideration is the size of the pots and pans you use.

You should always use cookware that is the right size for the food you’re cooking.

Otherwise, additional energy has to be used to heat up a larger than necessary pan and the excess water within in.

Material is important as well. When choosing oven dishes, glass and ceramic cookware is best. Both of these materials are slower to heat than metal but hold heat for a long time, helping food to cook more quickly.

On the other hand, copper is a great option for pots and pans. It heats up more quickly than metals such as stainless steel, reducing cooking time and improving efficiency.

Whenever you cook on the stove, always ensure you put a lid on the pot as well. By covering your pots and pans, you’re helping to trap the heat inside the pan.

This is similar to how a slow cooker works and ensures more of the heat generated goes into cooking.

3. Use appliances the right way

Using the right appliances for cooking is important, but using your appliances the right way is also crucial. For example:

• Always use a burner ring that is the same size of the pan you’re using
• Turn down the heat of the hob to a simmer once the liquid has reached boiling point
• Never open the oven door during cooking as this lets heat escape
• Always use flat-bottomed pans with an electric hob to help heat the pan more quickly
• Keep your appliances clean so no heat is absorbed by debris and old food
• Turn an electric oven off 10 minutes before the timer to complete cooking without using additional energy

Conclusion

If you want the most energy efficient hob on the market, induction has to be your choice. They aren’t cheap, but they are fantastic.

The amazing energy savings from an induction hob is just one of the many benefits to this hob type. Please explore our website further for loads more information about hobs, ovens and all kinds of cookware.

The post What’s the Most Energy Efficient Hob Type? appeared first on Chef's Pick.

Running costs, however, are also worth considering. While oven running costs are unlikely to break the bank, the cost of running certain types of ovens can be quite shocking.

So, let’s find out if gas ovens are cheaper to run than electric ovens, shall we?

Cost of Running a Gas Oven

The average gas oven uses roughly 1.24 kWh of energy per use.

To arrive at this figure, we looked at five of the most popular gas ovens in the UK and calculated the average energy use based on figures from AO.com:

• Hisense BI6061HGSUK – 0.97 Kwh
• Smeg Cucina AOSF64M3G2 – 1.15 Kwh
• Indesit IDG6GW – 1.44 Kwh
• Hotpoint HDG5GDCB – 1.25 Kwh
• Beko KA52NEW – 1.39 Kwh

The average gas price in the UK is 5.74 per kWh for the price cap period from 1 April to 30 June 2026 .

This means that the average gas oven costs 1.24 x 5.74 = 7.1 pence per use.

Cost of Running an Electric Oven

The average electric oven uses 0.89 kWh of energy per use.

To arrive at this figure, we looked at ten of the most popular electric ovens in the UK and calculated the average energy use based on figures from AO.com:

• AEG DUB331110M – 0.78 kWh per use
• Beko RecycledNet BBRDF21000X – 0.79 kWh per use
• Bosch Serie 2 NBS113BR0B – 0.8 kWh per use
• Bosch Serie 4 HBS573BB0B – 0.99 kWh per use
• Hotpoint Class 2 SA2844HIX – 1.05 kWh per use
• Indesit Aria IDU6340IX – 0.96 kWh per use
• NEFF N30 U1CHC0AN0B – 0.81 kWh per use
• NEFF N50 B2ACH7HH0B – 0.99 kWh per use
• Smeg Victoria DOSF6920N1 – 0.99 kWh per use
• Zanussi ZPHNL3X1 – 0.71 kWh per use

The average electricity price in the UK is 24.67p per kWh for the price cap period from 1 April to 30 June 2026.

This means that the average electric oven costs 0.89 x 24.67 = 22 pence per use.

Gas vs. Electric Oven Running Costs

According to our research, electric ovens are more than twice as expensive to run as gas ovens on average.

Even though electric ovens are more energy efficient and use less energy to run, they are still more expensive than gas since electricity prices are so high.

Electricity costs more than three times as much as gas per kilowatt hour, so it’s not surprising that gas ovens are cheaper to run.

The average gas oven costs 7.4 pence per use, while the average electric oven costs 24.6 pence.

If you use your oven once a day, here is how that would work out:

• Per day: 7.1 pence for a gas oven; 22 pence for an electric oven.
• Per week: £0.50 for a gas oven; £1.54 for an electric oven.
• Per month: £2.16 for a gas oven; £6.69 for an electric oven.
• Per year: £25.92 for a gas oven; £80.30 for an electric oven.

This means you could save over £50 a year by using a gas oven instead of an electric oven with today’s prices.

There aren’t as many gas ovens as electric ovens on the market these days, but they are still available and aren’t being phased out yet.

However, if you are buying a new oven, you need to consider installation costs as well as running costs.

Should You Choose a Gas or Electric Oven?

Gas is much cheaper to run than electric. However, this doesn’t mean that a gas oven is a right oven for you.

For example, if you don’t have a gas hook-up for your oven already, the cost of having one installed will likely be higher than any of the savings you’ll get from the oven.

You also need to factor in which oven you prefer to use. Some people swear by gas, others swear by electric. I can say from experience, having owned electric ovens all my life, that switching to gas in my first ever rented property was a big learning curve.

Electric ovens

There is no doubt that gas ovens are brilliant tools, but many of us prefer electric.

Electric ovens are typically a bit cheaper to install, and the initial cost is often cheaper than a gas oven. They also cook with dry heat, so they are much better for baking and roasting (although many gas fans will argue this case).

Most electric ovens also have fans nowadays, so the temperature in the oven is much more stable and consistent and food cooks more evenly. Electric hobs are also much easier to clean than gas hobs.

Of course, electric ovens do heat up a lot slower than gas ovens. In general, they take about 10 minutes longer to heat up than gas ovens. They are also much less responsive to temperature changes as well.

Gas ovens

Gas gives you much more control than electric. You can really dial in a temperature on a gas hob or oven, and it responds almost instantly.

Gas is less forgiving than electric, though, so burning your food is very easy to do in a gas oven. Gas cookers also tend to be a bit more expensive to buy and install than their electric counterparts, but budget gas cookers are available.

Safety is another concern with gas, of course, but all gas ovens have strict safety guidelines they must adhere to, so safety isn’t something that should factor into your decision too much.

The Pros and Cons of Gas Ovens

Pros

• Cheaper to run
• Precise and instant temperature changes

Cons

• Initial cost and installation fees
• Burning food if you aren’t used to cooking with gas

The Pros and Cons of Electric Ovens

Pros

• Cheaper initial cost and installation
• Easier to clean and maintain
• Consistent temperatures (in fan ovens)

Cons

• Delayed temperature changes

Conclusion

As you can see, both gas and electric ovens have their pros and cons, and it is really up to you to decide which fuel type you’ll prefer.

Gas is certainly the cheaper of the two ovens to run. They cost about half as much as electric ovens, and you could save over £50 each year by buying a gas oven, unless gas becomes more expensive relative to electricity in the future. However, it ultimately comes down to which oven you prefer to use.

We hope this look at which type of oven is cheaper to run has helped you decide which oven you’ll buy next. If you want to see the best gas cookers or electric ovens available in the UK right now, please explore Chef’s Pick further.

The post Gas vs. Electric Oven Running Costs (2026 UK) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

The average slow cooker uses between roughly 0.72 and 1.44 kWh to cook a meal over the course of four to eight hours. Based on the current average energy price of 24.67 pence per kWh for the Energy Price Cap (EPC) period from 1 April to 30 June 2026, this works out at a cost of between 18p and 36p per meal.

Factors That Affect the Electricity Usage of Slow Cookers

Whilst the average slow cooker will cost around 18-36 pence to cook a single meal, there are multiple factors that affect the average electricity usage of slow cookers in the UK, that will ultimately determine how much the appliance will cost you in electricity costs.

Length of cooking time

The number of hours a slow cooker is used for contributes to the total amount of electricity it will use. The longer you have your slow cooker on, the more electricity it will use.

Size

Slow cookers come in different sizes. The size of the slow cooker also contributes to its average electricity usage, with smaller slow cookers using less electricity.

Type of dish cooked

Different recipes require different settings. Some recipes will need cooking on low, whilst others will need cooking on high. Recipes cooked on low will use less electricity per hour compared to those that are cooked on high.

Average Running Cost of a Slow Cooker in the UK

There are a wide range of factors that will influence how much it costs to run a slow cooker.

The exact amount of electricity that is used by any slow cooker on the low and high modes varies depending on the appliance and how it is being used, but on average, it is between 75 and 150 watts on low, and 150 and 210 watts on high.

If we take a value in the middle of 110 watts on low and 180 watts on high, we get the following costs:

• 4 hours on a high setting = 0.18 kWh x 4 = 0.72 kWh of energy used = 18p
• 8 hours on low setting = 0.11 kWh x 8 = 0.88 kWh of energy used = 22p
• 8 hours on a high setting = 0.18 kWh x 8 = 1.44 kWh of energy used = 36p

How accurate are these estimates?

Please note, our figures are based on the slow cooker running at the maximum energy usage for the entire cooking period.

It is worth remembering that most of the energy usage will come when the slow cooker is heating up, and it will use much less when it is just maintaining the cooking temperature.

This means your slow cooker will most likely use less energy than our estimated averages; these are simply a guideline and should be considered a maximum.

To find out exactly how much electricity your slow cooker is using, you could use an electricity usage monitor like the Mecheer Power Meter, which can accurately measure the power usage of appliances.

The post How Much Electricity Does a Slow Cooker Use in the UK? (2026) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

However, the answer isn’t so simple when you compare them to other cooking methods such as gas.

In this article, we’ll look at average induction hob energy usage and running costs.

Is Induction Really More Expensive to Run Than Gas or Ceramic?

Based on the figures above, an induction hob is more than three times more expensive to run per hour than a gas hob. However, because induction hobs are so much more energy-efficient, you won’t need to leave it on as long, so it won’t be quite as expensive compared to gas.

If you look purely at energy usage per hour, you would conclude that induction hobs are four times more expensive to run than gas hobs. However, when the energy efficiency of induction is taken into account, we estimate that running costs will be closer to twice those of a gas hob, not four times.

Induction can heat and boil water much quicker than gas, so you will find you don’t need to leave your induction hob turned on for as long.

Induction hobs also work out cheaper to run than ceramic electric hobs in practice, since they are much more efficient. This goes some way to making up for the higher up-front cost of buying an induction hob.

This study published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that with induction cooking, as much as 90% of the energy consumed is transferred to the food, compared to just 40% for gas and 74% for regular electric hobs.

For a practical example, let’s look at how much it would cost to boil a pan of water, taking into account the efficiency of different hob types.

According to research from Which?, this is how long it takes to boil a large pan of water on the average hob:

• Induction hob: 3.56 mins
• Gas hob: 8.27 minutes
• Electric ceramic hob: 7.38 minutes

This means that induction hobs are about twice as fast as other hob types.

Based on this and the figures given above, the cost of boiling a large pan of water would be as follows for the different hob types:

• Induction hob: 0.06 (hours) x 1.95 (kW) x 24.67p (price per kWh) = 2.9p
• Gas hob: 0.138 (hours) x 1.95 (kW) x 5.74p (price per kWh) = 1.5p
• Ceramic hob: 0.123 (hours) x 1.65 (kW) x 24.67p (price per kWh) = 5p

As you can see, induction is more expensive to run than gas despite being quicker and more energy efficient. However, the running costs are more similar than you’d expect if you just compared per-hour costs, because induction is much quicker. Ceramic is almost three times as expensive as gas.

Cost of Buying an Induction Hob

Induction hobs tend to be more expensive than gas and ceramic electric hobs.

At the time of writing, the most popular induction hobs in the UK cost from around £150 to over £2,000, with a median price of about £500.

Gas hobs are cheaper to buy, starting at around £80 and rarely costing more than £500. The median price of a gas hob is around £200.

Electric ceramic hobs are priced somewhere in the middle, costing from about £120 to £700, with a median price of around £250

If you cook a lot, it will be worth investing in an induction hob rather than a ceramic hob, as the energy savings should pay for themselves well before it’s time to replace the hob. You’ll also be able to enjoy the greater responsiveness and speed of induction cooking.

However, if you only cook occasionally and are on a budget, a ceramic hob might be a better choice. Gas remains the cheapest option.

The post How Much Does an Induction Hob Cost to Run? (2026 UK) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

Changing energy providers can be a great way of saving money, of course. However, doing that alone won’t help you save energy.

Knowing how much an electric oven costs to run may make you think about how you use it and may change your energy-using habits.

So, let’s see just how much it takes to run an electric oven in the UK, shall we?

Cost of Running an Electric Oven in the UK

The average electric oven in the UK uses about 0.89 kWh of energy per use.

To calculate this figure, we found ten of the most popular electric ovens on AO.com and calculated the average energy use:

• AEG DUB331110M – 0.78 kWh per use
• Beko RecycledNet BBRDF21000X – 0.79 kWh per use
• Bosch Serie 2 NBS113BR0B – 0.8 kWh per use
• Bosch Serie 4 HBS573BB0B – 0.99 kWh per use
• Hotpoint Class 2 SA2844HIX – 1.05 kWh per use
• Indesit Aria IDU6340IX – 0.96 kWh per use
• NEFF N30 U1CHC0AN0B – 0.81 kWh per use
• NEFF N50 B2ACH7HH0B – 0.99 kWh per use
• Smeg Victoria DOSF6920N1 – 0.99 kWh per use
• Zanussi ZPHNL3X1 – 0.71 kWh per use

Standard electricity costs are 24.67 pence per kWh in the UK for the Energy Price Cap (EPC) period from 1 April to 30 June 2026.

Therefore, the average electric oven in the UK costs 0.89 x 24.67 = 22p per use.

Based on this, here is how much your electric oven will cost you if you use it once a day:

• 22p per day
• £1.54 per week
• £6.68 per month
• £80.14 per year

Now, as you may know, these electricity prices will vary from oven to oven. In fact, the costs above will vary if you use the hob more than the oven.

Also, these costs vary depending on how energy efficient your oven is too. So, the figures above are extremely rough.

You should be able to find out the energy usage of your particular oven by searching for the model number online or looking at your user manual.

However, exactly how much energy you use depends on how you use the oven, for example how high you heat it and whether or not you open the door frequently.

How Can You Reduce the Running Costs of an Electric Oven?

There isn’t really a good way of improving the running costs of an existing electric oven. You can’t exactly cook things on a higher temperature for shorter amounts of time, as you’ll start burning all your food.

If you want to decrease the energy your oven is using, your best chance is to buy a new oven.

If your oven is five years old or older, it may no longer be as energy efficient as a new one.

Even if your oven was very efficient when it was new, advances in oven efficiency in the last few years might mean that your current oven is no longer the most energy-efficient model out there.

Of course, buying a new oven won’t help you save money in the short term! The only real way to save money and energy in the kitchen without buying all new appliances is to turn them off at the wall after using them.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, you could save around £45 a year just by avoiding leaving appliances on standby.

How to Save Electricity When Choosing an Oven

1. Consider the energy consumption rating

Buying an oven that has a good energy rating is a good way of saving money. Look for an energy rating of A on products released since March 2021 when the new energy rating scale was introduced, or products rated A++ or A+++ on products released before then. These ovens use less energy to heat up and retain their heat while cooking, so it means that your oven isn’t constantly using electric to keep the heat up.

You can find out the energy consumption rating of any oven in the specification section on most retailer websites.

However, a higher energy rating doesn’t always reflect a low energy consumption rating. Oven size comes into play too—smaller ovens will use less electricity even if they are not technically more energy efficient.

Still, bear in mind that you may only save pennies a week no matter how low the energy consumption is.

2. Keep the oven door closed

Another good way of saving electricity while you are cooking is to keep the oven door close as much as possible. Whenever you open an oven door, it allows the heat to escape, and your oven must then heat the oven up again. So, when you are cooking, keep the oven door close as much as possible.

3. Use cookware that heats up quick and retains heat

Saving electricity on the hob is difficult. You can use cookware that holds heat in really well or use really thin cookware, so it heats up nice and quickly.

There are drawbacks to both types of cookware, though. For example, using cookware that holds heat nicely, cast iron cookware, for example, means that there is a longer wait time for it to reach a good temperature.

Using cookware that is thinner means that it will heat up faster, but the cookware won’t hold the heat in as well so you will need to keep the temperature of your hob higher.

So, in the case of the hob, it can be very tricky to make any notable savings by changing cookware. Instead, it is better to buy a more energy-efficient hob.

The post How Much Does an Electric Oven Cost to Run in the UK? (2026) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

This is hardly ideal when you want to have a quiet evening!

We put up with this noise because it’s better than letting the smell of fried mackerel make our home uninhabitable.

Cooker hoods are essential as they take the bad smells and damp air out of our kitchens and either take it outside or filter it back into our kitchens.

However, surely there is a quiet cooker hood that does this job just as well as the loud cooker hoods on the market?

Yes, there is. In fact, here are seven cooker hoods that will do a great job of removing smells and damp air from your kitchen while never producing a noice above 70 decibels.

We’ve ordered them by maximum noise level, with the quietest first. The maximum noise level is how much noise the hood will make on the highest setting, or the booster setting if the product has one. We’ve also listed the minimum noise level, which is how loud it will be on the lowest setting.

Let’s take a look at these amazing cooker hoods, shall we?

FAQs on Cooker Hoods

How loud is the average cooker hood?

Cooker hoods usually produce between about 60 and 75 decibels (dB) of noise on their highest settings.

60 dB is roughly the noise of a normal conversation. Anything at this level or below can be considered ‘quiet’ for a cooker hood.

Cooker hoods that produce 70 dB or more of noise will sound quite loud. To give you an idea, 75 dB is about as loud as a vacuum cleaner.

Can you get a silent cooker hood?

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to get a completely silent cooker hood. The quietest cooker hood we could find still has a maximum noise level of 52 decibels, which is slightly louder than the hum of a refrigerator.

It’s impossible to manufacture a cooker hood or extraction fan that is completely silent, but some models are quiet enough that you’ll barely notice them.

The quietest models use brushless motors, which are quieter than the standard motors in more old-fashioned cooker hoods, as well as being much more energy efficient.

What size cooker hood do I need?

The size of a cooker hood is usually given by its width.

Popular sizes include 60 cm, 70 cm and 90 cm. Often the exact width is slightly less, for example 59.8 cm rather than 60 cm.

In general, a cooker hood should be about the same size as the hob that it is covering. If you have more space, you may prefer to choose a larger hood.

Are all cooker hoods noisy?

Not all cooker hoods offer the same speed, power and performance. This difference means that there can be a great difference in noise level between different models and brands.

Most cooker hoods available have a noise level of between 60 and 70 decibels on the highest setting, which for most people, is a comfortable noise level.

If you are sensitive to noise, try to stick to a cooker hood that produces less than 70 dB on the maximum setting.

How Can I Make My Kitchen Extractor Quieter?

As mentioned above, not all cooker hoods have the same operating noise level. No matter how quiet your cooker hood should be, there are always steps that you can take to keep the noise level to its absolute minimum.

1. Run at the lowest speed

One of the easiest ways to keep a cooker hood as quiet as possible is to run it at the lowest speed for your needs.

The majority of modern cooker hoods have variable speeds and power settings that you can choose from depending on your needs.

Whilst it is nice to have a very powerful cooker hood that can deal with the smell of burning food and strong vapours easily, you don’t need to use the highest setting each and every time you cook a meal.

2. Keep the filters clean

Grease filters can end up clogged up very quickly. If the filters are not clean, you’ll find that you need to use increasingly higher settings to get the same level of performance out of your cooker hood.

The grease filters in most modern cooker hoods are now very easy to clean, and can generally just be rinsed out with hot water.

By rinsing the grease filters a couple of times a week, you’ll be able to keep your cooker hood operating at its very best.

3. Make sure everything is tight

Loose bolts and components are one of the leading causes of loud noises in appliances. Over time, screws and bolts can work loose, leading to annoying rattling noises.

If you have noticed annoying rattling noises, turn the cooker hood off completely, and check over it thoroughly to make sure that all of the screws, bolts and panels are installed correctly. If they’re loose, tighten them up before using the appliance again.

4. Check the ducting

There are a range of issues with ducting that can lead to increased noise levels, these include the type of pipe and the size.

Size of the ducting

This issue is more common in kitchens where the cooker hood is being upgraded. If the ducting is too small for the cooker hood, it will over-extend. This will lead to louder noises and can cause increased energy usage too.

Type of ducting

The type of ducting that you are using can have a major impact on the noise level too. Rigid piping is much more likely to vibrate than flexible pipes, dramatically increasing the noise level. If you can, swap to flexible ducting instead of rigid metal ducting.

Ducting blockages

If there is a blockage from a damaged component or a build-up of grime in the ducting itself, you’ll also notice an increase in noise level as the air has to work harder to move through the piping.

Consider installing a duct damper

If the excess noise seems to be coming from your ducting but it is a suitable size and you are using flexible ducting, consider installing a duct damper.

A duct damper is an optional device that can be installed at the end of the ducting to reduce the noise caused by turbulent air. Some of these devices need a power supply, but not all.

Choosing the Right Cooker Hood

Cooker hoods are designed to remove smoke, smells and airborne grease from your kitchen to keep it fresh. They all have different features; some are more efficient and certain ones will also remove steam, so it’s important you make the right choice. Here’s how.

If you’re designing a new kitchen, you can adapt your design to accommodate a particular type of cooker hood. Otherwise, for an existing kitchen, the choice may depend on the current layout.

The main styles are:

• Visor — A traditional design that takes up little space and is often the cheapest and most basic
• Canopy — Generally concealed beneath an overhead cupboard or in a canopy housing and so is hardly noticeable
• Chimney — Fits against a wall and has a large canopy and chimney above so it’s generally installed as a feature but requires plenty of space. Some newer models have a vertical format that angles out from the wall and so protrudes less.
• Integrated — Concealed behind a cupboard door and so is completely unobtrusive and pulled out to activate.
• Island — Applies when you have a cooking island and is attached to the ceiling directly above it. It creates a stylish feature but tends to be the most expensive.
• Ceiling — Fits flush to the ceiling and so is unobtrusive but requires a remote control to operate.
• Telescopic — Similar to a visor hood but is extended when in use and has a flat profile at other times.
• Downdraft — Hidden in the worktop when not in use and rises when needed with air channelled down towards it.

The hood you choose should generally be as wide as your hob and can be wider if you have the space available. It should be positioned about 75 cm above the hob although ceiling-mounted ones will inevitably be higher.

Where the air goes — extracted or recirculating

All cooker hoods work in a similar manner up to a point, in that a fan draws air into the hood and then passes it through a filter that traps the grease.

However, extracting hoods remove the air outside through ducts while recycling hoods pass it through a charcoal filter to absorb the cooking smells before re-introducing the air into the kitchen.

Recirculating hoods are therefore easiest to install but have a reduced extraction rate due to the level of processing. Extracting hoods are most suitable for a cooker installed against an external wall since the duct can go straight out.

For island and ceiling hoods, the ducting has to run in the direction of the joists while ducting is generally through the floor for downdraft hoods, which makes installation more complex.

When buying an extracting hood, you will need to also buy the necessary ducting. However, this type has the added benefit of also removing steam and so reduces the level of condensation in your kitchen.

Getting the performance required

Since the purpose of the cooker hood is to remove smoke and smells, you want one that will do this efficiently. The recommendation is that a cooker hood should be capable of changing the air in a kitchen about ten times an hour.

To determine the required extraction rate for your kitchen, calculate the room’s volume (height x width x depth) in cubic metres and multiply by ten.

Compare this to the published extraction rate for each cooker hood and choose one with at least this rate. For island and ceiling cooker hoods, go for a higher rate (at least 800 cubic metres per hour) since the hood will be positioned further away from the hob.

If your chosen cooker hood can either recycle the air or duct it out, you should normally add 30% to the required extraction rate for recycling. Similarly, extraction may be reduced for a ducted hood if the ducting is long and has several bends.

Cooker hoods are generally relatively quiet in operation but some are noisier than others, typically the larger and more powerful ones. Check the noise rating if this is important and also check the energy efficiency rating if you’re looking for cheap operation.

Other things to consider

Though most cooker hoods have similarities and the main considerations are price, performance, size and type, they do have other features that may affect your decision:

• Most hoods have one or more lights to illuminate the hob and you may want LED versions for energy efficiency.
• Consider the accessibility and simplicity of the controls and if a remote is provided or necessary to make operation easier.
• Choose a style that fits in with your kitchen or get a concealed version.
• Determine if the grease filter is easy to remove and clean, and if replaceable filters are needed and their cost.
• If you regularly cook smelly food, consider a cooker hood with a high-power boost option for quick removal.
• For recirculating hoods, check the costs and frequency of replacement for the charcoal filters.

Aside from this, your budget will be an obvious factor and you’ll generally be swayed towards a model that will look really nice in your kitchen. However, make sure it will do the job.

Conclusion

The quietest cooker hood we could find when researching this article was the Elica Skydome H30, which is a 100 cm ceiling hood with a minimum noise level of 40 decibels and a maximum noise level of 53 decibels.

We hope this look at the quietest cooker hoods in the UK has been helpful in improving the level of noise in your home. For even more kitchen products that can help you make your kitchen the heart of your home, please explore our website further.

The post The Quietest Cooker Hoods & Extractor Fans (2026 UK) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

Since the style of cooker hood affects extraction rates, we’ve decided to look at the most powerful models in each different category of cooker hood.

About Cooker Hood Extraction Rates

How is extraction rate measured?

The extraction rate of a cooker hood is measured in cubic metres of air extracted per hour, usually written as m³/hour.

What is a good extraction rate for cooker hoods?

The average kitchen in the UK is roughly 30 m³. This means that it in theory, it would only take 6 minutes of having a 300 m³/hour cooker hood on full to replace all the air in the kitchen.

One formula used to calculate what extraction rate you need is the following:

• kitchen width x kitchen length x kitchen height x 10 (all units in metres)

Therefore, a kitchen that was 4 metres wide by 6 metres long and 2.6 metres high would require an extraction rate of:

4m x 6m x 2.6m x 10 = 624 m³/hour

The average extraction rate of a domestic cooker hood in the UK appears to be around 300-500 m³/hour, so anything above that is relatively powerful.

Chimney and canopy hoods tend to offer the highest extraction rates while integrated and visor hoods usually have quite low extraction rates.

Cooker hood extraction rate calculator

Visor Hoods

At the time of writing, we couldn’t find any visor hoods that can extract more that 500 m³ of air per hour. If you want something with a very high extraction rate, consider a different type of cooker hood.

What’s the Most Powerful Cooker Hood on the Market?

When researching this article, the most powerful cooker hood we could find was the SIA DD90BL 90cm Downdraft Cooker Hood, which has a maximum extraction rate of 850 m³/hour. 

The post The Most Powerful Cooker Hoods on the Market (2026 UK) appeared first on Chef's Pick.

The average electric oven has a power rating of around 3 kW on full power, while the average mini oven has a power rating of around 1.75 kW.

Average electricity prices in the UK are 24.67 pence for the period from 1 April to 30 June 2026 .

Therefore, if you ran the average electric oven at full power for an hour, it would cost 3 x 24.67 = 74 pence.

If you ran the average mini oven at full power for an hour, it would cost 1.75 x 24.67 = 43 pence.

As well as being cheaper to run per hour, mini ovens also heat up a lot faster than standard electric ovens. This is mainly because the space that needs heating up is a lot smaller. This means you spend less time waiting for the oven to heat up, and this does help save some money too.

Installation Costs

Most electric ovens need to be installed by a qualified engineer. This means that you must factor those installation costs into the cost of the cooker.

Installation costs for a standard electric cooker can range from £50-£100. That is the price of a mini oven! A mini oven doesn’t need to be installed because they have a standard UK plug that will work in any socket in your kitchen.

Purchase Cost

Mini ovens start from around about £50 and can reach over £200 for very high-end models with every cooking function you could need.

The cheapest electric cooker we could find while researching this article was £199. If you’re looking for a really high-end electric oven though, you’re looking at over a thousand pounds.

We aren’t saying that mini ovens are for everyone. A lot of us love our big ovens and could never part with them because we can cook our dinner, prep our lunches for the week and even grill a quick snack as we do it.

However, if a mini oven suits your way of life, perhaps you want to save space in your kitchen, or you live alone and simply don’t need a massive oven, the cost benefits are actually very impressive.

Not only are mini ovens far cheaper to run, but they are also cheaper to buy, and you don’t need someone to install one either.

We hope this look at mini ovens and how cheap they are to run has been helpful. See our list of the best countertop mini ovens if you need help choosing one!

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