The energy firm looked at the cost of using each appliance for the average daily amount of time. It found electric cookers cost 87p a day (£316 a year) to run compared to microwaves which cost 8p a day (£30 a year). Air fryers cost 14p a day to run and microwaves 16p.

Utilita has partnered with budget supermarket Iceland to run its Shop Smart, Cook Savvy initiative. As part of the initiative, it calculated the true cost of running cooking appliances in a bid to help ‘oven-default’ households save money by switching appliances.

A survey by the energy firm found that more than half (52%) of UK households don’t know which of their cooking appliances cost more to run. Households spend approximately 43 minutes cooking each day and almost half (42%) admitted to using the oven by default for the main part of their cooking needs.

Utilita and Iceland’s Shop Smart, Cook Savvy collaboration will officially launch in early September to help households better understand the cost of cooking, and to help identify the most economical cooking methods available to them.

As part of the initiative, Iceland will overhaul its own-product packaging to reflect more energy efficient cooking appliances and methods. Meanwhile a national ‘Cooking High 5’ consumer awareness tour, facilitated by Utilita, will be held outside Iceland stores.

As part of the partnership, both brands will sell a 4.5l air fryer for just £35. Utilita says people who purchase the air fryer will make their investment back in about 47 days of not using their oven.

Bill Bullen, Utilita founder and CEO, said: “For as long as we can remember, our kitchens have been designed around the oven being the main cooking method, which isn’t the case for many households today. Much more economical cooking appliances such as air fryers, slow cookers and microwaves have become increasingly more popular. However, the cooking instructions on food packets haven’t reflected this.

“Utilita and Iceland are closely aligned in our mission to help households make their money go further. There are so many factors that neither Richard nor I can control today, but the cost of cooking is mutual ground that we can help consumers with. This unique partnership will hopefully urge other supermarkets to do the same and help consumers choose the most economical cooking methods.”

Richard Walker, Iceland’s managing director, said: “Our Shop Smart, Cook Savvy collaboration with Utilita is so important, as it shines a light on the relationship between what we buy and how much energy we use cooking it, helping to empower our customers and provide them with access to information that can help stretch their budgets further.”