Do you know different food items that you cook using your air fryer require a specific wattage? While frozen foods, meat, and chicken need a high wattage, vegetables, and eggs don’t.
Moreover, air fryer wattage determines how fast your air fryer heats up and cooks your food. Interesting, right!
To help you decide whether you need a high wattage or a low wattage air fryer, we’ve pulled this detailed guide together.
The rest of this article will cover all of the ins and outs of high as well as low wattage air fryers:
- Types of air fryer wattages (based on your needs)
- Pros and cons of low and high wattage air fryers (To help you decide better)
- Are air fryers energy efficient? (How exactly?)
- How much power do air fryers use? (considering electricity bills)
- Are Air Fryers Economical? (Better than ovens)
Now let’s get started!
Why Does Air Fryer Wattage Matter?
Yes, you guessed it right! Your air fryer wattage directly impacts the cooking time of food. The higher the wattage, the less will be the cooking time and vice versa.
It’s important to know the wattage specifications of your air fryer before you decide to get one as it will reflect on your electricity bills.
Your air fryer wattage impacts 4 things:
- Amount of food being cooked at a time
- The type of food being cooked
- Preheat time
- Power consumption
The more servings you cook at a time using your air fryer, the more time it’ll take. However, by using a high wattage air fryer, you can considerably reduce the cooking times.
Similarly, the fresh foods and eggs take less time in the air fryer while meat and frozen food take longer. Having said that, the high wattage air fryer can cook all the tough and frozen meat cuts contrary to a low wattage air fryer.
Moreover, the high wattage air fryers don’t require any preheating time but a low wattage air fryer requires to be preheated most of the time.
Similarly, if you’re looking out for a budget-friendly air fryer that doesn’t leave you with hefty piles of power bills, opt for a low-wattage air fryer. However, the efficiency of a high wattage air fryer is remarkable, putting aside its equally higher power consumption.
LEARN MORE: How To Stop Air Fryer From Beeping?
How Much Power Do Air Fryers Use? (Considering Electricity Bills)
The air fryer wattage can differ from unit to unit. However, an average air fryer uses 1400 Watts of power. As a rule of thumb, the higher the air fryer wattage, the less the cooking time.
While air fryer wattage can be as low as 500 and as high as 2600 watts, however, in the United States, 1000 to 1500 watts air fryers are more popular owing to the national home outlet limit of 1800 watts.
Types of Air Fryer Wattages (Based on Your Needs)
800-900 Wattage Air Fryer
The air fryers falling in the wattage range of 800 to 900 watts are low-watt air fryers.
They are best for cooking fresh or semi-fresh meals like an omelet, and vegetables like carrots, broccoli, green beans, etc.
However, they’re not recommended for cooking frozen foods, proteins, and baking products.
900-1000 Wattage Air Fryer
The air fryers of this wattage range are also low-wattage air fryers that cook the food at a considerably slow speed.
The type of foods that are best cooked in this watt range is frozen potato products like fries, waffles, hash browns as well as chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, and sausages.
Air fryers in this range are good for small families opting to eat non-fatty healthy foods. However, they may require extra preheating and cooking times compared to the high-watt air fryers.
1000-1200 Wattage Air Fryer
An air fryer having a 1000-1200 wattage is a high watt air fryer. Since proteins require a high cooking temperature, high wattage air fryers are best for cooking proteins like meat steaks, strips, fritters, wings, and so on.
The air fryers falling in this range are all-rounders for routinely cooking.
They are perfect for families as it’s capable of cooking up to 5 pounds of frozen snacks.
1200-1300 Wattage Air Fryer
A 1200-1300 watts air fryer is also high wattage that ensures it heats up in a flash. Not only can it cook all frozen foods but it is also capable of searing and roasting.
High-wattage air fryers also come with a bigger basket that can cook more servings compared to a low-wattage air fryer.
The air fryers in this range are usually used by big families, guests, and even for commercial uses.
1400-1500 Wattage Air Fryer
This type of high-wattage air fryer mimics an oven that helps you bake hassle-free.
From cakes to puddings and bread to lasagnas, baking everything is possible when you have a 1500-watt air fryer.
Note: In the United States, most home outlets only support appliances below 1800 watts. So, it’s best to buy an air fryer that’s below 1800 watts to prevent tripping your electrical circuit.
Pros and Cons of Low and High Wattage Air Fryers (To Help You Decide Better)
High Wattage Air Fryer
Pros
- Cooks large servings
- Minimum Time to heat up
- Cooks quickly
- Bigger basket
Cons
- Chances of burning food
- Difficulty in cleaning
- High energy consumption
- Heavy Unit
- Expensive
Low Wattage Air Fryer
Pros
- Even cooking food
- Lower energy consumption
- Easy to clean
- Low chances of burning food
- Budget-friendly
- Convenience of handling
Cons
- Cook small servings
- Time Consuming
- Not suitable for baking
- Not suitable for cooking proteins
LEARN MORE: How to Clean an Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid Quickly & Easily
Are Air Fryers Energy-Efficient? (How Exactly?)
In terms of power consumption, air fryers are considered energy efficient. How? Well, the secret lies in their compact size which allows the heat to circulate faster in the unit which in turn, cooks the food in a flash.
For instance, it takes no more than 20 minutes to cook just about anything in an air fryer. From chicken to meat and vegetables to cakes, air fryers can cook, roast, sear, and bake, depending on your needs.
The best part? Your food is ready within 20 to 30 minutes and that includes fancy cakes, muffins, and bread too!
Since a high wattage air fryer gets the work done 3X faster compared to deep fryers and ovens and hence cuts short your electricity consumption. It’s a win-win!
Are Air Fryers Economical? (Better Than Ovens)
Of course, air fryers are super economical compared to conventional ovens and deep fryers. For instance, where a conventional oven uses about 2500 to 5000 watts of power, an air fryer uses 1200 to1500 watts.
Similarly, most deep fryers have a wattage of up to 1800 watts. Not to mention the amount of oil required in deep frying which adds to the cost of deep fryers.
Air fryers not only use lesser wattage, but they also reduce the cooking times by up to 25%.
The cherry on top? High wattage air fryers take less than 5 minutes to preheat, and cook your food in a breeze, cutting up the costs of your electricity bills. Considering these factors, air fryers are much more economical and cost-effective compared to conventional devices.
LEARN MORE: Can You Heat a Cup of Coffee in an Air Fryer?
Conclusion
While buying an air fryer, it’s crucial to consider the wattage specifications to better suit your cooking needs. Air fryer wattage plays an important role in determining the cooking time and types of food to be cooked.
Not to mention, how you can considerably cut down your electricity bills and power consumption with the selection of the right wattage air fryer.
Both high and low-watt air fryers come with their pros and cons. Since you’ve gone through this guide till the end, we hope it’ll help you decide better whether you should opt for a high or low wattage air fryer.
