gas verses electric ovens - efficiency pros and cons and recommendations

[Mudman]

Hi All
our venerable gas cooker started leaking gas (?from the tap?) when we have the oven lit. Annoying as we don't want to replace whole kitchen for a couple of years yet but I’ll bodge a new/second hand fitted one into existing kitchen for the time being.

Is an electric oven more efficient than a gas oven?
(For the moment, considering efficiency only at point of use- ignoring transmission and generation issues which were well covered last year in http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/topic,3817.45.html “how efficient is gas compared with electric for cooking”)

Gas ovens must have continuous supply of air for combustion whereas electric ones should theoretically be more fully insulated. Anyone know if this is the case?

Also, oven efficiency between models must vary – in theory given sufficient insulation, once an oven has reached temperature it should not need that much further heat input- but it’s hard to find efficiency data (sust-it web page does not compare ovens)- anyone looked into this before and have any information on which ones are more efficient?


Two years back friends gave us their built in dual electric oven and gas hob which need to be built in – had only been used for 3 years or so and seemed a better idea than letting them go to landfill so we’ve had them in the shed for a while awaiting the new kitchen (2012?).  I’ve just looked at the oven and its maximum power demand is a whopping 4980W! I’d no idea it would need so much – remember fitting a friend’s which needed a 13 amp plug.
So have asked an electrician who knows our flat to quote on putting in the relevant wiring (about £80).  – or I could buy a new electric oven that needs only a 13amp supply….  Or could get a fitted gas oven if the efficiency is much better than electric.

So I’m undecided but need to act by the weekend!
Any one been in this situation before? What did you find out?
Any thoughts on the efficiency question?

Thanks for your thoughts

[dhaslam]

Mains gas is a lot less expensive than electricity so the relative efficiency doesn't matter so much.    Electric ovens are  probably preferable to gas  and gas  rings better than  electricity.  However I do find  the newer electric cookers  very easy to manage all round.   Oven timers and  induction hob with  boost setting and timers  save a lot of  accidentally burning things.  Individual  electrical items like vegetable steamers  are  now very inexpensive and  are both convenient and economical to use.   

[martin]

As a pragmatic "stop gap" get yourself an electric "mini oven" - like this one - http://www.johnlewis.com/230843358/Product.aspx?source=14798 - they're roughly microwave size, and are very cheap to run in comparison with a full-size oven - we've actually stood ours on top of the microwave, so they don't take up a lot of space.
Even brand new they're cheap, and they can often be picked up at markets/boot fairs in unused condition for a tenner.........You can also get small electric hobs for saucepans that just plug in - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0016OSDNA/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=
Or here's one with both  - http://www.johnlewis.com/230875553/Product.aspx
Discovered mino-ovens a few years ago, bought one very cheap for caravan use, found how useful it was, and are now on our second one - in winter we use the Rayburn mostly, but with the mini-oven we haven't used the "main" oven for literally years. You can even do a full roast in them
Often you'll find them on offer in supermarkets (I've seen them in Budgens, Aldi and Lidl) - there's several levels of sophistication, my only caveat being to ensure you get one with thermostatic control, some of the very cheapest ones don't have one, just a timer!

[tony.]

I have a double electric  fan oven and use gas on the rings, i think you get better flexibility that way.
tried gas oven once in a friends house and didnt like it.

the electric oven may be rated at 6kw but are you likely to use all that power at the same time, i have used both electric ovens at the same time, but not both ovens and the electric grill.
installing a new circuit, mcb and 45 amp d switch and cooker outlet for £80 sounds like a good deal
watch out for those pesky partp regulations  
if you live down south, or dont bother with them at all

good luck

tony

[Ancient Brewer]

A gas oven or at least a stove is good insurance against a power cut - especially an extended one.

A gas oven will enable you to cook food and at least take the chill off the house

[desperate]

Mudman hi,

Leaks from the valves is a fairly standard occurence, if you dismantle the valve, clean it up and grease the tapered barrel it should keep you going for a while yet. Get yourself a can of leak detector spray from the plumbing shop to test it all afterward. If you are not confident about the above, dont take a risk

Desperate

[johnrae]

We had an electric fan oven but wife didn't like it since it tended to dry things out so we bought a Belling gas oven.

This does keep things moist but we now find that it's impossible to get an even temperature.  Top is hot and bottom (the oven's) is cold.  When doing anything thick such as a roast or a Christmas cake, the top gets cooked and the bottom is underdone.  Ok you can turn a roast over, but you can't do that to a cake.

In desperation I bought an old electric fan oven for use in the workshop to bake painted articles; his now stands in for kitchen duties.   It's full size and rated at 2Kw and heats up in no time so obviously is well insulated since it requires no "fresh" air.  Unlike a gas oven which requires both air inlet and exhaust.

Is it possible to get even heat in a gas oven  (by say a circulation fan)

jack

[KLD]

Can't say anything in terms of comparision, since I've always ever used electric ovens. Here goes:

The heat distribution even without a fan is very good (our current one is a 10-year-old buit-in oven from Bosch). Energy efficiency is not so good! There seem to be two main reasons: the built-in electronics have to be kept cool, and the front glass door too. So, there is a fan sucking fresh air in, circulating it around the top of the oven box and expelling the now warm air through a slit at the top. Keeps the kitchen nice and warm 
I'd hope, though, that more modern ovens follow a better design.

Since you've already got an electric oven sitting there, I'd just put a ply or chipboard box together, offcut of kitchen worktop over,  and be done with. 80quid for the electrics sound indeed like a very good offer.

Klaus