You've been cooking your dinner all wrong – the mistakes adding hundreds to energy bills a year

MAKING some small changes to the way you're cooking your dinner could save you up to hundreds of pounds on your energy bills a year.

Households are being stung by eye-watering energy bills after the energy price cap went up in April.

Bills leapt to an average of £1,971, adding around £700 extra on to millions of customers' bills.

The energy price cap is expected to rise even further in October.

That means households are looking for ways to lower their gas and electricity usage.

But you might not know that the way you're cooking your dinner could be ramping costs up.

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We explain how ditching your oven and switching to air fryers and microwaves could help you save up to £173 a year.

Use a microwave – up to £25

If you can use a microwave to cook your grub, it might be an idea to use it instead of switching on the oven.

Uswitch estimates that you can save 24p cooking your baked potato in the microwave, according to the Daily Mail.

It costs 27p to cook one in the oven, but just 3p in the microwave.

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That means that if you were to have a baked potato twice a week over every week of the year, you would be save £24.96.

Use an air fryer – up to £34

Using an air fryer could be healthy for your belly as well as your bank balance.

The appliances are known for cooking meals that are healthier because they use less oil – and they could save you money on your energy bills too.

For every 40 minutes spent cooking your food in the oven, it takes 15 minutes in an air fryer and costs 22p less.

So if you swapped the oven for your air fryer three times a week, this adds up to a saving of £34.32 a year.

Swap hot meals for cold ones – £15

Households have been enjoying hotter weather recently as the summer sun has finally kicked in.

When it's warm, it could be an idea to try eat cold foods instead of cooking a meal to slash the cost of running your oven.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen previously told The Sun that this could save you £15.

Ditch the extra fridge – £99

Hotter weather means BBQ season.

You might be wanting to plug in a second fridge to keep all the extra burgers, bangers and booze in.

It's easy to leave it switched on if you're not using it – but it could be adding £99 a year onto your energy bills, according to Loop.

Either avoid using it completely this season if you're worried about the extra cost, or remember to switch it off when friends and family leave.

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One money-saving expert reveals the five devices in your kitchen pushing up your energy bills.

And a simple change to the way you use your tumble dryer could slash the time it takes to dry your clothes – and potentially save you a bundle.

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