Energy Use
AGAs have recently been criticised for their high energy consumption and inefficiency. A small, two-oven AGA running on gas will use approximately 425 kWh per week (22,100 kWh per year; perhaps half that if switched off during the summer months). The average standard gas oven and hob uses 580 kWh during a year, only 2.62% of the AGA's consumption.
AGA's own figures for expected energy consumption for their two-oven AGA support this criticism, suggesting a weekly consumption of 40 litres of kerosene or diesel, 60 litres of propane gas, 425 kWh of natural gas or 220 kWh for the electric models. This would indicate that the smallest two-oven gas AGA providing simple cooking functions (i.e. no water heating or central heating) consumes almost as much gas in a week as a standard gas oven/hob does in nine months.
AGA has provided an analysis of their own, which claims that they have taken steps to reduce energy consumption.
While much has been made of the AGA's energy consumption, owners often talk about how they believe the AGA actually makes their homes more energy efficient, as the AGA does a number of jobs, such as replacing several radiators, and is not simply a cooker. They also use the fact that it is made from recycled materials and claimed to last for at least half a century to back this up.
The vast majority of AGAs sold today are programmable and AGA announced an upgrade initiative in 2009, meaning that owners of older AGA cookers can have them modified so they are programmable. The latest model the AGA Total Control uses the same radiant heat to cook (without drying the food out), but is designed to be switched off like a regular cooker when not in use, using far less energy as a result.
Read more about this topic: AGA Cooker
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