Could cooking during off-peak hours save you money?

With some energy providers encouraging us to cut electricity usage during peak hours with special tariffs and rewards, we look at whether this could help slash our cooking costs and, if so, how?

Energy prices recently increased again by 5%, taking the average household’s annual spend to £1,928.

Energy companies often have tariffs that include off-peak prices, while some also promise to reward you for using less power during hours when demand is the greatest. The idea is simple: use more energy during off-peak hours and less at peak times and you’ll save money. The problem? Off-peak hours are typically during the night when most of us are sleeping, not cooking.

How to make the most of off-peak energy hours

Plan ahead

First, check your tariff, make a note of any off-peak times and see if your provider is offering any financial incentives for not using energy during high-demand hours. Then make a plan for how you can work around these times. For instance, don’t waste any of the more social hours of off-peak rates doing meal prep when you could use that for cooking.

Ideally, do your meal prep in bulk, freezing and refrigerating your ingredients and then whip them out to cook when the cheaper rates start. Not only could this save you money, but time, too.

Cook low-and-slow overnight

Chef and comfort food enthusiast Sophie Wyburd is a big fan of cooking low and slow. The only thing is, having the oven on for long stretches of time can be costly. You needn’t go out and buy a slow cooker if you don’t have one, though.

“I would absolutely encourage people to use their oven during off-peak hours, if this is the kind of energy tariff you are on. It will make slow cooking things that much more affordable. My mum often will cook a lamb shoulder on a low heat all night, which is not only more economical, but gets you a really tender bit of meat at the end too.”

Some dishes are more suited to this method than others – make sure you pick something that doesn’t need occasional stirring or checking halfway through.

Your slow cooker is your best friend for off-peak cooking

If you do own a slow cooker, Wyburd says these trusty bits of kit are going to be a massive help for cooking overnight.

“Slow cookers are brilliant because they often have timer functions on them, meaning you can get it to start cooking part-way through the night and don’t have to stay up late to switch it on. They are great for cooking tougher, cheaper cuts of meat too, making them a budget cook’s best pal. It’s perfectly safe to run them overnight too.

“My favourite kinds of dishes for slow cookers are meats that you need to cook for a long time. Pork shoulder, brisket or short ribs are fabulous for this, braised with lots of stock, wine and herbs. I also love cooking ragu overnight in my slow cooker – the most important ingredient in a bolognese is time, after all.

Slow cooker recipes for cooking overnight

• Slow cooker beef stroganoff
• Slow cooker honey roast ham
• Slow cooker bolognese
• Slow cooker smoky Spanish beans

Make use of early mornings

It’s not just about staying up late to cook your food for the next day – you can start early too.

“With many off-peak energy tariffs running until 7am, if you are an early riser, you could make a head start on your cooking first thing in the morning to take advantage of the reduced rate,” says Wyburd.

Air fryers and pressure cookers are really useful for making the most of short windows of time, as they work quickly.

Once your food is ready, just allow it to cool, refrigerate it and, when you’re ready to eat, all it’ll need is a quick heat through. You’ll be feeling pretty smug come dinner time too, with no prep to do.

Pressure cooker dishes to make early in the morning

• Fennel and butternut squash stew with cannellini beans
• Pulled pork
• Miso corn chowder
• Thai red curry

Batch cook

“When I am using the oven for any great length of time, I like to bulk out the number of portions I am getting from it. For example, if I make a ragù, I will cook double the amount that I need and freeze the rest in portions. This means you are halving your energy consumption for the same amount of food.”

So when you’re firing up the oven – and this is a good idea whether you’re making use of off-peak energy rates or not – scale up the recipe. Just thaw the food in the fridge and then reheat thoroughly in the microwave or on the hob, both of which cost far less to run.

Shop around for tariffs that suit your routine

There are many multi-rate tariffs out there which see you pay different rates depending on when you use your energy. The most common is called ‘economy 7’, which offers cheaper rates during seven hours overnight (frequently, though not exclusively, between midnight and 7am).

However, if you use most of your electricity during the day, you might want to reconsider before signing up to a multi-rate tariff.

“Economy 7 and other multi-rate tariffs can benefit customers who are able to shift a large portion of their electricity use to nighttime, such as those with electric storage heaters or who charge an electric vehicle,” a spokesperson from Ofgem told us.

“Customers who do not have a reason for using a lot of electricity at night might be better off on a single-rate tariff, as they would pay more for use at peak times.

“People should weigh up all the information, seek independent advice from trusted sources and consider what is most important for them.”

Originally published February 2024