We've been wondering if the Crock Pot, the use of which makes us feel so thrifty and virtuous, is actually deserving of our admiration and positive emotions. After some intensive searching, here's what we've found:
The math is difficult, because crock pots cycle on and off just like ovens. We could whip out our Kill-a-Watt but we're just not feeling that geeky today (plus we don't have one.) We did find one set of calculations here, which claims the answer is no. On the other hand, there's Cheap Cooking, the site that claims you save precisely 74 cents every time you use your crock pot.
We're not the only blogger wondering about this—Kelly Rossiter over at Planet Green has the same question, but no answers. Rival, which owns the Crock-Pot trademark, has nothing to say at crock-pot.com. Even authoritative-to-a-fault Consumer Reports just claims a crock pot uses "a lot less" energy than simmering on the stove.
Harrumph!
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I would imagine it would be more efficient because the heating element and pot itself are in an insulated area (right?) together. Then again, it depends also on what kind of stove you have, if you're using a diffuser to avoid hot spots, if your stove works properly and all that jazz.
view Tiamat_the_Red's profile
I don't know if it saves energy directly or not. I just like that it keeps its heat to itself instead of heating up the whole apt. like the oven does. In Texas, that's a big deal for most of the year.
view whytephoenix's profile