Anyone using AGA these days?

[projectz]

We recently bought a house that has a large electric 3-oven AGA, with a gas hob and 2 additional ovens. It's huge! I have so far been only using the gas hob and the ovens I can switch on and off in a conventional way. Now, I am absolutely terrified turning the main AGA on, because it's meant to be on constantly and there is no way to estimate the cost of running it. I remember the estate agent mentioned that pre-energy crisis, it was something like £4-6 a day.
Those who have a an AGA and a smart meter, could you tell me the effect on your energy bill now and estimated for the coldest months? Is it worth turning on?

We have a gas one not electric which is currently switched off due to the increases in bills . We reckon at current rates it would cost us £100 a month to use it . We are tracking our use of gas/electric over the next few weeks though as having an aga on all day should in theory mean you use less heating

I know someone with an electric one that is costing them about a tenner a day…

Well it fully depends on where it is and your property as to how much heating benefit you get. But it costs the same regardless of time of year because usage is the same, so whatever it costs now, is the same as August and February (although varies if your energy contract changes).
Also it will be less efficient, but by how much will depend on how you use it. We don't have an electric kettle, of microwave, or toaster, or tumble dryer, etc. If you continue to use those things you'll get a lot less benefit.

I have an Everhot (same thing really) but I only turn it on to cook at the moment. It has an induction hob so I'm just using that. When it gets really cold I will put it on but probably only in the evenings.

I’ve an older model electric 3-door in the house - we moved last year. We don’t use it at all, and will be looking to sell once kitchen is finished. For us it makes no sense as we’re out at work weekdays, the wall it sits against joins to the utility (which doesn’t need to be warm), to run it hot enough to cook on would make the kitchen too warm...

Running cost would depend what temperature you had it in at, if you used the hob, how often you were opening oven doors, etc...it could be worthwhile if it was central enough to heat the rest of the house and you were at home most of the time to get the benefit. My neighbour has a newer model and reckons it’s costing her about £14 per day.

Our ancient 3 door gas Aga is on all the time, costing about £7 per day. However we haven’t needed to use the central heating and it also does our hot water, so we are keeping it for now. Plan on switching it off over the summer months - installing a 2 ring induction hob and using our back up electric oven.

I panicked and threatened to get rid of it in the Autumn, but it’s just about earning it’s keep at the moment. I have turned it down this year, not sure how much gas that saves!

Bit different here, we have an oil Rayburn 600 series which is our main source of heating for the house,. The hot water and heating are on timers and thermostatically controlled.
We also have a solar array on the room, with a Solar ibuddy - when generating over 0.2kw more than we are using, it automatically tips over to heat the hot water - that thermostat is set slightly higher than the Rayburn hot water temperature.
We also have an electric cooker and a microwave. This year from March to September we didn't use any oil, as we luckily were on solar, and were generating enough to use electricity to cook as well as heat ALL our water.
We only use the washing machine daytimes, so mostly on solar, ditto dishwasher. We usually use about 2700kw/year - this year is lower due to extra sun (best year on solar generation so far).
From September clock change I've been cooking on oil, the added benefit is it heats the house by acting like a storage heater, so we really haven't had to pop the heating on other than a touch in the mornings on the timer. Do ensure you multitask and make the most of cooking as you can cram an awful lot of pans on the hob, and mains & dessert in the oven all using the same amount of oil pretty much - did a huge roast yesterday, plus a casserole on the hob that's gone in the fridge for tomorrow , I also made an apple tart (bought pasty!), and throughout there was a rice pud on the bottom at the same time. Oh and fitted a cake in afterward. Also I probably boiled the kettle for tea at least twice. You'll find it cooks evenly and as the cast iron sides stay warm that you have a lot of leeway with how long things take to cook - fans ovens are fast and can burn!
Oil we buy about 1000litres lasts 15-18 months. I bought in September at 77p, that was £870 worth, having last bought in March 2021 (43p). If we get a decently sunny summer 2023 I am hoping to go through till March/Easter 2024 as the price dips if it's warm for Easter as nobody orders over the bank holiday - we have 2500l tank so have the room