How did your friend who was frustrated at the running costs of her AGA go from spending hundreds of pounds a year to run her AGA to spending a lot less with the same AGA?
Well the chances are see did just one thing! That is she had an AGA Electric Conversion kit installed to convert the AGA to run on electricity.
I know what you are thinking. But I've heard Electric AGA Cookers are expensive to run so how can this be?!
Amazingly if you told me a few weeks ago that there was a way of getting your AGA running costs right down I would have thought it might be difficult to do without a lot of money and effort. However I discovered a new way to convert AGAs to electricity. And it this conversion process which we are now recommending this service.
*Or buy a 30 Amp see my note at the end of this article.
The AGA Cooker 13 Amp Story
You see AGA got it wrong when they first produced their 13 Amp AGAs. They used the same production line as the one for their Oil and Gas AGAs and just added the new heating source: the 13 amp heating element. This heating source was low wattage element.
So it was 2.4Kw element which took a lot of power, and time to heat up. So the electricity to heat it up was expensive. Next they failed to insulate the AGA. Well failed to is a bit harsh. It still had the same insulation as the Oil and Gas AGAs. They just failed to add more insulation to improve the running costs.
Also as the AGA didn't have a flue, they added a fan. This meant that it vented outside assisted with a fan. So whenever this was on it allowed the steam and smoke, and the HEAT to escape at a rate of knots.
AIMS Introduced
When people complained about the costs rather than acknowledge they got it wrong again, they came up with the AIMS or AGA Intelligent Management System. This was designed to allow you to turn the AGA down and for it then to switch back on when you required it up to full heat. So for example, you could turn it down over night and then it would be up to temperature for your breakfast. Or you could turn it down during the day and then have it come back to temperature for dinner time.
The only problem with this is that it produces 'spikes' in electricity useage. So to get the heating element up to temperature the amount of electricity used to get it back to temperature was equal to more than the electricity you saved by running the element at a lower temperature. So the cost advantages were negated.
Today on the newer AGAs they will have upgraded the AGA with improved insulation and they now use a bigger wattage heating element on the 13 Amp AGA. So newer AGA means better running costs than the older ones. I don't think they sell them new now but if buying second hand please check as the running costs for the 13 amp are still very high.
If in doubt buy a new AGA with the 5 year guarantee. They look stunning and will make a grand statement in your kitchen.
The AGA Dual Control, AGA Total Control, 3 Series and 7 Series have lots of improved insulation which really helps with the running costs.
Converting Oil, GAS, LPG and even 13 Amp Electric AGAs.
If you have an Oil AGA then running costs also can be high. LPG AGAs are very expensive to run because of the transport costs to get the LPG to you. AGAs with flues lose a lot of heat through the flue. It doesn't make them very efficient.
How to Improve You AGA Running Costs
We recommend converting your AGA to electricity using the Electrickit (or Consider buying a renovated 30 Amp AGA or a new or restored Everhot).
The conversion I recommend is the Electrickit conversion. The kit is manufactured by a company in Devon. It puts an element in each of your ovens and under the top plates. It runs much like the AGA Dual Control in that you can switch all the elements off or turn them down when you aren’t using them.
You’d normally run it with everything on, but in slumber, and turn it up to use it. This means the running costs are a lot lower than other conversion kits where there is just one element that heats the core much like your current set up that probably uses a gas or oil burner to heat it up.
The other key thing that needs to be done in the conversion is the inner insulation needs to be up-graded to ceramic insulation which is more efficient than what is currently in your AGA.
Disadvantages of Electrickit
Of course if you are used to a gravity fed oil cooker that runs even when there is a power cut and you live, say in remote North Wales, where I used to live. No electricity means this AGA won't work. It may be off for a while. The AGA will stay hot for a while because of the insulation but the top plates will get cold very quick. So your oven will not work properly. But how often do you get powercuts?
Also the other main disadvantage is that because of the way it operates - much like a conventual oven - is lack of radiant heat in your kitchen. I've heard of people going from their old AGA to a newer one and being disappointed by the lack of cosiness in their kitchen. Well the Electrickit will have the same issue. You may have to fix this by adding a radiator into your kitchen.
You are going to have to learn a new way of cooking. As the heating element is at the bottom of the oven - the hottest part of the oven is at the bottom of the Roasting Oven rather than the top. There is a Electrickit cooking book and you can join the Electrickit Facebook group.
Also you may have to learn to twiddle with it to get the best running costs. I've just read that you can connect an app to assist with this. But people are leaving the top plates off, for example and then switching on the ovens when they need to use them.I've been told the best way to run them is to keep them on a low temperature all of the time and then turn the ovens and switch the hob on twenty minutes or so you want to use them - which how people use the AGA Dual Control.
Warning Don't Convert to 13 Amp From Oil/Gas AGA.
If you are thinking about converting and when phoning around someone mentions the conversion they could be referring to the other way to convert that is to 13 amp element. That is to take out your oil burner, for example, and replace it with an element which looks like an old fashioned fire heating element; the ones that glow to give off heat. That is what it does but wrapped around the metal part of your AGA cooker to heat it up.
If they are fitted right and the internal part of the insulation is made a lot better they will be slightly cheaper to run that the 13 amp made in the factory by AGA BUT they won't give off the same residue heat. So this could be an expensive outlay and all you've got is a bad performing (in heat respects) and one that is very costly to run.
Cost of Electrickit conversions of AGA Cooker To Electricity.
Quotes should be in the region of £3000.
I've checked the installation manual for the ElectricKit conversion and it looks pretty straight forward. They are going to have to strip your current AGA down, removing all the loose fill and then rebuilding the AGA back up. Then the attach the wiring for the new kit. This is adding bits of wire - Thermocouple - to the ovens and then running the wires to the control panel. They wrap the two ovens (on a 2 oven AGA) in ceramic insulation and then place the element between the two ovens. And now additional elements to give a grill. They take out the two cast iron top plates - and the main large AGA barrel under the roasting plate - and put in - what looks like an old fashioned electric ring element - like I have seen on cookers from the sixties and seventies. They then put a cast iron cover on those elements. Also now you can get induction hobs to fit in to replace the top plates.
You can pay extra and get a ceramic hob which people tend to love more than the standard ones in the ElectricKit. I'd pay extra for this - I think they are about £350 extra for this.
We don’t do this ourselves but recommend a company based in Dorset called Rural Ranges (all ex AGA trained engineers). Click here to go to their site.
Rural Ranges quote means no loose fill insulation will be left inside.
*Consider the 30 Amp AGA
I've come back to this article in November 2021 and I realised that I didn't mention the 30 Amp AGA. It's the AGA I've had since 2007 - it was installed at the beginning of December a few days before my son was born.
The reason I thought I mention it is that I had a call from someone who had obviously read this post and was thinking about getting his older Standard Cooker converted to ElectricKit. So he was prepared to pay the £2700 to get it converted and he also wanted it restored at the same time. So the cost would be close to £6000.
The cost of a renovated 30 Amp (last time I checked) with Mr Cooker is £6500. Click Here
AGA 30 Amps were sold by AGA until 2018 and the selling price was £13000.
I was quoting £36 a month to run our 30 amp in late 2021. But the price rises in early 2022 mean that our current cost per month to run our 30 Amp (May 2022) is £6 a day so about £180 a month and coming back in 2023 its now £10 a day. Which is a bit steep but would still be cheaper that most Electric AGAs except the ElectricKit which can be switched off or turned down low.
Chatting to my wife and we aren't going to change things. We like our AGA and we can manage £180 a month (and now £300) as it heats most of our house up and its a breeze to cook with. We like the radiant heat it gives out and it still is the heart of our home.
I think the 30 Amp is still worth considering.
Early in 2023 we have become Everhot's National recommended Everhot cleaning company. And I've looked into Everhots as replacement to the AGA. See my post to come on that.
So I would also consider the Everhot Cooker. Click here to have a look at their page.
