So, who is going to speak first? Who will say the unsayable? We can see it in
each other’s eyes. Okay, I’ll do it: we’re ditching the Aga. The real wonder
is that it took us so long to make the decision. My wife, Janie, and I are
not hair-shirt green, but we like to do our bit. Five years ago, we
installed solar panels. We’ve hunted down the eco light bulbs that don’t
give that dreadful jaundiced glow. We collect rainwater. We carefully
separate our plastics and metals and make endless trips to the rag, paper
and bottle banks.
Yet all the time, this cast-iron Falstaff has been sitting in the corner of
the kitchen, guzzling upwards of five litres of oil a day. Somehow, we’ve
been in denial. And it’s a shock to step into the light.
We moved to our Sussex farmhouse from south London 10 years ago. No sooner had
we completed than my wife was off down the high street towards the range and
cooker shop. It had to be an Aga. It had to be cream enamel. And it
had to be now.
It’s an unnerving business, giving up life in the city: no taxis, no Pret A
Manger, and new thoughts on the right to roam. Put in an Aga, and in one
easy step you settle doubts and become an instant paid-up member of the
rural club. Membership is designated not by a tie and badge, but by special
roasting tins, a wire snowshoe whatsit for toasting bread and a
fantastically heavy kettle. The rural idyll stretches out ahead: kettle,
labrador and woolly mittens gently steaming together on an autumn afternoon,
the clang of the Aga door and perfect roast potatoes.
“It’s what you do when you move to the country,” as our new neighbour put it.
“You won’t be able to manage without one.”
And so we’d found Aga joy. This was the good life we had dreamt of. We built
up a livestock farm here, rearing beef, lamb and pork. After a 4am calving,
we slumped against Aga’s warm bulk. We even – pure Aga mythology, this –
revived a hypothermic lamb one year by putting it in the warming oven.
It wasn’t all roses. The Aga showed character by packing up on feast days. In
its first year, it needed to see its engineer every three months for
decoking or relighting or just a wonky wick. I nearly fell off the roof
putting a little tin hat on the chimney. Excessive carbon build-up. The
burning oil with which we’d been supplied, suggested our man, was not quite
refined enough. So we upgraded the fuel – another 6p a litre, thank you –
but at least we could dry our mittens again.
The oil level kept going down, even though we rarely have the central heating
on. It’s the country way. Still the tanker came and went with alarming
frequency. I’m ashamed to say it now, but I never thought to check the oil
consumption. Nobody does – I’ve asked around. When I finally checked, I
found to my horror that our two-oven uses at least 40 litres of kerosene a
week, 2,080 litres a year. At 55p a litre (compared with 23p 12 months ago),
that’s well over £1,000 a year – just to leave the cooker on 24/7. Okay,
we’re saving money on a toaster, but some days we only boil a saucepan.
So, is Aga nervous? Might the increasingly green – and money-conscious –
middle classes turn their back on the range in the same way they have on
bottled mineral water and the 4WD? There does appear to be cause for
concern: sales worldwide stalled last year – down 2% to 19,600 units. The
company blames this on distribution problems in Holland and the chill
economic wind blowing across North America. No, Richard Eagleton, the group
marketing director, insists: sales of its cast-iron cookers – also including
the less thirsty Rayburn and Stanley – were definitely up in the UK. So were
inquiries. But what about Agas? Eagleton says the company doesn’t break down
the figures. Hmm.
Crisis or no crisis, the group is launching a new £3.5m campaign, “Love Aga”,
featuring Kevin McCloud of Grand Designs fame. The message is about
belonging. “It is about getting people to remember how much they love their
Aga,” says Eagleton. “People form an emotional attachment to them.”
Indeed, the company’s website includes a somewhat saccharine section where
owners are encouraged to write their “I love my Aga because . . .” stories.
“We can smell the warmth of it coming down from the hall and, once we reach
the kitchen, it’s like our best friend, standing there waiting to serve us,”
writes one. “After I have the life-saving cup of tea, I would normally make
fresh brown bread . . .” And so it goes on.
Mary Berry is the doyenne of the Aga set and author of several cookery books.
She used to run courses teaching the finer points of Aga cookery, and never
heard any complaints about fuel consumption. “I like to be green on other
things and do what I can, but I’m not so concerned about the Aga,” she says.
“On a cold day, it draws the family together. Children who might be
elsewhere are drawn to its warmth and to mum. It’s the heart.”
That’s all very well, but what would the people at Aga say to persuade us to
hold onto our range? “I’d say, don’t get rid of a member of the family,”
says Eagleton. The company recently unveiled a biofuel-enabled range that,
with a small tweak of the burner, would run on biofuel derived from manure
or other such renewable sources once they are commercially available. In the
meantime, it can be powered by oil or diesel. About 55% of Aga sales are now
of the electric model, and the company says it will work with customers
wanting to generate their own wind, solar, water or even earth power.
The bottom line, though, is that an Aga is still half a tonne of cast iron,
designed to heat up slowly and be kept hot. It isn’t on-off technology.
Whichever fuel you use – and however green it is – the Aga is still going to
use more of it.
Back on the farm, the hunt for a replacement was not easy. There isn’t much of
a secondhand market, either, at least not around here. One dealer we
approached said he had 32 he couldn’t shift. The best offer we’ve had so far
is £200.
We spent hours searching for our replacement – and here, Rayburn (which is
owned by Aga) shone. The oil-fired Rayburn has a timing panel inside the
machine. It heats from cold to hot in 30 minutes (against what seems like 30
hours for the Aga) and can be timed to come on and go off like a boiler.
Yet we have several acres of woodland here and also the time to coppice it and
room to store seasoning logs. We should be using wood – not oil. It would be
cheaper and much better for our carbon footprint. Even better if we went for
a range that provided cooking and central heating, as we would pay only 5%
Vat because the government wants to encourage carbon-neutral heating
products.
Janie was keen to go down the wood route – and who can blame her, as I’m the
one who will be doing all the carting and splitting? The idea of being
totally dependent on a full woodshed and log basket was less attractive.
I was moaning in this vein to the man who services our boiler and he told us
about the H2 panel – and that clinched it. This clever little box, which
costs about £500, monitors the temperature of hot water from whatever source
– wood-fired range, solar panels, oil-fired boiler – and switches to the
most ecological way to heat the house and bath water. The best of both
worlds, or so it seems. We can still have a hot bath even if I can’t be
bothered to bring in a pile of wood.
So, armed with that, we chose a two-oven Esse W25 wood-fired range with a
built-in boiler, at £4,155. It pushed all the buttons: it takes the biggest
logs (less carting for me), has a matching electric oven for summer and
feasts, and, most important, it met Janie’s exacting standards for
appearance – it looks uncannily like the Aga and comes in cream.
Hearth and soul
How much does an Aga cost?The cheapest is a two-oven, oil-fired model
in a standard colour – Cream, Claret, Dark Blue, Racing Green, Pewter
or Black – for £6,575. Opt for a different size, fuel, or colour, and
add a boiler, and the price could rise to £15,000.
How much fuel does it use? According to Aga, a four-oven model uses 51
litres of oil or 273kwh of electricity a week – about 25 times more
than a typical electric oven.
How can you make it greener? Aga is developing a biofuel-enabled model
that could work on cow manure. In the meantime, you can buy an electric oven
and fuel it by wind or solar power or a ground-source heat pump.
Who’s got an Aga? David Cameron has one in his constituency home,
but claims to leave it off most of the time. Other fans include chefs Jamie
Oliver and Rick Stein, and film star Sharon Stone.
What are the alternatives? Wood-burning ranges are greener and cheaper,
especially if you have your own wood. Or try an electric alternative from
Everhot (www.everhot.co.uk), whose
90cm two-oven model uses only 88kwh per week and costs £4,675. If you have
an oil burner, you can buy a pressure jet from Snughome Cookers (www.snughomecookers.co.uk)
for £1,500 that could cut up to 50% off your bills or allow you to run your
Aga using biofuel.
We've had a gas powered 4 Aga for about a year (referb from ebay). It uses just over 500 KWh a week at 2.56p/KWh, or around £13/week. Like others it has drasticly reduced our electricity usage (3 times more expensive at 9p/KWh), to around ~£20/month.
Peter, Chelmsford, UK
We would hate to be without the AGA, but at current oil prices we may be priced out.
Surely the crude oil burner could be supplemented or replaced by an electric element which would at least give a choice of fuels and give scope for reduced running costs.
Alan West, Pewsey,
If you install a simple time switch on the oil pump for oil AGA's in the summer you can set it to run be off for most of the day only coming on 3 hours before the evening meal, then going off again.
The AGA will still be on but on low heat - you can still boil a kettle it just takes a little longer
John Dagnall, Somerton, Somerset
Where does all the water go? If you dry washing in the kitchen either the water condenses in the house or you have to vent it outside along with the hot damp air - it aint free drying
Steve, Holt, uk
It is hardly surprising if there is less demand for new Agas when they last a lifetime. Not only does the Aga do all the cooking, it also provides all the hot water so we have no additional hot water bills.
Catherine Bell, Flintshire,
I am not impressed with Aga's service record for existing customers. Our 21 year old LPG model has a design fault which requires a whole new burner unit at a cost of £600. These have not even been manufactured yet, and ours was turned off by the engineer in January! New customers beware.
Carol Price, Worcester, UK
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Our Night Storage Aga is on all year, costs just over £500 a year to run (at todays inflated prices) and we have no other cooker. It is the centre of the home and we love it.
Nick, Tarporley, Cheshire,
We have a huge kitchen which was very chilly . Since installing our sunny yellow Aga the gas consumption is less because the central heating can be turned down. We love coming down at breakfast or in from the cold to the warm, inviting heart of the house. It's what coming home is all about.
Liz, Liverpool, England
Still love them though!!
Jane Wilson, Chelmsford, England
“The idea of being totally dependent on a full woodshed and log basket was less attractiveâ€, you’re just playing at it, mate. We are Canadain - just buy a chain saw and a log splitter. Felling a tree is one of life’s most satisfying experiences, especially that bit when it goes wooph when it hits the ground. ( Before I get hate mail - yes I do replace it!)
Hugh Phillips, Boucherville, Canada
Anyone who pays £4000 for a cooker truly needs to have their bumps felt. A top of the range electric hob and double oven will come in at less than £1000 - a quarter of the price. Amnd they turn on and off at will. Go figure!!
Colin, Cirencester, UK
It is interesting AGA keep so quiet about the carbon build up problems mentioned. Servicng our AGA already costs over £200 a year but this year already I have had four engineers visits to deal with excessive carbon build up problems and apparently 'they have several customers with this issue'!
Virginia, Bishops Stortford, Herts
We have run an oil fired Rayburn Nouvelle for 20 years. Its only redeeming factor is that it heats the kitchen, the bathroom and bedroom above.
It provides hot water, dries clothes and partly does the cooking (we can't manage without the electric cooker) and it now costs approximately £30/week to run! (without using its central heating boiler).
We have been told by Rayburn that a programmable
'Heatranger' would save us about 30% in fuel with the same use but the snag is that it costs nearly £6,000. Suggestions anyone?
Margaret, Anglesey
margaret williams, Holyhead, Anglesey
When you take into account the energy costs in manufacturing an Aga, these things, so beloved by Green aristos, are about the least 'green' appliance you can get. The only way they can be 'justified' is to have them burning coal from local mines (try and find some!) or locally cut wood. And then they would have to be in use for several lifetimes to pay back the extra capital expenditure, in both cash and energy terms. If I had a gas guzzling car I'd be asking why I should be punitively taxed for driving, while these Aga behemoths that pump out tremendous amounts of CO2 and other pollutants get away scot-free.
Jonathan Spencer, London, UK
I'm an AGA owner, all my meals are cooked with finesse, I don't own an energy company, and I am able to run it on a University scientist's salary. The back end of buses can be quite attractive! Agas, you either love or hate them, can cook with them or not cook with them. I love mine. But a big warning to Richard Eagleton; look after your loyal customers, the ones who love their Agas and who may return for a replacement on moving, or make recommendations to their freinds. In our experience your sales staff and customer service departments of Fired earth/Aga/Refrigeration departments are absolutely apallingly rude and arrogant- enough to make one go green or go else where! Perhaps the new £3.5M campaign should include some staff training in customer service skills; the products you are selling are , afterall, the price of a small new car!
BB, Lonon, UK
Our Aga has been wonderful. When our first child was born prematurely we simply popped her in a baking tin in the warming oven with some milk. Hey presto three weeks later she was walking.
Now friends in the village like us simply because we have an Aga - we warm up the whole village in the winter as its warmth gently radiates for miles around.
We find that Agas have a beneficial effect on family life; awkward and argumentative teenagers become their parents' best friends when brought near the gently-warming heat of the Aga. They melt lovingly.
Agas, given a chance, could clearly solve world problems; I bet Robert Mugabe doesn't have one.
Andrew, Chigwell, UK
I'll cherish my aga all the more now that I know it's politically incorrect!
Johannah Stover, Keig, Aberdeenshire
Our 4 oven gas Aga was serviced this morning, which meant that it was turned off yesterday. As a result, I returned from a weekend away and had to immediately stoke up the central heating. As I write this the tumble dryer is being used for the first time in 6 months and I've had to dig out an old electric kettle. The engineer has just switched it back on, so thankfully it won't be much longer before we're back to normal. Yes they are expensive to run if you take them in isolation, but my gas and electricity bills are not much different from my next door neighbours' who live in an identical 4 storey town house in London. If it is marginally more, I would pay the differnece for significantly better tasting food.
For those contributors who say they are impossible to cook with, with any finesse, or they lose their temperature and things take twice as long, quite simply, don't know how to use them properly. The whole point of an Aga is you use the ovens not the hotplates.
Stephen Dunk, London, UK
I have a 3 oven 13 amp electric Aga . yes the electricity bils initially were high but just before Christmas the new AIMS system was installed (which means I programme the cooker to be ready when I want to cook and let it cool down at other times) and my next electricity bill was more than halved! Like others here have said, it dries and airs my washing and keeps my house warm meaning that I use the central heating far less. Swings and roundabouts I think AND it does cook things extremely well.
Frances , Surrey, UK
I have an oil fired AGA - put into the property - deatched on a farm exposed sea winds & would never think of replacing it. The place is kept warm, there is an endless supply of hot water - it is my only source of cooking, I do not have or need a micro wave. I do not have or need a tumble drier. What doesn't get dried outside dries over the AGA & everything is aired on top of it. Were weare the options are oil, gas or electric & just how fully efficent is a power staion????? This is alos an area which suffers regular unexplained power cuts but the AGA is always there for us ...on one level it may appear to be 'ungreen' but when weighed against all the other options/add ons that people seem to need the AGA when poperly used is as green as they come
Pam, Port William, Scotland
Pam Bellis, Port William, Wigtownshire
I have a 2 door gas fired Aga in my kitchen It costs very little to run when you consider that we have constant warmth on the ground floor, I have no other cooker, it dries the washing on a damp day, it cuts down on the ironing, ( it's all in the art of folding! ) I make 90% of our bread in it, and it is the absolute pulse of the household.
Your article didn't mention Gas, and if you can only get £200 for your second hand one I suggest you try Ebay!
I think it's a huge extravagance going out and buying an Esse instead,.. you obviously have a lot more money than...... most people!
Jane, from Somerset.
Meriel Jane Paterson, bleadon, weston s mare, somerset
Hello
I have to write in defence of The Aga. I lived with an old second-hand oil-fired Aga on the Isle of Mull for 14 years. We were farming and I can assure Adrian Brewer that we revived many a 'dead' lamb in the bottom oven. It was lined out with newspaper and the door left open! A hypothermic lamb would be placed in the oven and within an hour it would be running round the kitchen!!
The ovens are slow cookers and roasting cookers - if they are used properly they not only heat your main room of the house all the time but provide wonderful food which hasn't dried out like conventional ovens.
The trouble is the whiz kids of London like to own large 4x4s and never use them for the right purpose and the same goes for their Agas.
If you don't live in your kitchen - as farmers and country dwellers do- and don't cook properly then the Aga is extravagant - it's not meant to be a quick fix for reheating the latest Marks and Spencer ready meal!!
I now have a mains gas 3 oven Aga and it's brilliant! I wish Adrian Brewer all the best with his dusty woodburner which will go out when he least expects it and, depending on the wood he uses and how long he's dried it for will determine the range in temperature i.e. - no control whatsoever - friends have taken them out and replaced them with Agas!!
regards
Catherine
Catherine Stephens, York, N.Yorkshire
I am intrigued by the comment that an electric Aga can be powered by a ground source heat pump. We are considering the installation of a heat pump to replace our boiler and if this can also be adapted to provide power to our electric Aga it would certainly make it more economic and greener.
Has anyone come across this before or is the author of the article mistaken about whether it is possible?
David Clancy, Harrogate, UK
Here in the North East of Scotland, some form of background heat is essential throughout the year, even in summer! Since we installed our four oven Aga our total oil consumption has dropped by 25% (1300 litres) and the central heating rarely goes on. In addition, we no longer use electricity for cooking. I keep a very close watch on energy consumption using spreadsheets, so I can say with authority and with the statistics to back this up that the Aga can be a very environmentally responsible piece of kit! Our house is a large barn conversion with a total energy bill of about £1500 for three oil fills and £400 for all electricity needs.....and the Aga is central to the savings we have made......and if you know how to use it, it is an excellent cooker! Food cooked on an Aga has a unique and superb flavour which just can't be achieved by any other means.
Jim Talbot, Alford, Aberdeenshire
We are renowned for living in the coldest house in Farnham because that is how my husband likes it! However the one constantly warm room is the kitchen where everyone congregates! Having never had any additional cooker, i cook for 16 easily on my two oven Aga. I dry and air all the clothes negating the need for a tumble dryer and i hardly have any ironing as i fold slightly damp clothes carefully on the top plate and the heat irons out the creases! Used properly and to its full advantage i challenge anyone to say that because of my Aga my gas and electricity bills are bigger than theirs in a comparable house. Mary
Mary Haines, farnham, uk
I had an Aga for 12 years, then lost it when I moved house. I can't wait to buy another. I take issue with Adrian Brewer that the Aga doesn't pay its way. To list:
1. I certainly did not find my fuel bills were 25 per cent less when I moved.
2. Yes, the Aga is on all the time but that's part of its attraction. If I wanted a single piece of bacon with my scrambled egg in the morning, I just popped it in the hot oven. A corn on the cob for lunch? No problem.
3. The Aga ovens and hotplates are self-cleaning. There is never any need to use chemicals or any other expensive cleaning agent. You can happily let your quiches spill, your apple pies overflow, your roast chickens spit fat all over the oven and IT JUST GOES AWAY.
4. In winter, you don't need to run a tumble drier. The Aga will dry everything overnight.
5. Condensation on the windows? Forget it. Aga ovens take steam - and smells - right out of the kitchen. No need for air-fresheners after onions or curry.
Margret Geraghty, Bath,
I, too, have a four door Aga which is on constantly. Because the kitchen is the heart of the house and used as a dining room when I entertain, it is kept lovely and warm by the Aga. I have the heating thermostat set very low so, to some degree, the Aga allows me to save on heating bills.
It is a godsend in the winter as I dry all the washing on it.
However, there is no doubt, it is costly to run. It is gas fired and, as I'm not on mains service, my gas is delivered and stored in a tank.
I am very aware of my carbon footprint and, like the author of this article, recycle all my waste. I would be interested to know of any way of converting the Aga to make it more environmental friendly.
Gill Western, East Preston,
What about AGAS - such as mine - that run on gas? My bills are no higher than my neighbours in similar sized properties. Could this be because the AGA raises the heat of the ground floor to such an extent that we need less of the gas fired central heating? Or the fact that we do not need an electric kettle, toaster, or microwave? That it is also the sole radiator for the entire kitchen which is needed all year round because it has stone floors over brick vaulted cellar ceilings and is therefore inherently freezing? Or that it never breaks down? How long does your average stove last, for instance? The AGA is perfect for a climate such as ours and I am happy to have bought mine 10 years ago when the prices were much more reasonable (£4,400 for a 4 door gas version)
stephanie de leng, liverpool, uk
Lets enliven this debate with a few facts, I think journalists trying to catch the commissioning editors eye do write nonsense.
I live in a farmhouse dating from 1710, its about 3,500 square feet, in the kitchen ( the hub of the entire enterprise) is an oil fired 4 oven AGA vintage 1973.
My entire oil consumption for running the AGA and heating the entire building, and a 625 sq foot conservatory, although during the winter months the stat in there is set at 7 degrees when not in use, just to protect the tender plants. The house thermostats are set at 20 degrees. oil use averages 5,000 litres per year. Oil is 39p per litre so our cost, assuming oil remains at or near this price, is £1,950 per year.
If the AGA was removed then the loss of its heat contribution would just mean that the central heating would just consume the oil " saved " by losing the AGA.
Plus I would lose all of the benefits & pleasures of the AGA which is without doubt a way of life.
Clive, Buckingham, Bucks
Indeed I too feel a pariah for my opinions about the AGA I have had for the past 16 years. Cooking in the oven is a fairly stressful experience. Unless you've "invested" in the expensive double cake baker the chances of having an evenly baked cake is pretty low. The roast chicken is either undercooked or burnt.
The temperature all comes down to how many times the door or the lids of the AGA have been opened that day, thus letting out the heat and therefore affecting the oven temperature. To those who can dry their washing in front of the AGA, it all depends on the positioning of the monster in the kitchen. Mine for example doesn't allow for a clothes horse to be placed in front of it. A sheila's maid above the Aga would I believe, get covered in a black grease from the cooking fumes.
I tried to cook a salmon following Mary Berry's recipe. On enquiring at the local Aga shop why my salmon took 4 times longer to cook thatn MB I was told she always had hers turned up very high.
Car, Chelmsford, essex
Just over a year ago my wife and I moved to the Yorkshire Dales. The property we purchased came with a two oven AGA and an oil fired stove. The stove went first in favour of a multi fuel stove. This does central heating and hot water.
The AGA was under review. On filling the 1200 litre oil tank from empty, it lasted four months.
On today's prices that is just under £2,000 each year for cooking and some extra heat in winter. This rapidly turns to surplus heat in the summer.
In both cases the heat destroys certain food supplies.
We looked at converting the AGA back to solid fuel, no cheap option and fraught with problems.
The solution at which we arrived was to replace the AGA with an electric range cooker, no gas in the village.
In the end it is the only solution of economic viability.
c.h.goodwin, skipton, north yorkshire
If an AGA can be located in the middle of a house, it can provide more than a seemingly extravagant means of cooking.
Our twin-oven, oil-burning AGA sits in the heart of a 17th-century farmhouse, in the inglenook where the range once stood. All winter it warms the chimney, the rooms around it and the rooms above, so the central heating is set to 'off'' 24/7, to be used for an hour very occasionally to take the edge off a chilly morning. During the winter our AGA cooks our meals, bakes our bread, airs our laundry and keeps us snug. Our oil consumption is no greater than that of friends in houses of a similar size without AGAs, who rely exclusively on boiler-fired central heating to keep them warm. The hot plates and oven are ready for immediate use (no waiting for them to warm up) and when 'summer' comes the AGA is turned off and the electric cooker and microwave earn their keep. There is no mains gas. LPG is far too costly and is relying on electricity as a sole energy source cheaper?
C D, Herefordshire,
I cannot understand how anyone can suggest that AGAs are impossible to cook with, as one commenter suggests. There is nothing they cannot cook to perfection, from the lightest soufflé or sponge cake to the most succulent roast. And I can't understand why anyone would have one and not use it for everything, including airing the washing. What a waste!
Ours is never switched off, apart from for its six-monthly service, after which it is ready to cook again by dinner time. We have no other means of heating the water, and barely have to heat the rest of the house as everyone congregates in the kitchen. And when our power's off for hours on end we can still keep warm, cook, and have a hot shower. I wouldn't swap mine for anything!
Suzie, Hebrides, Scotland
There is an alternative to and AGA which cooks in the same way an AGA does but uses around a third of the amount of fuel.
Also it provides full central heating and hot water independently so there is no need for an additional boiler. There is no heat transfer from boiler to cooker so your kitchen will only be hot when you are cooking so the kitchen will not become overpoweringly hot during the summer
It can be up to cooking temperature in about 40 minutes making it useable in the summer as well. It can be independently timed so it can be on all day at a low temperature to make the kitchen warm like an AGA would. But can be turned up to cook on which would take about 40 minutes, and turned off at night They are available in oil and mains gas and also produce a condensing model
The cooker is called a "Sandyford" is British designed and built in Derbyshire. You can find more information on there website "sandyford.co.uk"
Rob, Warwickshire, UK
I have an electric 2 oven Aga. My annual electricity consumption is much the same as it was before I had the Aga. We use the central heating far less in winter as the Aga is so effective. I have no need for a tumble dryer. I live in a modern house and the kitchen gets too hot in summer, so the Aga is off for about fourteen weeks, it would not be economical to run it during this time as the double benefit would be wasted. However, I love my Aga and the cooking it produces. I would hate to give it up.
Mowat, Glasgow, Scotland
i dry all our clothes and sheets and towells (a family of six) above the aga on an airer or shiela's maid so I NEVER have to use the tumble dryer. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Teresa, cambridge, UK
Good afternoon, I must first declare my interest I have been supplying Burners to Rayburn oil fired cookers for over ten years.
It would appear to me first of all if the writer had contacted AGA they would have been advised what the correct way forward was, yes the AGA is expensive but so are all range cookers you have to pay to get quality.
What appears to be the base of the problem is first poor failure rates I would conclude that in fact this was due to poor service rather than the product, it is completely unusual for this product to fail so quickly, with many AGAs not seeing service for many years much against our advice, but with no failure.
Regarding AGA having no vision to the green future I can assure you this is absolutely not correct and again I would suggest the writer contact AGA before making such incorrect comments.
Regarding Bio Fuels if the writer again had spent more time he would have found the correct route is not the one he has taken this article is terribly misleading and wrong
Christopher, Ramsey, UK
I have lived with agas and rayburns for most of my life with the occassional attempt to live with gas and electric cookers. Mine is two oven, oil fired with a matching two oven electric component with hob. The latter I wish I had ditched for a four door aga!! I cook everything from five course dinners for 20 to christmas cake, iron with it , dry everything and as previously stated do not need a toaster, electric kettle etc., Neither my friends nor I use our aga's for SHOW. We live in the country and need them, to dry out all the wet weather gear and muddy shoes, the dog, cat and five children!. Hungry teenagers re-heat meals at will - who needs a micro-wave! The functions it performs are endless, it is the heart of the house, constantly there to warm the heart and soul and to make all our busy lives that much easier. You must learn the nature of the beast to get the most out of it though, my husband is a brilliant chef, had never had an aga but is now a true convert!
caroline, Salisbury, UK
You can actually do without any other form of heating, so dont be too hasty, and in the country without gas it can be better than electric, and some people bother to learn how to cook on it.
Matthew Bramall, Wadhurst, East Sussex
Like most 'eco' journalism this piece is unrelieved by any hard sums, comparisons, or even much thought. If the Aga is used in the winter it needs to be considered as part of the overall central heating and water system. When the Aga is removed, oil bills for these two functions will go up. How much?
Of course if used in summer it simply makes the kitchen too hot. (I don't have one).
Rostrom , NW1
rostrom boetger, London,
We extended our house by 50% in 1996 and installed a 2 oven gas fired Aga in our our cold north facing kitchen, keeping the same gas central heating boiler. We expected an increase in energy bills but looking back at the bills for the few years before and after we installed the Aga they show a fall. Our electricity consumption fell by a third and gas consumption went up by around 7% - overall our fuel bills fell by about £15 a quarter.
We have the Aga on all year and it heats the hot water, the bathroom and the kitchen and dries the washing. We no longer use a tumble drier, electric kettle, toaster, electric oven or microwave. We don't use the central heating boiler in the summer for hot water and we turn the heating on later in the year and off earlier because the house is partly warmed by the Aga. Its great to cook with - no pre heating and very little cleaning. We wouldn't be without it and its definitely made our home more environmentally friendly
anne, York, UK
Surely for 1000 pounds a year the AGA also heats the hot water and runs the central heating?
Our 4 bedroom house is 'all electric' apart from a '4 burner' gas cook top. It heats instantly and cools quickly. For the cook top we require a gas bottle to be refilled less than once a year, at the cost of only ~10 pounds!
The electric oven, by Fisher and Paykel, is well insulated and heats up in ~ 20 minutes. We also have a microwave for cooking, and a heat pump for space heating. Our TOTAL electricity consumption for cooking, space and water heating and lighting is only ~160 kwh /week considerably less than the author's old AGA. Total annual fuel bill ~600 pounds. With underfloor insulation I may even be able to lower that cost a little. The climate is not much different to that of Sussex.
Richard Barr, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Look on the bright side, with metal prices so high, your aga will weigh in very nicely.
ronnie, bucks, UK
What's more, in modern, insulated houses, the Aga has to be off in the summer or you personally will bake. That means having another means of cooking (electric) and perhaps water heating. It's sad, but the enormous cost of oil (at least £30 per week) and the better standard of house insulation are fast catching up with the Aga, though it remains a great source of comfort in the colder months. They really can last a long time but they need to given their huge cost.
Colin, shrewsbury,
Every Aga owning home with that I have visited has had the ubiquitous built-in Neff, Mile or Gaggenau electric oven and either a gas or electric hob.
The owners when asked about the Aga usually say that they tend to use in the winter or when they having very large dinner parties (I take that to mean a family Christmas, a family Easter, or never).
The truth is that they are impossible to cook with if the dish requires any finesse, ruinously expensive to run unless one owns an energy company and about as attractive as the back end of a bus.
Paulus, London , UK