I’m Marisol Ochoa, and in my Riverside ranch house I used to choose regular bake without much thought. As of mid-September 2026, it is still an easy reflex: the convection setting turns on a fan, and a running fan sounds like one more thing drawing electricity. Here in California, I know how quickly that thought can settle into a household habit. I was counting the fan while overlooking the rest of the cooking.
That reflex is worth separating from another kind of energy advice. Riverside Public Utilities advises using heat-producing appliances such as dishwashers, clothes dryers and irons in the morning or after 8pm. That is a useful hook for thinking about when appliances add heat to the house. My oven question is different: when I am cooking something suited to convection, which oven setting uses less energy for the cooking itself?
Home Services › Appliance RepairHas your oven stopped working?Describe my oven›Free · Your number stays private
What a university extension service says
A university extension service gives a direct answer: “If you have a convection setting, use it. The convection setting uses up to 20% less energy than the bake setting.” The words up to matter. I read that as a reason to stop assuming the fan makes convection the more expensive choice, not as a promise that every dish in my oven will produce the same saving…