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Domestic ovens doesn't have any form of thermal insulation AFIK, and even have vents to circulate fresh air.

domestic electric oven

It would be more energy efficient to add thermal insulation to prevent heat escaping from oven. As a second benefit, it will be reach temp faster, reducing cooking times.

So, why doesn't anybody does this?

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  • $\begingroup$ @Andyaka. I was looking for an explanation like. "Thermostats are too slow. An insulated oven is too fast. Temp in incontrolable. You need a thermocouple + MCU + SSR to really react in time. Too expensive" $\endgroup$
    – Look Alterno
    Jan 21, 2018 at 17:44
  • $\begingroup$ Cost..these things are cheap as dirt.... at least to manufacture, with very little profit margin. $\endgroup$
    – Trevor_G
    Jan 21, 2018 at 17:51
  • $\begingroup$ If you're talking about microwaves, they don't heat up air to cook your food, but they warm up objects present within the microwave itself, which is why they wouldn't really benefit from insulation. $\endgroup$
    – Bart
    Jan 21, 2018 at 18:06
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    $\begingroup$ The premise of this question is simply wrong. There's nothing to salvage here: these things are isolated. If you can cook something on the inside at 200°C and can still put a pot of water atop of them without it starting to cook relatively soon: They must be isolated. And really, they are. $\endgroup$
    – Marcus Müller
    Jan 21, 2018 at 18:09
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    $\begingroup$ As far as you know? What evidence do you have that domestic ovens don't have any form of thermal insulation? Do foreign ovens have insulation? $\endgroup$
    – paparazzo
    Jan 21, 2018 at 20:18

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That’s a very cheap oven - you can see the door is just a piece of glass (presumably heat resistant) with no seals to keep heat in. Compare that with a decent quality oven. Everything about this says “cheap”. As is usually the case, better, more efficient designs usually cost more to make. But with that said, I don’t know that anyone can really say it doesn’t have insulation without taking it apart and looking.

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It almost certainly has fiberglass insulation between the metal walls, and the vents on the outside that you see are there to keep the electrics relatively cool.

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It is a very cheap toaster oven, and does what it's built to do: heat things up.

Many construction workers and field technicians use it. It is cheap so that after receiving the abuse of harsh job sites and rarely if ever getting cleaned, it is rather easy to throw away and get a new one.

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  • $\begingroup$ sorry, it's throw! $\endgroup$
    – kamran
    Jan 22, 2018 at 14:12
  • $\begingroup$ typos and predictive text grrr.... ! $\endgroup$
    – Solar Mike
    Jan 22, 2018 at 14:40
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Your photo shows a microwave oven. These heat the food directly using, as the name suggests, microwaves.

If you boil a cup of water in a microwave oven and then feel the walls of the inside of the oven you will find that they are not hot. Therefore there is no point in insulating them.

[comment] I thinks it's a standard 'toaster oven' beloved by students and efficiency dwellers.

I've never used on but if the elements are on top it suggests that the food is cooked by direct infrared radiation rather than by heating the walls and air as in a baking oven. Maybe a student can answer.

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    $\begingroup$ I thinks it's a standard 'toaster oven' beloved by students and efficiency dwellers... $\endgroup$
    – BobT
    Jan 21, 2018 at 19:11
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    $\begingroup$ I can see the heat elements on top, it's a toaster oven! $\endgroup$
    – kamran
    Jan 21, 2018 at 19:39
  • $\begingroup$ Has anybody ever met an 'efficiency dweller'? $\endgroup$
    – Petrichor
    Jan 22, 2018 at 16:04
  • $\begingroup$ @Petrichor yes. Look up "micro-studio living" or "closet apartment living" or something similar. $\endgroup$
    – user14648
    Jan 22, 2018 at 20:51
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    $\begingroup$ This is definitely a toaster, not a microwave. As pointed out, there are heating coils (infrared microwaves don't look like that), which instantly proves that it's not a microwave. Further, look at the knobs. They are specific to toaster functionality. Plus, look at all the metal inside of it! Lastly, food items like that usually ask for an oven, not a microwave, and if you DO use a microwave, they wouldn't look like that. Granted, it's definitely a staged photo $\endgroup$
    – user14648
    Jan 22, 2018 at 20:54
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Several considerations:

  • Cost
  • Space: adding insulation makes the oven bigger on the outside or takes away space inside (if it shall fit into the same size cupboards an a non-insulated oven)
  • You can't seal an oven hermetically, vapors need to escape anyway

I think no. 2 is the biggest consideration. A typical domestic oven (with some insulation) will fit into an 60 cm slot in your kitchen and fits a 47 cm baking tray. How many cupcakes will fit into the oven on you picture, if you remove 7 cm on both sides?

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