Double oven vs single oven: I'd pick the double if you often bake and roast at the same time. It also suits a home where most oven meals fit a short upper cavity. A single oven is the better fit when a tall roaster or a crowded sheet pan is what you cook most. On a range, both cavities of a double are smaller than the one oven in a single.
A double oven is one appliance with two separate oven cavities, each with its own door, heating elements and temperature setting. So the choice is between two smaller cavities you can run at different temperatures and one larger cavity that holds the biggest dish. In the two 30-inch wall oven pairs further down, each cavity matches the single oven beside it.
At Merit Home Furniture, both kinds come as freestanding ranges and as built-in wall ovens, compared here on the makers' own measurements. Our Island appliance showrooms are the Campbell River and Port Alberni stores, and several models compared here are special orders. Prices are Merit's listings as of November 1, 2026, before applicable taxes. Appliance prices follow the makers' promotions, so they can change from week to week.
Double oven vs single oven: which suits the way you cook?
A double oven suits a kitchen where two oven jobs overlap several times a month. A roast can sit low and slow in one cavity while rolls or a pie bake hot in the other. Neither dish waits for the other, and the door you open to check one doesn't dump heat from the other.
A single oven suits a kitchen where one big dish is the usual job. It gives you the full height of the cavity and more rack positions in one place. It also costs less, often by several hundred dollars on a range and more on a wall oven.
- A double makes sense if you host family dinners, bake while something else roasts, or reheat small meals and like a smaller box to heat.
- A single is the safer pick if you cook for one or two, rely on a tall stockpot or roaster, or want the most oven for the money.
- Consider a double wall oven only if your kitchen already has, or can take, a tall oven cabinet and a heavier circuit.
Double oven capacity, measured cavity by cavity
Double oven capacity is the sum of two cavities, and the total on the box can hide how small each one is. The table lists the makers' published figures for the ranges and wall ovens Merit lists, with each double next to a single from the same maker.
| Model | Type | Oven capacity |
|---|---|---|
| LG LDEL7324YE | Double-oven range, 30 in. | 3.0 cu. ft. upper, 4.3 cu. ft. lower, 7.3 cu. ft. total |
| LG LREN6325XE | Single-oven range, 30 in. | 6.3 cu. ft. in one cavity |
| Maytag YMET8800FZ | Double-oven range, 30 in. | 2.5 cu. ft. upper, 4.2 cu. ft. lower, 6.7 cu. ft. total |
| Frigidaire FCWD3030AS | Double wall oven, 30 in. | 5.3 cu. ft. in each cavity, 10.6 cu. ft. total |
| Frigidaire FCWS3030AS | Single wall oven, 30 in. | 5.3 cu. ft. in one cavity |
| Bosch HBL5651UC | Double wall oven, 30 in. | 4.6 cu. ft. in each cavity |
| Bosch HBL5351UC | Single wall oven, 30 in. | 4.6 cu. ft. in one cavity |
The LG pair shows the trade on a range most plainly. The double holds 7.3 cu. ft. in all, more than the single's 6.3. Its larger cavity, though, holds 4.3, about two thirds of the single's oven. Both ranges stand close to 46 1/2 inches tall, so the double splits the same box in two.
Height inside is where that split shows. LG gives the LDEL7324YE's upper oven an interior height of 10 13/16 inches and its lower oven 14 1/4 inches. The single LREN6325XE is 22 inches tall inside.
Wall ovens don't share a box with a cooktop, so each cavity can stay full size. Frigidaire gives both cavities of its double the same 18 1/8 inch interior height as its single.
Will a roasting pan fit in the lower oven of a double range?
A roasting pan fits the lower oven of a double range if the pan, the bird and the lid clear the interior height with a rack in its lowest spot. I'd measure the tallest thing you cook, lid on, and hold it against the maker's interior height before choosing. If it's close, the single is the safer buy.
Cooking at two temperatures at once in a double oven
A double oven's main job is running two temperatures at once, since each cavity has its own thermostat and its own door.
The two cavities aren't always equal in features. On the LG double range, LG lists convection (the fan that separates convection from a regular oven) for the lower oven only. On the Bosch double wall oven, the spec sheet puts the convection element in the upper cavity only. If you bake on several racks at once, check which cavity has the fan. Some ovens also add steam: a steam oven cooks with water vapour as well as dry heat.
Does a double oven save energy?
A double oven can use less energy for small meals, because a smaller cavity has less air and metal to heat. Natural Resources Canada advises buying the right size oven, and says a smaller model will use less energy. It also says that as much as 20 percent of the heat escapes every time an oven door is opened during use.
Neither NRCan nor BC Hydro publishes a figure comparing double and single ovens, so I won't put a number on the saving. BC Hydro does point out that smaller appliances can consume up to 75 per cent less electricity than an electric oven. For a single tray of something, an air fryer or toaster oven may beat either cavity. NRCan's other tip applies to both kinds: preheat only for baking.
Double-oven ranges, double wall ovens and single ovens side by side
A double-oven range, a double wall oven and a single oven differ first in where they go, then in price. This table sums up how they sit in a kitchen, with what Merit lists in each kind.
| Kind | Where it goes | On Merit's listings |
|---|---|---|
| Double-oven range | A standard 30-inch range opening, cooktop on top, short oven above a larger one | 3 models, $1,999.99 to $3,199.99 |
| Single-oven range | The same opening, one full-height oven under the cooktop | 30-inch models from $749.99 |
| Double wall oven | A tall oven cabinet, with the cooktop somewhere else | 21 models, $3,099.00 to $6,499.00 |
| Single wall oven | A shorter cabinet opening, cooktop somewhere else | 30-inch models from $1,699.99 |
All three double-oven ranges on our listings are freestanding. One is a KitchenAid dual fuel double oven range at $3,199.99, with gas burners over electric ovens.
Double-oven range
A double-oven range drops into the slot an old range came out of, so the kitchen doesn't change. It costs the least of the doubles. The lower oven sits near the floor, and its cavity is shorter than a single range's oven.
Double wall oven
A double wall oven keeps two full-size cavities and frees the cooktop to go elsewhere. It needs a tall cabinet, a heavier circuit and a cooktop bought separately. Of the ovens above, the Frigidaire double holds the most, at 10.6 cu. ft. in all.
What a double oven costs over a single at Merit
A double oven costs more than a single from the same maker, and on our listings the gap grows with the price of the line. Each pair below shares a width, a maker and, for the wall ovens, a series.
| Pair | Single | Double |
|---|---|---|
| LG 30-inch electric ranges | $1,399.99 | $1,999.99 |
| Frigidaire 30-inch wall ovens, stainless | $2,099.00 | $3,199.00 |
| Bosch 500 Series 30-inch wall ovens | $3,299.00 | $5,499.00 |
The second cavity adds $600.00 on the LG ranges, $1,100.00 on the Frigidaire wall ovens and $2,200.00 on the Bosch wall ovens. The Frigidaire double also comes in white at $3,099.00 and black stainless at $3,299.00.
The Maytag YMET8800FZ double range is $2,399.99 and is listed at our Campbell River store. Its natural gas version is $2,599.99. The LG single range is listed at our Campbell River and Port Alberni stores. The LG double range, the Frigidaire and Bosch wall ovens and the KitchenAid are special orders, priced online and ordered by phone.
Can you replace a single oven with a double oven?
A single range can usually be replaced with a double-oven range in the same opening, while swapping a single wall oven for a double means rebuilding the cabinet. The range swap is the easy one. Maytag gives the YMET8800FZ a cutout 30.125 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 36 inches high, the size of a standard range slot.
The wall oven swap is a cabinet job. Frigidaire's single needs an opening 26 3/4 to 28 inches high. Its double needs 48 7/8 to 50 1/4 inches. Bosch asks for 27 to 28 5/8 inches for its single and 49 3/4 to 51 1/2 inches for its double, both 28 1/2 inches wide.
The wiring changes too. Frigidaire's single wall oven calls for a 20 amp circuit and its double for 40 amps. Bosch lists a 30 A breaker for its single and 40 A for its double. In most of BC, new electrical work comes under Technical Safety BC's permit system, through a licensed contractor or a homeowner permit for those who qualify. The City of Victoria issues its own electrical permits.
Weight is the last surprise. Frigidaire lists its single at 130 lbs and its double at 218 lbs, and Bosch says the cabinet base must be able to carry the oven. Before ordering a double wall oven, I'd go through these steps:
- Measure the opening. Height, width and depth of the cabinet hole itself, the way we suggest for fitting a built-in wine cooler under a counter.
- Read the breaker. The number on the oven's breaker tells an electrician whether a new circuit is needed.
- Check what sits below. A drawer or cabinet base has to carry over 200 lbs in a double wall oven's case.
- Measure the route in. Doorways, turns and stairs matter for a heavy oven as much as for getting a sofa through the front door.
Which oven brand is the most reliable?
No Canadian public body that I can point you to publishes oven reliability rankings by brand, so I won't name a winner. What the makers do put in writing is the warranty, and it varies more than people expect. Maytag's Canadian page for the YMET8800FZ lists a 10-year limited parts warranty on the glass cooktop, elements and cavity. Frigidaire lists 1 year on parts and 1 year on labour for both of its wall ovens above.
Read what each warranty covers before comparing years. A long parts warranty that leaves out labour can still mean a bill for the service call. Merit backs the maker's warranty on everything we sell. For an appliance, the claim starts with the maker or the Campbell River or Port Alberni store it came from. There's more on how makers word their warranty terms in a guide of its own.
What are the downsides of a double oven?
- Smaller cavities. On a range, the lower oven of a double holds less than a single's oven, and the upper one is short. LG's double tops out at 14 1/4 inches of interior height.
- Bending. On a double-oven range, the larger oven is the low one, close to the floor. If bending is hard on your back or knees, ask your doctor or an occupational therapist before choosing a low oven.
- Price. The second cavity added $600.00 to $2,200.00 across the pairs above.
- Extra work for a wall oven. Add a cooktop, cabinet changes and often an electrician to the price.
- Cleaning. Two cavities mean two ovens to clean instead of one.
- Uneven features. Convection or air fry may be in one cavity only, so a double isn't two copies of the same oven.
Which type of oven suits home use, household by household
The type of oven that suits a home depends on who is cooking and how often two dishes overlap. Here is how I'd match them.
- One or two people who cook most nights: a single-oven range, or a double range if small meals are the norm and the short upper oven gets daily use.
- A family that hosts holidays and bakes while dinner roasts: a double-oven range in an existing kitchen, or a double wall oven in a renovation.
- A cook who uses a tall roaster or big stockpot every week: a single oven with full interior height.
- Anyone planning a kitchen rebuild: a double wall oven, if the budget covers the cabinet, the circuit and a cooktop as well.
If the choice still feels close, it usually means a single oven will do. A double pays back only when both cavities get used.
Where these oven figures come from
- LG Canada, LDEL7324YE 30 in. 7.3 cu. ft. double oven range specifications, checked November 2026.
- LG Canada, LREN6325XE 30 in. electric range specifications, checked November 2026.
- Maytag Canada, 30-inch wide double oven electric range with true convection, YMET8800FZ, checked November 2026.
- Frigidaire Canada, 30 in. double wall oven FCWD3030AS specifications, checked November 2026.
- Frigidaire Canada, 30 in. single wall oven FCWS3030AS specifications, checked November 2026.
- Bosch, 500 Series 30 in. double wall oven HBL5651UC specification sheet, checked November 2026.
- Bosch, 500 Series 30 in. single wall oven HBL5351UC specification sheet, checked November 2026.
- Natural Resources Canada, Buying and operating tips for cooking appliances, checked November 2026.
- BC Hydro, Single seat spectacle news release, checked November 2026.
- Technical Safety BC, Apply for permits, checked November 2026.
- Technical Safety BC, Jurisdiction, checked November 2026.
Asking Merit about a double oven
I work in Duncan, where we don't carry appliances, so I'd take oven questions to our appliance stores. The Maytag double range is listed at Campbell River, and the LG single range at Campbell River and Port Alberni. Have the cabinet opening, the breaker number and the height of your tallest pan ready when you call, and they can go through what fits.
Phone Campbell River about the Maytag or the LG, (250) 286-0868
Phone Port Alberni about the LG single range, (250) 724-6644
The special-order ovens above are ordered by phone on the line their product pages give, (250) 746-5527.
To compare beyond these models, the ranges we list, double ovens and singles together are in one place, and the built-in single and double wall ovens are in another. The rest of my kitchen appliance guides are gathered on one page.