Appliances in the kitchen are responsible for a large part of your home energy use. Here are a few suggestions to help you save energy (and money) in your kitchen: • Keep your freezer and refrigerator doors closed. You can waste a considerable amount of energy when frequently opening and closing your refrigerator. When preparing a meal, remove all of the required ingrediants at once. You should also make certain that the door has closed securely after you are done using the refrigerator. • Position your refrigerator or freezer away from heating equipment, heater vents and direct sunlight. Make sure there is adequate open space behind, above and on the sides for proper air flow. • Set the refrigerator's temperature control between 36 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at 0 degrees for maximum efficiency. The Food and Drug Administration also advocates these temperatures to prevent fast growth of bacteria • Keep your refrigerator or freezer full, but be careful not to overload it. Overloading forces the compressor to have to run longer. Place foods slightly apart on shelves, making sure they will not obstruct the air flow inside the unit. • For maximum energy savings, keep freezer and refrigerator condenser coils unblocked and clean. • Clean door seals with warm water or a residue-free kitchen cleaner since a snug-sealing door gasket is important for the efficiency of your appliance. • Seal all moist foods that are stored in the refrigerator. If uncovered, moisture may transfer into the air, making the unit run harder. • If you own an older back-up freezer with very little stored in it, use the primary freezer and unplug the older one. Cooking Appliances • If you have both more than one oven, you will save money by using the smaller one whenever feasible. • Save time and energy by using one oven to prepare the complete meal. A pie or cake can be placed in the warm oven once the main dish is removed. • Use a pressure cooker. It cuts cooking time by two thirds that of regular methods. • Warming foods, plates and platters with the oven's already stored heat after roasting, requires no additional energy. If your hot meals must be kept hot for a longer time, adjust the oven's temperature no more than 150 to 190 degrees. • Think about using a more energy efficient microwave oven, small electric frying pan, grill, or toaster/broiler instead of your oven. Cook outdoors or prepare cold meals to avoid adding heat to the kitchen and humidity to the inside air. Microwave ovens use less than 1/2 of the power of a regular oven and cook food in about 1/4 of the time. • Covered cookware will start boiling and producing steam sooner than those that are not covered, allowing lower temperature settings and less energy use. • Use pots and pans that evenly cover the stove's burners. Use cooking vessels that have even bases, straight sides and securely-fitting lids that retain heat and allow the use of lower energy settings. • Cook using steamers, outdoor barbecue grills or casserol meals to minimize the use of your stove top burners and conventional oven. • Limit the use of water to the amount needed to create steam and prevent sticking when cooking fresh or frozen vegetables. • Make sure that reflector pans below the stove's heating coils are stain free and bright. They reflect heat back to the bottom of the cooking vessel. • Do not cover oven racks with foil. It impedes the flow of hot air and requires the oven to work harder to finish the job. • Cook following precise time and temperature guidelines. Precise timing reduces the need for repeated opening and closing of the oven door to check on the progress of the cooking. Each time the oven opens, the oven cools by 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. • On a surface unit, begin with high heat then lower the temperature as the food starts to bubble or boil. Turn off the surface element a short time before cooking time is up. Electric stoves remain quite hot for a few minutes after they have been switched off. • During warmer days, do most of your heavy cooking in the cooler evening or early morning hours. Try to use the range top rather than the oven.
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Appliances in the kitchen are responsible for a major portion of your home energy use. Here are a few suggestions to help you save energy (and money) in the kitchen
Jim Navary has been a freelance writer and researcher for over thirty years reporting on a broad array of topics. He is also a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia specializing in Tri-cities area of VA real estate and, in particular, Tri-Cities area of VA homes for sale.
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