Kitchen Nightmares: Simple Tips for Reduced Energy Consumption
Reducing my power bill seems to be a goal of mine every month I receive it. People are always scoping out the best ways to save money and to keep costs down. But, did you know you can save energy and consumption of power right in your kitchen? It can start with your appliances. Replacing your appliances with energy efficient ones may not be on the top of your list, but there are ways you can adjust habits of what you do and can do. The refrigerator is the biggest energy-consuming appliance in the household and the older they are, the more they don’t conserve energy. Here are a few tips to maintain your fridge and keep it at its best. · The fridge’s internal temperature should be between 36° and 42° F and the freezer at 3° F, keeping it that way will conserve the energy source to keep it cool. · Replacing vacuum coils located on the back of the fridge should be replaced twice a year, but leave enough space between the wall and fridge for circulation. · Avoid letting the freezer build up frost. · Dollar bill check! Closing the doors on a dollar bill will determine the seals of your doors. If it’s easy to pull the bill out, then maybe consider replacing the seals. · Keep fridge away from heat sources like a stove, dishwasher or heat vents. · If you decided to cook a big meal, get all your ingredients out of the fridge first, so that you’re not constantly opening and closing the door. Moving on to oven, there are several ways to prevent heat and energy from escaping. You may not realize how quickly your oven can heat up or consume energy just to heat to 350° F. · Make sure the pots and pans cover the coils. Often we use smaller pots on a bigger burner, and it releases so much unnecessary heat from underneath the pot, it’s a waste. · Choose proper ventilation. Filtering clean air throughout the kitchen while cooking reduces cooking odors, heat and gases that may be produced during cooking. · Keep that door closed! If you have an oven light, use it! No sense in continuing to open the oven door just to check on the food. Know what your cooking times will be before putting it in the oven so that you can keep a timer on the food. · Keep it clean! It’s always best to keep the grease and grime at bay to start with. The dishwasher has come a long way. From being a one-man show to a machine, it actually conserves energy more by using it, rather than washing dishes by hand. However, some of us don’t have that luxury quite yet. · So if you have two basins fill one with warm soapy water and let cool water drain on the other side for rinsing. · If you do have a dishwasher, let it fill up full before turning it on. Most dishwashers won’t judge how much is in there and will use the same amount of water and heat regardless of volume. · If you have the option of automatic air-dry, try turning it off before that comes on and open the door slightly to let air dry. Faucet Aerators control your flow of water by installing a faucet aerator. Water consumption and the cost of heating the water can be reduced by 50%. Other minuscule ways you can save in your kitchen, is to simple change your light bulb. There are many energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs you can get and are great to replace. Let your food cool first before you store in the fridge. Also... use your microwave! Your microwave uses about 50% less energy than your stove. So if you have any meats or veggies to thaw before cooking, defrost in the wave first then toss on the stove or oven to cook.
11 years ago
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