If you are concerned with energy conservation, you probably have heard some tips for consumers to save some of the resources you use in your home. How many of them revolve around the kitchen? Surprisingly enough, your kitchen is a treasure trove of ways for you to save energy and money on utility bills.
Kitchen Energy Conservation Tips
1. Look for moisture control on your freezer.
Only some models have this feature, but it helps prevent ice from forming along the walls of the freezer, which traps heat inside. This is NOT the same as an anti-sweat heater, which can use 5-10% more energy than a regular freezer.
2. Don’t keep your fridge or freezer too cold.
The fresh food compartment should be 37-40 degrees. Your freezer should be around 0 degrees. If you keep these compartments too cold, you could be wasting energy. You can use a thermometer in a glass of water in your fridge and between two frozen items in your freezer to measure the temperature.
3. Regularly defrost the fridge and freezer.
Some models don’t need for you to manually defrost them so check to see if your unit can defrost automatically. If frost build up is more than a quarter of an inch, it is time to defrost.
4. Make sure your faucet is set to cold.
If you are using a small amount of water, make sure the lever is set to cold. If it is set to hot, then the water heater will use energy to heat the water even though you aren’t using enough water for it to actually get warm.
5. Use a covered kettle to boil water.
This one is simple; it just uses less energy!
6. Use your pressure cooker and microwave.
Both of these items reduce cooking times and use way less energy than other methods.
7. Have you kitchen audited.
It will be amazingly beneficial for you if you have professionals look at how your kitchen and the rest of your home uses energy. They can save you a lot of money and energy in the long run by performing an energy audit and discovering exactly where your utility bill is going. Not to mention, they can alleviate any drafts that may be escaping into your home. A company like Energy Link specializes in these kinds of services.
8. Use your toaster oven for small meals.
Instead of using your full-size oven, a toaster oven can use 30-50% less energy.
9. Keep your stovetop clean.
Coils that are cleaner can reflect heat better and conduct heat more efficiently.
10. Match the pan to the heating element.
This one seems like a no brainer, but if you match your pan size to the heating element that you are using, the energy will be conducted straight into the food you are trying to cook and nothing else. Hence, the smaller the pan, the smaller heating element you should choose.
This has been a guest post for Green Technology and Green Gadgets.
[Photo Via: Goodeveningworld]
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