Energy Efficiency in the Kitchen

Saving money and saving energy is on everybody’s mind these days. In this economy we all need to find small ways to save money everyday. One of the ways we can do this is by cutting energy costs in the kitchen. Discovering ways to reduce energy consumption in this one particular area of our home can save us money every month on utility bills.

It is so wonderful having an automatic dishwasher in the kitchen. Almost every home now has an automatic dishwasher included in the appliances. The ease and convenience of it requires little effort other than throwing the dishes in and turning it on. The best way to gain full efficiency is by not running the dishwasher until it is completely full. Running it everyday because you have a few dishes is doing nothing more than wasting your electricity. Get the full benefit by washing full loads. Also instead of using the heat drying setting, allow the dishes to air dry. Sure you may have to dry them off completely with a towel but the difference you see in your utility bill will be well worth it.

Another major appliance to save energy on is your oven. Most stoves and ovens on the market today are energy efficient, however you can squeeze more energy efficiency out of them. For instance, when cooking something in the oven, turn it off for the last ten minutes of your cooking time. Your food will still be cooking, but you will be using the heat already generated rather than wasting it after you have finished. During the winter time, when you are done cooking, leave the oven door open halfway to allow the warm air into the house as it cools. Granted it may not sound like much but these days every little bit helps.

Look inside your freezer and see how full it really is. There is no sense having your freezer cool down empty air space. Placing newspaper in your freezer to fill it up keeps your unit from activating to cool empty air. Try this small test and see for yourself. For one hour count how many times your freezer clicks on and off to cool just with what you have in there now. After the hour, fill the empty space in your freezer with newspaper. Wait for about an hour or so, then go back and count how many times it turns on. I can almost guarantee it will decrease its run time by at least two cycles.

Getting more energy efficiency in the kitchen is not that difficult. By doing small things, you can save money on your utility bills. What better way than start cutting costs in the kitchen. Saving money is finding creative ways of conducting our everyday life. Stretching our money these days is all about spending less and getting more.