Kitchen appliances typically make up around 30 percent of a home's total energy consumption. Any energy savings you can make in the kitchen are going to have an impact on your overall home's energy usage. The Refrigerator - The kitchen power hog The biggest energy culprit in the kitchen is the refrigerator. A great way to save power used by the refrigerator is to get a highly efficient refrigerator with a good efficiency number on the Energy Star Label. Over the last 20 years, the average refrigerator power usage dropped by over 50%. A highly efficient refrigerator can give you even greater saving. If you can't afford a new refrigerator right now, you can make sure that the one you have is performing as efficiently as possible. Here are some tips to help reduce energy usage from the fridge: 1) We'll start with the obvious….Don't leave the refrigerator doors open and make sure they are shut tightly. Every second open, will take more power to maintain the cool temperature. 2) Don't overfill the refrigerator. Spacing items will allow the air to circulate and the refrigerator to operate more efficiently. 3) Keep the refrigerator coils free of dust. They are on the back or bottom of the fridge. Just dust them off every month or so. 4) Check that the refrigerator is not leaking cold air when the door is shut. Take a dollar bill or a similar sized piece of paper and shut the door on it. Now pull it out. If it comes out easily, you may need a new seal. A new seal is not that expensive and can save a lot of energy on an old refrigerator. 5) Keep foods and, especially liquids, covered. Any excess moisture in the air will cause the refrigerators compressor to run more often. 6) Consider where you place your refrigerator. To run efficiently the fridge must have adequate airflow. Too close to the wall or cabinets can make it work harder and use more energy. Also, don't put your refrigerator directly next to something that generates heat or directly in the sun. Save Energy When Cooking Another place to save energy in the kitchen is when cooking. 
Here are some energy saving tips for cooking:
1) Use the microwave when it makes sense: Did you know that an electric stove top can use up to 2,000 watts when it's on the high setting? Wow, that's a lot of energy. Imagine heating up a bowl of soup. You may have the stove top on for 15 minutes (2000 x .25 = 250 Watt/hours) vs. 3 minutes in a 1000 watt microwave (1000 x .05 = 50 watt/hours). That's 5 times more power to heat your soup. 2) Don't open the oven door to check. This looses valuable heat energy. Around 20% of the heat can be lost each time you open the door. Use a light and look through the window or just trust your timer. 3) Cover it up. When you can, put the cover on pots. Food will cook faster and you will save heat. 4) Smaller may be better with ovens and pans. Smaller ovens take less energy to heat and the same with smaller pans. So when purchasing a toaster oven don't pick the giant one unless you need it. Also, choose a pan that matches the size of what you are cooking. 5) Use the burner that fits your pan. If you are using a small pan, use the small burner, this way you don't waist energy of all that extra heat that doesn't touch your pans. |
