Ways to Save Energy in the Kitchen on a Budget

We all know the major ways how we should be saving energy in our home; changing out our old, inefficient appliances for energy-saving ones, like those provided by Energy Star or using LED bulbs instead of traditional or CFL bulbs. But these changes can put a serious dent in the bank account, at least initially until you start seeing a significant savings in energy bills over a period of time. Some of the biggest wastes of energy in a home come from kitchen appliances. For those who want to make changes but can’t afford a large initial cash output, Virginia Lacy, a Consultant with the Energy & Resources Team at Rocky Mountain Institute, suggests trying the following steps in your kitchen:

Oven

* Don't open the oven door to check on a dish — use the oven light instead (20 percent of the heat can be lost each time you open the oven door).

* Keep preheating to a minimum.

* Turn the oven off before cooking is complete (depending on the dish, up to 15 minutes). The heat in the oven will continue to cook the dish until finished.

* If you need to self-clean the oven, plan to do it after cooking a meal while the oven is already hot, requiring less energy to raise the temperature to a higher level.

Stovetop

* Match the pan size to the element size.

* Use the least amount of water and the smallest size pan possible. Otherwise you're wasting energy to heat up excess metal or excess water.

Refrigerator

* Let hot foods cool to room temperature before putting them in the fridge. Otherwise the fridge works even harder to bring the temperature down.

* Keep the freezer full. The more air you displace with food and beverages, the less cold air you lose when you open the freezer door.

Dishwasher

* Run the dishwasher when full; it requires the same amount of energy for a full load as it does for a half load.

* Use the "no heat" drying option.

* Don't wash dishes twice. Although it depends upon the age of your dishwasher, most dishwashers can get your dishes clean without rinsing them first by hand.

Other appliances

* Plug countertop appliances into a power strip that can be turned off after use, saving the energy that would be used by the appliances when in "standby mode." (Depending upon how often you use your microwave, the microwave's digital clock could use more energy than the microwave oven itself.)

* You can also simply unplug appliances when you're done using them.

These simple steps not only help the planet, but will also save money off of your utility bills.