Save Energy in the Kitchen

Save money and energy in the kitchen

Our modern kitchens are expensive in energy terms, cookers, microwaves, and kettles, washing and washing up machines, tumble dryers, fridges, deep freezers and fryers and a plethora of gadgets to make our lives easier and consume power. Only now are we starting to realise the real cost of such labour saving devices. Nobody wants to go back to hand washing in a bucket in the outhouse but there are easy energy saving alternatives!

Washing machines and saving energy

Fortunately washing machine manufacturers are responding to consumer led demand for less energy expensive machines. Half-load washes and quick cycles come as standard on most modern machines and this is progress indeed! But do you really need to wear something just once and then wash it? Come on, nobody smells that bad, well, I’m sure you don’t! Consider a ‘halfway house’ for clothing you only wear once unless it is actually tainted. Over time this little practice saves energy, it saves water and it saves you wear on your clothing. cumulatively too, it will save you pots of money and time spent washing clothes that don’t really need it.
Washing-up machines too are an essential in the modern kitchen, especially if you have a family. But even just a pre-rinse in hot water and a quicker wash cycle will save energy and water even, occasionally ‘the old practice’ of washing up small amounts by hand. Filling the machine to full and loading it properly may take a little longer but it’s a tiny price to pay to save the earth’s precious resources and you can feel all virtuous afterwards!

Electric kettle use to save energy

Kettle use accounts for nearly one third of the electrical energy used in a domestic kitchen. Nearly everyone overfills their electric kettle and wastes energy in boiling water that isn’t used. Over time and across the world this unconscious little practice builds into a huge waste of energy. You could actually power a city on the amount of energy wasted with electric kettles every year! It’s estimated that most of us use a kettle to boil twice as much water as we actually need. Modern wide-based kettles don’t help as it takes more than a mug full to cover the element. Make sure you are boiling only the amount of water you need by filling your cup or mug with water then pouring it into the kettle to boil. There are about seven million new electric kettles bought in the UK every year, so next time you buy one think about power consumption. Even ‘eco-kettles’ are now available on the market that release exactly the amount of water you need from a built-in reservoir.

Cooking up an energy saving in the kitchen

Electric cookers are a particularly large user of energy and there are several ways that you can minimise expense and energy when cooking electric:

make sure that the pots and pans you use have flat bottoms as this improves conductivity.
match the size of the pots and pans with the hotplates
keep the lids on and the heat down to avoid wasting heat
avoid using more heat than you need to cook food

For all cookers steaming is a great way to cook. Not only does this recycle energy but it is also a whole load healthier. Tests in Spain recently measured the levels of flavonoids left in fresh broccoli after it was cooked. The results show large differences in flavonoid content according to how the broccoli was prepared.

boiling - 66% loss
pressure-cooking - 53% loss of major antioxidant
steaming - minimal loss of antioxidants
microwaving - 97% loss of flavonoids

So if you are boiling something, such as rice or potatoes or spaghetti, use a steamer to stack your vegetables on the top (with a lid on top) and save energy knowing that the nutrients are staying in the food rather than being thrown away in the cooking water and you can save even more energy by throwing your microwave away! In France, British people are sometimes called ‘ les ros bifs’ due to overcooked Sunday lunches! Remember when cooking vegetables that less cooking leaves many of the nutrients, and the taste in the food, it’s healthier and it saves energy.

Fridge use to save energy

Fridges, like water heaters are thermostatically controlled. Check the temperature at which your fridge is operating and see if you can safely raise it a degree or two. There are several ways you can lower the energy requirements of your fridge. First of all check the seals on the door are operating properly so that the cold remains sealed in the box.
Secondly, when opening your fridge, keep the door open for as little time as possible, cold air sinks and a fridge takes only seconds to pour its chilled air into the environment a total waste of energy. Thirdly, when storing cooked food, let it chill down to room temperature before placing it inside the fridge. If you are going to buy a new fridge ask for an eco-friendly one and make sure you dispose of the old one carefully as the CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) they use are a major ozone layer destroyer.