Refrigerator/Freezer
A typical
home uses 600-1200 kiloWatt-hours per year for refrigeration and freezing. To
become more energy efficient with refrigeration in your home, follow these
tips:
• Keep your
refrigerator at 37°- 40° F and your freezer at 5°F.
• Keep your
refrigerator filled to capacity, but don't overcrowd to the point where doors
cannot be closed or air cannot circulate.
• Vacuum the
condenser coils (underneath or behind the unit) every three months or so.
• Check the
condition of door gaskets by placing a dollar bill against the frame and
closing the door. If the bill can be pulled out with a very gentle tug, the
door should be adjusted or the gasket replaced.
• Do not put
uncovered liquids in the refrigerator. The liquids give off vapors that add to
the compressor workload.
• Allow hot
food to cool off before putting it in the refrigerator.
• Plan ahead
and remove all ingredients for each meal at one time.
• Try
switching off the power-saver switch, if your refrigerator has one. If only a
small amount of condensation appears, save energy and leave the switch off.
Buying Tips
for a Refrigerator/Freezer
• Reduce your
refrigeration electricity usage by 40 percent by replacing a 12-year-old or
older unit with a new unit.
• An Energy Star® unit will lower usage even more.
• An Energy Star® unit will lower usage even more.
• Select a
refrigerator or freezer that is just large enough for your needs
• Look for energy-saving features
such as the power-saver switch and improved insulation materials.
• If
possible, locate refrigerators and freezers away from direct sunlight, ranges,
and heating equipment.
• Never put a
second refrigerator in the garage. If you need a second unit, put it in the
basement.
Range/Oven
• A typical
home uses 200-700 kiloWatt-hours per year with its range/oven. To become more
energy efficient with your range/oven, follow these tips:
• Only use
pots and pans with flat bottoms on the stove.
• Include more stews, stir-frys,
and other single-dish meals in your menus.
• Develop the
habit of "lids-on" cooking to permit lower temperature settings.
• Keep
reflector pans beneath stovetop heating elements bright and clean.
• Carefully
measure water used for cooking to avoid having to heat more than is needed.
• Begin
cooking on highest heat until liquid begins to boil. Then lower the heat
control settings and allow food to simmer until fully cooked.
• Cook as
much of the meal in the oven at one time as possible. Variations of 25°F still
produce good results and save energy.
• Rearrange
oven shelves before turning your oven on - and don't peek at food in the oven!
• Every time
you open the oven door, 25°-50°F is lost.
• There is no
need to preheat the oven for broiling or roasting. ƒ
When preheating an oven for baking, time the preheat period carefully. Five to
eight minutes should be sufficient.
• Use your
microwave oven whenever possible, as it draws less than half the power of its
conventional oven counterpart and cooks for a much shorter amount of time.
• Use the
self-cleaning cycle only for major cleaning jobs. Start the cycle right after
cooking while the oven is still hot, or wait until late in the evening when
electricity usage is low.
Buying Tips for a Range/Oven
Convection
ovens use a small fan to circulate hot air around the oven. This speeds up
cooking time by about 30 percent and saves the same in energy.
Combination
ovens use microwave technology and halogen lamps to cut cooking time and energy
use by 66-75 percent.
Dishwasher
• Wash only
full loads of dishes - but do not overload dishwasher.
• Scrape food
off dishes and rinse them with cold water before placing them in the
dishwasher.
• Soak or
pre-wash only in the cases of burned-on or dried-on foods.
• Don't use
the "rinse hold" feature on your dishwasher when you only have a few
soiled dishes.
• Buying tip:
Look for dishwashers with internal booster heaters, so that you can set your
water heater thermostat at 120°F (rather than 140°F for dishwashing purposes).
• Energy-Efficient
Appliances for the Kitchen
Induction
Cooking
Induction
cooking is one of many advances made in home cooking. With induction cooking,
surfaces stay cool while the food gets warm or hot. It uses magnetic friction
to deliver heat through coils to the pots or pans on the surface. This prevents
the ceramic surface from becoming hot, which prevents burns. The pots that are
used must be made of magnetic materials, such as iron or steel, for the best
results.
These units
have very high efficiency ratings (in terms of the amount of heat used for
actual cooking versus the total amount of heat delivered by the equipment),
especially when compared to gas systems.
Light Energy
Ovens
Many people
use microwave ovens for a variety of cooking purposes, but they do not have the
ability to grill or broil. Now, with light energy ovens, tungsten/ halogen
lamps are positioned around the interior and computer-controlled
"thermal-pulsing" selectively directs energy both into and onto the
food. You get the size, convenience, and speed of a microwave oven, combined
with the cooking ability of a regular oven or grill.
Larger
versions of these ovens have been used in commercial restaurants and hotels.
Starting in December 1998, models were available for residential applications.
Energy
Efficient Cooking
Each piece of
cooking equipment you use and how you use it makes a big impact on how much
energy you use preparing meals. Here are some tips that should help you decide
where and when savings are possible in the kitchen.
• Select the
right pan or appliance. Oversized pans waste energy. The pan you use should
match the burner size. A 6-inch diameter pan on an 8-inch burner wastes almost
half of the energy produced by the burner. Using a separate appliance like a
Crockpot can save energy when preparing foods requiring long cooking times.
• Pressure
cookers reduce energy use 50 to 75 percent because cooking times are reduced
when food is cooked at the higher temperatures created inside a pressure
cooker. And when you bake, use glass and ceramic pans and you can lower the
oven temperature by 25 degrees. If you're baking or roasting something for less
than a half hour, use a toaster oven. They often use 1/3 to 1/2 the power
needed for a conventional oven.
• With
flat-surface electric burners, make sure the bottom of your pans are flat-bottomed
and can make good contact with the element. Uneven pan bottoms don't conduct
heat to the food as well. And with electric burners, you can turn them off
toward the end of the cooking time since they'll radiate heat for awhile as
they cool.
• With gas
cooktops, a well-shaped blue flame indicates efficient burning. A yellow flame
means the burner is operating inefficiently.
• Keep lids
on pans as you cook; cooking without them can require three times as much
energy as cooking with them on. Look for pans with glass lids if you like to
keep an eye on what you are preparing.
• When
boiling foods, keep the amount of water used to a minimum. Using excess water
that must be heated wastes the energy required to raise its temperature.
• Use
microwave ovens when possible since they use less energy and require shorter
cooking times than conventional ovens. And in the summer, they have the
additional advantage of producing less heat in the kitchen.
• Defrosting
frozen foods in the refrigerator will reduce cooking time. But allow enough
time for defrosting to take place. It can take several days for a frozen turkey
to defrost in a refrigerator.
•
Self-cleaning ovens are a great convenience, but they accomplish their tasks by
heating to very high temperatures and burn off spilled or accumulated food. So
use them only when the oven really needs the cleaning, once a month or so. And
do it right after use so it's preheated for the cleaning cycle.
