Energy Efficiency for the Kitchen: Easy, Quick and Affordable!

You can drastically improve energy efficiency for the kitchen in as much time as it takes to bake some cookies!

There are so many ways to make your refrigerator more efficient

Tips for dish washing and dishwasher efficiency: If you have a newer dishwasher, chances are it’s pretty similar in water usage to hand washing dishes, but avoid the heated dry setting to cut back on the overall energy use. Simply leave the door open after the wash cycle to let dishes dry on their own. Also, many dishwashers are programed to do very long washing cycles, so check the settings and make some tweaks to reduce running time to get the cleanest dishes in the least amount of time.

I found that the ‘speed cycle’ on our dishwasher– which is still one hour– is about thirty minutes shorter than the regular wash cycle, and dishes come out totally clean. If you’re a hand dishwasher, be sure to change your faucet aerator to reduce the flow and cut the water use exponentially (by half or more).

How to hand wash dishes more efficiently
How to make homemade dishwasher detergent from DIY Natural
Best green dishwashing detergent brands from Environmental Working Group
Learn how to test the flow rate of your kitchen faucet
Learn how to install a high efficiency faucet aerator
How to check the seal on your fridge

Energy Efficiency Tips for the Oven & Stovetop: No surprise here, the oven is one of the biggest energy users in the kitchen! Unless you’re cooking a Thanksgiving feast for 10, most likely you’re not using the oven to its full capacity.

You might benefit from a smaller counter top convention oven, which uses a good amount of electricity too, but heats up faster, using less energy overall. If you can’t get a smaller oven, use the tips here to cook more efficiently in your oven. For your range, it’s important to follow the tips below for covering your drip pans and choosing the right coil size. We’ve also added some alternative cooking options.

Choosing the right for coil size for cooking
Tips for wrapping coils in aluminum foil to save energy
How to Check the Seal on your oven
How to Conserve Energy While using your Oven
9 Tips for Efficient Cooking
How to use a slow cooker from the Kitchn
How to use a pressure cooker + 6 recipes

Energy Saving tips for the Refrigerator: Along with the stove, the fridge is one of the biggest users or energy in the kitchen, but it’s easy to cut the usage and drop your electric bill with simple tricks and tips to help your refrigerator run more efficiently and help you make the most of the energy needed. The list below includes some quick tips that you can do right now to ensure your fridge is running the most efficiently, or things to ask your Hawaii energy efficiency company to do for you.

7 best tips for refrigerator energy efficiency
How to disable the automatic ice maker to save energy
How to check the seal on the fridge and freezer for energy efficiency
How to set correct temperatures for the fridge and freezer
How to clean the refrigerator condenser coils for energy efficiency in Hawaii

Energy Efficiency for the Microwave: Microwaves are actually the most energy efficient way to heat your food. Some would argue the health merits of microwaves are dubious, but for efficiency they really can’t be beat for quick heating and warming of foods.

Image credits: refrigerator image from Appliancist.com, microwave image from Shutterstock

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Tags: energy-efficiency, green living, home efficiency, kitchen efficiency, tips for green living

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