Energy Efficiency in the Kitchen

Kitchen is a space where you spend quite some time of the day and energy too. Kitchen Appliances account for 25% of a household’s energy consumption.[i] And this calls for efficient ways of using the available energy.

Energy efficiency measures provide a way of saving and reducing our household consumption. I have tried to apply some of these in my day to day life. And these can be very useful in your kitchen as well.

Cook with a lid - It speeds up the process of cooking, as the heat is conserved by covering a pan. And when the heat is not able to escape, the pressure inside the pan increases which in turn furthers the cooking process. Use it while boiling, sautéing vegetables or for making your favorite pasta.

     

  Optimize oven use – While cooking with oven, we work with very high temperatures and this leads to greater use of energy. But there are ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint here. This can be done by optimizing the use of an oven, with multiple racks – you can stack two or three different things at the same time. This way you can not only save energy but time too.                                            

   Turn off before time – This works with both oven and stove. When you are baking or roasting, according to the given cooking time, you can put off the oven just 4-5 minutes before the time is up. And it doesn’t affect the cooking process at all, as the temperature remains the same inside the oven for that period of time. This helps in saving energy and the dish comes out just as perfect. While cooking on stove too, especially for boiling vegetables or pasta, you can put off the gas a little before time and leave it covered for the remaining time. These few minutes add up to hours of saved energy over the years.

    Unplug Appliances – Appliances use energy even when not in use, if they are plugged in. So, one of the easiest ways of avoiding wastage is to unplug appliances like microwave, toaster or blender in the kitchen. It becomes more beneficial, when you are planning to be away from home for a few days or you are going on a vacation.

   Pressure cook your soups and beans – Pressure cooker is a much quicker way of cooking and results in less energy consumption. It can be used for soups, meats, beans and even for boiling potatoes. It reduces the cooking time considerably (down to 20–30 minutes) in comparison to simmering for hours.

    Shop for Energy efficient appliances - If you are looking to buy a new microwave oven or stove, go for the energy efficient appliances which save energy and money in the long run.  

One of the most important things in the direction of saving energy is using it efficiently. Every bit we do helps, as the saying goes, “little drops of water make a mighty ocean”.

References

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[i] General Electric, Ecomagination Kitchen, http://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/ecomagination-kitchen