Home Energy Savings - Kitchen

[Dominick Penny]

How many of you belong to an electric coop? If so, do you receive a
monthly magazine from them with little tidbits of information on how
to save energy in you home? Well, I do and most of the time I don't
actually read the magazine. But, today I did and let me share with you
some of the tidbits of information it told me.   The
information below deals with how to save energy in your kitchen.
1. Use your refrigerator's anti-sweat feature only if necessary. I
don't believe that I have this feature. If you do, look at the
instruction that came with your refrigerator and find out how it
works.
2. Switch your refrigerator's power-saver to "ON", if available. This
feature I do have and I use this.
3. Set the refrigerator temperature to 34 degrees or 37 degrees F and
freezer temperature to 0 degree or 5 degrees F. My freezer has
settings that allow me to set it by degrees, but the refrigerator
section has high to low. I have mine set closer to low.
4. Unplug unused refrigerators or freezers. Well, doesn't this make
sense. If you aren't using something why would you have it plugged in?
If you don't want mold inside the unit, take off the doors.
5. Use microwave for cooking when possible. Microwaves speed up
cooking. They don't require time to come up to heat. If you are making
something that requires browning, you probably don't want to use the
microwave. Unless, of course, you have a convection microwave.
6. When cooking on the range, use pot lids to help food cook faster.
Putting a lid over the pot keeps the steam in and allows the food to
cook at a faster rate. You will probably find that you need to turn
the heat down so as not to boil over.
7. If you are heating water, use hot tap water instead of cold. I'll
go one step further with this idea. Put the water in a microwave dish
and heat it in the microwave first. This will bring it to a boil
faster and also use less energy.
8. Remember to use the kitchen exhaust fan when cooking and turn it
off after cooking. Make sure that your exhaust fan is free of any
blockage. Sometimes birds, mice or other things have used the opening
for nests. Especially when it hasn't been used in a long time.
9. Let hot food cool before storing it in the refrigerator. Not
everyone does this, but it makes good sense. When you put a lid on hot
food, the steam gets trapped inside and can sometimes cause the food
to spoil quicker.
10. Rinse dirty dishes with cold water before putting them into the
dishwater. Even the best dishwashers can miss food stuck on dishes.
Rinsing first helps to take off all the loose food particles from your
dishes. If your dishwasher doesn't seem to be doing it's job. Try
changing the type of detergent you use. Remember that if you don't use
your dishwasher frequently, it can lead to problems. Check the bottom
of your dishwasher before using to make sure nothing is stuck there.
11. Use cold water for garbage disposal. Why would you need to use hot
water? Cold water will do the job just as well. Occasionally you might
want to run something through the garbage disposal to make it smell
fresher. I believe that you can use lemons.
12. Only run dishwasher when fully loaded. Some dishwashers might have
a setting for a smaller load, but most don't. Just don't overcrowd the
dishwasher. The water has to get in and around in order to clean.
13. Use air-dry cycle instead of heat-dry cycle to dry dishes. This
will save a love of energy.

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