HOME COOKING

ou need to eat, right? The kitchen uses a big chunk of your home energy budget. Your refrigerator alone -- which is on 24 hours a day -- accounts for about 15 percent of the total home electricity bill, or about 10 percent of the average home energy bill. So where can you apply energy efficiency in the kitchen? 

Power$mart Tips

Shopping for a major appliance before it breaks down gives you the best chance to find a higher efficiency model with the features you want. The typical refrigerator sold in 1996 has more features yet uses about half the electricity of a comparable model sold in 1980. However, there still remains a wide range in efficiency between models. Choose appliances with the Energy Star label to ensure efficiency.

Energy Conscious Tips

		Buy a new fridge that is the right size for your needs to avoid wasting energy cooling nothing.
		Use a microwave or toaster oven to cook small portions and a conventional oven or stove-top for larger items.
		A watched pot will eventually boil -- but putting a lid on it reduces cooking time and energy use. Also, match the pot size to burner size to avoid energy waste.

It’s A Fact

Refrigerators in the U.S. alone use the equivalent of the output of more than 20 large nuclear power plants. If all the nation’s households used the most efficient refrigerators, electricity savings would eliminate the need for about 10 large power plants.