Follow these simple tips for trimming your electricity use while preparing your meal.
- Do a little cleaning before the big day. A clean oven and stovetop cooks more efficiently.
- Match your pots to stovetop spaces. Use the right size pot on the stovetop space; using a small pan on a large burner wastes energy.
- Cover up. Using tight-fitting lids on pots and pans traps heat, allowing for lower temperature settings and quicker cooking times.
- Cook with glass or ceramic dishes. They retain heat better than metal pans, so you can reduce the oven temperature by 25°F.
- Don’t peek. The temperature drops by as much as 25°F each time the oven door is opened. Turn on the oven light and look through the window to check on your food.
- Gobble up oven space. Minimize the time your oven operates by cooking several dishes at once.
- Use time and energy savers. Slow cookers and pressure cookers prepare food in less time and use less energy. Microwave ovens use half the energy of conventional ovens.
- Load up the dishwasher. Dishwashers use half of the energy it takes to hand wash dishes.
