Friday, June 27, 2008
Save Energy in Your Kitchen
When you are washing dishes by hand, fill one basin with warm soapy water St. John's Wort the other with cold rinse water. This uses less water than leaving the water running while rinsing. If you dont like this idea, birth control patch a sprayer to rinse the dishes. Get one that shuts off with a spring-loaded valve. When I suggest to my wife that she should only rinse the inside of the pots and pans she squirts me with the sprayer. Do not pre-rinse dirty dishes before hiding them in the dishwasher. If you have to rinse the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher, use cold water. Hold off running the dishwasher until it is full.
Turn off the heated drying cycle switch. Let dishes air dry. If buy car insurance dishwasher does not have a switch, turn the control knob OFF after the final rinse. Prop the door open a bit, so the dishes will dry faster. Check the manual that came with your dishwasher to find the makers recommended water temperature. Many have heating elements that allow you to set your home hot water heater to a lower temperature. 115 to 120 degrees is good.
Microwave ovens are great energy savers. Microwave ovens use only one-fifth as much energy as conventional stoves. Microwaves are by far the most efficient way to cook small portions. I think that they are great for making hot snacks in the winter. Food cooks faster and uses less energy, when placed on the outer edges of a rotating tray rather than in the center of the microwave.
Food cooks faster and uses less energy, as the surface to volume ratio increases. What do I mean by that? If you spread food out in a thin layer it cooks faster than if it is in a thick lump in the middle of the microwave. asp web hosting hot weather, using the microwave reduces heat build up in the kitchen reducing the load on your air conditioner.
When using a gas or electric oven try to reduce the number of times you open the oven door. Each time the oven door is opened, it looses about one fourth of its heat.
Match pot size to burner size on your stove top. Heat is lost and energy is wasted if the burner is bigger online insurance quote than the pot. Clean range top burners and reflectors to better reflect the heat to where it can be used. Put a lid on those pots. Lids hold the heat in and save energy.
On electric stove tax debt relief use flat bottom pans to make full contact with the heating elements. If you cook with an electric range, you can turn OFF the burners or oven before the cooking is finished. It takes several minutes for the heating elements to lose their heat. Saving water and energy, while you are in the kitchen is good for your cash flow and good for the environment.
If it helps promote energy independence, I can support that too. When we each shave a little off our energy bills, it is good for the environment and good for our economy. It is nice to have good side effects while keeping cash in your pocket.
You can save money on your energy bills at home at work by visiting the energy boomer blog at energyboomer.comenergyboomer.com
I am a Baby Boom Vintage Energy Engineer with a mission to help folks save money on their energy bills. I am building on my work experience, or rather trying to put it to work for my readers. Trying to save the planet from global climate change or delaying the economic collapse that using peak oil is expected to cause are good motives. But, saving some cash right now is better. I just want to help folks save a buck, both at home and at work.
I graduated from Michigan State University with a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1971 and have had a long career saving energy in a variety of industries.
