Home Cooking: Simple Ingredients for Energy Savings

With these simple tips, you can enjoy tasty home-cooked meals and lower energy bills.

Cooking at home is a great way to save money and make healthy and delicious meals for your family. Bad cooking habits, however, can really make a mess of your energy bills. Use these simple tips to cook your meals more efficiently.

• Keep your rangetop and oven clean. A well-maintained appliance will cook more evenly and efficiently.
• Preheat the oven to the exact temperature needed. Preheating isn't necessary for foods that cook for several hours.
• Limit the number of times you open the oven door. Opening the door can lower the oven temperature by as much as 25°F.
• Match the size of the pot or pan to the size of the burner. A 6-inch pan on an 8-inch burner can waste 40% of the energy used.
• Cover pots and pans to cook food faster and more efficiently. An added bonus is that the kitchen will stay cooler in the summer.
• Use glass or ceramic baking dishes whenever possible. They retain heat better than metal cookware.
• Consider your cooking options. Microwaves, slow cookers and toaster ovens are great options for simple meals or leftovers. They use less energy than a conventional oven or rangetop.

Washing the dishes

After your meal is finished, take steps to clean up efficiently. Dishwashers generally use less energy and water than hand washing. So, if you have a dishwasher, use it. Scrape dishes instead of rinsing them before loading them into the dishwasher. To make the most of the energy and water used, wait until the dishwasher is full before running it.

With these tips, you can enjoy tasty home-cooked meals with lower energy bills as an added treat.