Cooking Appliances

When you’re cooking your favorite family meals, your kitchen appliances can work overtime and become a significant portion of your overall energy usage. Learn some simple ways to cook more efficiently.

• Each time you open the oven door while it’s in use, the temperature inside can drop up to 50 degrees. Use a timer to help you avoid the urge to peek.
• Ceramic, glass and stainless steel cookware conduct and retain heat most efficiently. This means you can lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees when using these.
• Test the thermostat in your oven to be sure it measures temperatures accurately. Chances are, it does not.
• Keep as much of the surface unit heat as possible from escaping. Use pots and pans with flat bottoms, and always use a pan the same size as the surface heating unit.
• Use tight-fitting lids. Foods in covered pans begin boiling or steaming faster, allowing you to use lower temperature settings.

Gas normally provides greater temperature control and costs about half as much to operate as electric; however, gas relies on convective heat transfer and may cause your kitchen to heat up a little more — making your air conditioner work harder. When cooking with gas, always use a ventilation fan.

Convection ovens use a fan to circulate hot air throughout the open cavity to speed up cooking. These ovens can save you time and money over the long haul.