Reducing The Energy Loss In Your Kitchen
Your kitchen consumes a lot of energy each year. Think about how much use the kitchen sees each day – all that you do in the kitchen requires the use of utilities. If you can reduce energy consumption in the kitchen, you could begin to see your utility bills decrease a bit. Here you'll find a few ideas that can help you reduce the energy use in your kitchen.
Windows
The windows in your kitchen are either hurting or helping your efforts to reduce energy use. If the windows are very old, they will allow the hot and cool air that you pay to produce to escape. It's time to talk with a window professional to find out how much it will cost you to eliminate those old windows and have a new home window installation done.
If your windows are in good condition, you need to be taking advantage of the sunlight that they allow into the room. Instead of turning on a light each time you enter the room, allow the windows to fill the space with natural light. The only time the drapes or blinds should be kept closed in your kitchen is if the sun is heating the space up. On the really hot days, draw the windows closed to keep the sun from heating things up.
If you don't have a lot of windows in the space, hang a mirror or two in the kitchen. This will help to reflect the natural light around the room and decrease the need for electrical lighting through the day.
The sun can also help you illuminate things overnight. Place some solar powered lights on your window sills. When the sun goes down, these lights will automatically turn on and provide enough light in the kitchen to make it usable without turning on the lights through the night.
Appliances
The appliances suck up a lot of energy each day, but you can decrease how much energy is lost just by how you use the appliances.
Don't run the dishwasher unless it is full. If it takes days for you to fill the dishwasher, consider washing your dishes by hand each day and skip the dishwasher entirely.
If you reheat lots of dinners or cook small meals in your big oven often, consider investing in a small, countertop convection oven or toaster oven. These units heat up much faster and use much less energy than a full-size oven – you'll get your food cooked faster and you'll save on energy costs.
Begin making changes to your kitchen and how you use it today. Soon, you'll see the cost of your utilities decrease at least a little.