If you are looking to cut your energy bill down this year, one of the best places to start is in the kitchen. If you love to spend your nights cooking in the kitchen, here’s how you can do it in the most energy-efficient way! 

Your Refrigerator

• Keep your refrigerator well-stocked. An empty fridge loses more cold air when the door is opened. If you don’t eat much food, keep a few gallons of water on hand.
• Vacuum your condenser coils every six months. These are located on the back or underneath the refrigerator and are responsible for releasing warm air. When these coils become covered in dust, it increases wear-and-tear and energy consumption.
• Replace loose gaskets immediately. The gasket is the rubber door seal that creates an airtight barrier between the inside of your refrigerator and your kitchen. If this gasket becomes loose, cold air can escape when the door is shut.

Stove and Oven

• Match your pot to the correct burner size. Putting a six-inch pot on an eight-inch burner sounds like no big deal, but it actually wastes 50% of the heat the burner produces. Make sure all of your pots have flat bottoms to maximize surface contact.
• Don’t preheat your oven, just throw your food in right when you turn it on. It may take a few minutes longer to cook, but you save all that time waiting on the front-end.
• Use residual heat to finish your cooking. This can work on the stove top or in the oven, both of which take several minutes to cool down after turning them off. Use this to your advantage by cutting the power a few minutes before your food is done cooking.

Your Dishwasher

• Only run a load when your dishwasher is full. Filling it to its capacity will help you maximize the energy, water, and detergent required to run a cycle. Don’t overload it, though. This could force you to run multiple loads.
• Before turning on your dishwasher, run your sink until the water is hot. This will ensure that your dishwasher runs with hot water the entire time, instead of waiting for cold water to heat up at the start of the wash.
• Use the air-dry setting. Some dishwashers use electric heat to dry your dishes after the washing cycle, but this can spike energy consumption by 20 percent or more. Simply open the dishwasher door overnight and your dishes will be dry by the morning.

TFC Electric provides residential and commercial electrician services to homes and businesses across Suffolk County, Long Island. Contact us online to get started with a free estimate, or call (631) 589-2800.