Cooking and Kitchen
- Use your microwave to cook as often as possible - it's more efficient than stove cooking.
- Match each pot or pan to the appropriately sized heating element on your stove. A six-inch pan on an eight-inch element, for example, wastes 40 percent of the element's output.
- Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean; they will reflect the heat better and you will save energy.
- Use a covered kettle or pan to boil water; it's faster and it uses less energy.
- If you cook with electricity, turn the stovetop burners off several minutes before the recommended cooking time. The heating element will stay hot long enough to finish the cooking without using more electricity. The same principle applies to oven cooking.
- Use small electric pans or toaster ovens for small meals rather than your large stove or oven - a toaster oven uses a third to half as much energy as a full-sized oven.
- Use pressure cookers and microwave ovens whenever it's convenient - they can save energy by significantly reducing cooking time.
- Induction heat ranges use electromagnetic energy to create direct heat in your pot without heating the cooktop surface - and it's nearly 90 percent efficient.
- For more efficient stove use, plan your meals so that several foods cook at the same time in the oven.
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