Let's say your energy bills are higher than ever before. One place in the home to start trying to lower them, because it uses a lot of energy, could be your kitchen. By going to more energy-efficient appliances and trying out a few ideas you could save energy and have added positives of healthier and faster meals. How you prepare what you eat each day could be part of cutting your power costs while helping the environment.
For a couple quick examples: Let's say you have a pressure cooker, but it’s been sitting in a cabinet forever. This one way you already have on hand to use less energy, and try out something new for dinner. Maybe you’ve already got a shiny, new, energy-efficient refrigerator, but how you use it can save energy and money. Here are some ideas to make your kitchen more efficient in more ways than one.
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Gas vs. Electricity in the Kitchen
Electric stoves, either conventional or induction models, are more energy efficient than gas ranges. Gas ranges work with about 32% energy efficiency. A current-model electric range works with 75-80% energy efficiency. An induction stove reaches about 85% efficiency.
An induction stove works with magnetism. When magnetically-reactive cookware is in contact with the surface, and the electricity is turned on, the pot or pan receives the induced heat. Much less energy is used preheating. And, the instant the pot or pan is off the surface, the heat is off.
An induction range emits very little residual heat. This has a knock-on energy savings effect of having your HVAC work less since your house doesn’t heat up as much.
There are also health and safety benefits to electric stoves.
Electric stoves give off no gas emissions or chemical emissions, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. This improves the air quality throughout your home.
Induction stoves are less of a risk of burnings or fire. The pot or pan and what’s inside is still just as hot, but the surface is off as soon as nothing is on it. The stove surface may be hot from the pan’s heat momentarily, but it will be safe to touch in a few seconds. A stray paper towel, food spill, or utensil is less of a fire hazard with an induction range.
If it’s important to make dinner ASAP on a Tuesday night, conventional electric is an upgrade over gas and induction is an upgrade over conventional electric.
Finally, if you’ve gone to home solar power, it only makes sense to move as much of your home as possible to your own electric power source. Using less fossil fuel is a benefit to the environment and the fight against climate change. Using more of your renewable energy maximizes the economic benefit of your solar electricity.
Energy Efficient Ovens
If you’re in the market for a new oven or range, consider one certified as energy efficient by Energy Star. Energy Star does not include standalone ovens. Switching to an Energy Star range gives you about an 18% energy saving compared to the national average.
Good habits and some maintenance will help make your oven more efficient and have a longer lifespan.
First, when you use the oven, use heat (and energy) for as much as you can. If you can cook multiple things at once, for the same meal or for meals a day or two ahead, you can save money and time. The whole oven will be at 425 degrees, so you might as well use it.
Next, when food’s cooking, keep the oven door closed as much as you can. Each time you open it, you lose heat, which means you use more energy and take longer to finish the meal.
Ahead of turning on the oven, think if you really need the whole oven cranked up. If it’s a leftover piece of pizza, it can fit and be reheated much more energy-efficiently in a microwave or toaster oven. If it’s cooking a whole pizza, ok, you need the oven.
If it’s a dish that can be cooked in a pressure cooker, this typically is a more efficient method. Using a smaller appliance can reduce energy usage by about 80% compared to an oven.
A convection oven, while it can be a bigger upfront cost, is more energy efficient than conventional ovens. Convection cooking reduces the temperature and time required because hot air circulates in the oven, using the heat more efficiently. A convection oven cuts energy usage about 20% compared to a conventional oven.
Keeping an oven clean keeps it more efficient (and less nasty). Clean built-up grease or spilled food as often as you need to. Charred, gunky, messes of food mean your oven is cooking all of that, and the food you're making right now, every time you turn it on.
Energy Efficient Stoves
Energy Star certifies energy-efficient electric stoves as well, both induction and conventional electric stoves. Induction stoves are typically more expensive than conventional electric or gas stoves. However, induction stoves are about three times more energy efficient than gas stoves and about 10% more efficient than conventional models, according to the US Department of Energy.
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Energy Efficient Microwaves
Energy Star does not give certification to microwaves. Newer microwaves are more likely to have features which can save energy such as convection cooking, more precise presets for tasks like defrosting, or higher wattage, which can cook or reheat what’s inside more efficiently. So, while there’s usually a modest difference in energy usage in microwaves, if you can measure your microwave in decades, buying a new one is likely to give you some energy savings.
Microwaves can use 30-80% less energy than a conventional oven. When you’re cooking or reheating food, you are using far less energy with a microwave than to firing up the oven.
Energy Efficient Refrigerators
There are Energy Star certified refrigerators. All new refrigerators must meet federal government minimum standards for energy efficiency. Energy Star refrigerators are about 9% more efficient than the minimum standard.
Energy-saving tips with your fridge start with checking the temperature. Set your refrigerator at 35-38 degrees and your freezer at 0-5 degrees. Next, check the seal around the doors. If it’s worn or has gaps, the fridge is losing cool air all the time and having to compensate.
The same idea might go for where you have your fridge. It shouldn’t be too close to a heat source such as an oven, dishwasher, or heat vent. If you have a heat source near the fridge, the fridge is running more to compensate.
Finally, try to keep a full fridge. A refrigerator is more efficient with more mass in it. If it’s cooling a bunch of empty space, it’s using energy on nothing and having to run more to keep the temperature steady.
Other Energy Efficiency Tips in the Kitchen
There are more ways you can save energy, time, and money while in the kitchen.
- Use the exhaust fan and vent: You want to remove humidity and fumes from the kitchen as efficiently as possible. This has multiple benefits. One, you’re helping the indoor air quality for everyone in your home. Next, residual heat from a stove or oven makes your HVAC system run more, so the fan can negate some of this.
- Use smaller appliances to cook: We already discussed this with microwaves. The same idea applies to steamers, pressure cookers, toaster ovens, and crock pots. These can cook many meals more efficiently than the oven or stove, saving time and energy.
- Cover what you’re cooking: Covering what’s in a pot or pan keeps more of the heat in and cooks what you’re cooking quicker.
- Fill the dishwasher up: Waiting to run the dishwasher until it’s full saves cycles, which saves energy and water.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are induction stoves?
An induction stove works with magnetism. When a magnetically-reactive piece of cookware is in contact with the glass surface, and the stove is turned on, the pot or pan receives the induced heat. The instant the magnetic cookware is off the surface, the heat is off. The magnetism, or heat, will not react to any other material or substance, even if it’s on the cooking surface while it’s turned on.
What cooking method is most energy efficient?
There’s no one answer. In general, if you’re cooking a small amount of food, a smaller appliance which uses less energy overall is most efficient. For instance, if you’re cooking a whole pizza, your oven is likely the best and more energy efficient answer. If you're reheating a slice of pizza, it’s more efficient to use a toaster oven or microwave than a large oven.
Is a gas stove dangerous?
A gas stove can be more dangerous than induction stoves for a few reasons. An open gas flame is a burn and fire hazard. The burner on a gas stove remains hot for a substantial period of time after it’s turned off. Gas stoves can also leak carbon monoxide and other emissions into your home’s air.
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Andrew GiermakWriter and EditorAndrew joined Palmetto in Charlotte in August 2024. He’s been a writer in journalism, then in business, going back to almost the 20th century. He’s lived in Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia again, and now North Carolina for the last 12 years. He likes golf. Is he good at it? Not so much.
