The easiest way to save electricity in the kitchen is to use specialised appliances for the appropriate tasks. For examples, always make toast in a toaster instead of using the oven.
COOKING
- Ensure the oven door is kept closed until the food is done. Constantly opening and closing the oven door dissipates heat, and electricity is wasted in reheating the oven.
- Only use
pots and pans that completely cover stove plates. Also keep stove plates and reflectors clean to ensure all the energy is being used to cook the food.
- Use a pressure cooker when preparing foods that take a long time to cook. It will speed up the cooking process and save electricity.
- Turn off the stove before you’ve finished cooking. Hot plates retain heat and will continue to cook your food while saving electricity. Alternatively, bring food to the boil on the ‘high’ setting and then turn down the plate to simmer until cooked. Keep the lid on the pot to retain heat.
- Use the microwave for small to medium amounts of food. Leave the large meals to a conventional oven.
- When using a kettle, boil only as much water as you need.
- Invest in a Hot Box for approximately R150 and save up to 60% on cooking costs. A hot box insulates your cooking pot so that it retains the initial heat. Foods such as rice, porridge, soups or stews can be brought to the boil on the stove and then placed into the Hot Box to continue the cooking process. Alternatively, you can also simply wrap the pot in a blanket. The blanket will keep the heat in and the food will continue to cook.
- Buy a stove with a convection oven / The other best choice is to use a gas hob with an electric oven, or a gas ring and electric hotplate, from an environmental and financial point of view.
REFRIGERATION
- Don’t open the fridge door unnecessarily or leave it open for too long. Cold air sinks so it literally falls out of the fridge, and so your fridge has to start again. An empty fridge has to work hard to keep things cold so put bottles of water in the fridge as these ‘hold onto the cold’ – equally, an overfull fridge also has to work too hard.
- Let hot food cool down before putting it in the fridge. It will require less electricity for further cooling.
- Empty your fridge and switch it off when you go on holiday.
- Defrost your freezer regularly. This will ensure it runs more efficiently.
- Have the seals in your fridge replaced to keep the cold air in.
DISHWASHING
- Washing dishes by hand can use twice as much electricity as a dishwasher.Dishwashers use up to nine times less water than hand washing.
- Only use the dishwasher when it’s full.
- Link the dishwasher to the cold water supply. The dishwasher heats the water itself and only requires hot water for one wash and one rinse cycle. If the dishwasher is linked to a hot water tap, it will draw power for the full duration.
- Turn the dishwasher off before the drying cycle. Use a cloth to dry the dishes/ let them drip-dry.
- When buying a dishwasher: Choose a model that uses less water. A water efficient dishwasher uses up to 50% less water than a conventional one, which means 50% less water to heat up.
- Choose a model with a no-heat air-drying feature to save even more electricity/an option not to use the dryer.
Buy the best rated energy-efficient refrigerator on the market within your budget. If you insist on using a deep freezer, pick a size that suits your needs. Avoid placing them in a warm place like the kitchen. Opt for the basement or garage where it is already cooler. That way the freezer won't have to work extra hard.
