Taking control of your energy in the kitchen

As it’s heart of the home, your kitchen is an excellent place to start when trying to reduce your energy usage. No matter what your budget, there are tips and tricks to help you save money both with your energy and food bills.

It’s all about the label

Last year big changes happened with the energy efficiency labelling on appliances. The old rating scale of A+++ to G- has been revised to a simpler range of A to G. Check out the Label2020 website to familiarise yourself with the new scale before upgrading your appliances.

While we’re on the subject of appliances, it’s worth knowing that you can save energy by choosing the right size of appliance or cookware for your needs. For example, using a microwave is far more energy efficient than cooking on a traditional gas or electric hob when you’re heating up small amounts of food.

Other kitchen quick tips

• Use lids on your pots to keep the heat in
• Boil water in the kettle first before adding it to the saucepan
• Use residual heat – food can be kept warm even with the heat turned off
• Don’t open the oven door

Don’t get a brain freeze

Another savvy way to save money and energy in the kitchen is make optimal use of your freezer.

• never put hot food directly into the fridge or freezer, allow it to cool on the side first
• defrost your fridge or freezer regularly
• don’t hold the door open for extended periods of time, as it’ll have to work harder to cool the temperature afterwards
• keep your fridge at 5 degrees Celsius or less. On average, we keep our fridges at 7 degrees Celsius, which means our food goes off sooner
• ensure there’s at least a 10cm gap behind your fridge to let heat flow away more easily

Don’t leave appliances on standby

While fridges, fridge-freezers, upright and chest freezers are traditionally the largest single consumers of electricity in the home because they’re always on – you can save energy by turning off other electronic appliances.

Your dishwasher, microwave, washing machine, tumble dryer and electric oven will all eat up electricity when left on standby. Try to get into the habit of turning them off at the plug to save energy.

We’re on hand to help

You can find out more energy saving tips for the kitchen in Energy Saving Trust’s blog. And, if you’re looking for more personalised advice for all areas of your home, our friendly advisors are on hand. Call us on 0808 808 2282 Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm or Saturday 9am -5pm. You can also get in touch via our contact form if you prefer to speak to someone over email.