With the ever-increasing cost of gas and electricity, I started to think about ways that perhaps we as a family could start to try and reduce our increasing bills and one way that perhaps I had not considered before, is by cooking efficiently; obviously I would not want to revert to using a microwave oven to cook all meals, but there are a few simple steps we’ve put in to place to help keep costs down.
- When boiling water, cover the pan and it should bring it to the boil in approximately half the time it would take uncovered.
- Flat-bottomed pans will ensure full contact with electric cooking rings – if the pan is not in full contact, then heating the pan will be far less efficient.
- Certain pan types will conduct and retain heat far more efficiently, for example, copper-bottomed pans will heat up quicker than stainless steel. In addition to this, cast-iron pans retain heat far more efficiently, result in more evenly-cooked food and do not require gas/electric rings to be turned up as high, helping to reduce energy usage and therefore cost.
- Ensure the size of the pan matches the electric ring, otherwise a percentage of the heat produced will be lost as waste.
- Reducing cooking times sounds obvious, but when using the oven, try not to open the door part-way through cooking; the heat lost has to be replaced, which means the oven has to work harder and use more energy.
- Try alternative methods for cooking, for example, for certain food types, it may be far more efficient to use a microwave, rather than an electric hob ring, or use an electric toaster rather than the electric grill in an oven.
- Keep the electric hob rings clean – any dirt or burnt foodstuffs left on the rings will absorb heat and therefore, energy.
- Keep the reflective areas below gas rings clean – again, the more reflective the surface, the far more heat will be radiated and the more efficient they will be
If you decide to adopt any of these, drop me a line and let me know how it has affected your energy bills – I suspect it will not make a huge difference, but cooking efficiently should make some impact and afterall, anything is better than nothing.
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One thing I have always wondered. Do you use less energy boiling water in an electric kettle or on the stove. My gut says the kettle is best providing you do not boil more than you need as little heat seems to get wasted as it does on the hob. Does anyone else have a view?
@ Deep Belly Button I would say the kettle as it turns itself off once boiled.
@Deep Belly Button – I’d opt for the kettle – especially since modern electric kettles seem to be increasingly more energy efficient these days.
This is a really important matter that a lot more people today have to be aware about. The more folks applying this information the better. Thank you for spreading the word. I am a big fan of your website!
@ Solar Energy Enthusiast – Thanks. Things would be better if we all tried a little more, taking responsibility for our actions. could make the big difference!
Just thought i would comment and say neat theme. Just bought a microwave which browns meat just like an ordinary oven.