Making Your Kitchen Appliances Environmentally Friendly

Guest Blogger #525, Entry #1186, May 18, 2012

While “saving” and “less” are key concepts associated with going green, there is no need for individuals to deprive themselves. When it comes to making one’s kitchen appliances environmentally friendly, it is all about updating old, non-environmentally-friendly appliances by replacing them with energy-efficient and water-saving appliances. One of the best ways to conserve energy in the kitchen is to choose appliances with Energy Star ratings that indicate the number of kilowatt hours that an appliance consumes in a year. Options for creating a green-appliance themed kitchen are described.

Create a kitchen that is eco-friendly

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Refrigerator/Freezer

Choosing an Energy Star qualified refrigerator is the number one way to go. A distinctive quality, they consume 20% less energy than non-Energy Star qualified refrigerators, particularly from the 1970’s and 80’s. Some qualities of energy-efficient refrigerators and freezers are described as follows:

• Size – Energy Star refrigerators fall within the size range of 16-20 cubic feet.
• Temperature –The ideal temperature settings are between 37 and 40 for refrigerators and 5 degrees for freezers.
• Design: Models with top-mounted freezers save 10-25% more energy than side-by-side or bottom-mounted freezers.
• Materials: Refrigerators that are 2001 energy compliant are insulated with polyurethane foam.
• Feature replacement options – Refrigerators with built-in water dispensers and freezers with icemakers consume 14-20% more energy than those without them. As an eco-friendly alternative, individuals can invest in portable pitcher filters to purify water from the kitchen faucet and cool the pitcher-filtered water in the refrigerator. Also, pouring water into ice cube trays and freezing is an alternative to using automatic icemakers.

Green your kitchen with an eco-friendly dishwasher

Dishwasher and Sink

It is important to note that Energy Star dishwashers consume 5,000 less gallons of water per year than washing dishes by hand. Also, Energy Star dishwashers use about four gallons of water per cycle, in contrast to non- Energy Star dishwashers that use about six gallons of water. Further, double-drawer dishwashers are more energy efficient than one-drawer dishwashers. Double-drawer dishwashers allow one to choose between one drawer for small loads or both drawers for large loads. In addition, an eco-friendly sink is designed with aerators that significantly reduce water flow.

Oven – eco-friendly convection save energy

Oven

Using ovens during the summer not only consumes a lot of energy in itself, but also requires increased use of air conditioning. If not using an eco-friendly convection oven, which operates with even circulation of air, one can reduce energy by cooking with the following oven alternatives:

• Electric egg cookers – save energy by allowing individual to poach eggs or boil seven eggs in about 13 minutes with the aid of a timing buzzer. Electric egg cookers save water by requiring no more than four ounces of water to cook seven eggs in a six-inch diameter aluminium plate.
• Multi-cookers/steamers – allow steaming, boiling, roasting, stewing, and deep frying foods such as vegetables, fish, roast, and pasta.
• Toaster ovens – heat dishes such as pizza.
• Grilling machines – allow the cooking of grease-free burgers.
• Electric skillets
• Microwaves

Having reviewed these eco-friendly kitchen appliances, one can substantially conserve energy and water. A green kitchen is further portrayed by appliances that are unplugged or connected to a turned-off surge strip when not in use.

Appliance City are specialists in kitchen appliances including a huge variety of stoves and range cookers including the popular American style fridge freezers. For more information visit Appliancecity.co.uk

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