OUC Serves Up Energy Saving Tips

This holiday season don’t get burned by high utility bills. If your oven’s working overtime cooking all of those traditional meals and treats, these simple tips can help keep your energy use in check:

• Opening the oven door lowers the temperature inside – by as much as 25 degrees, increases cooking time, wastes energy and heats up your kitchen. Instead turn on the oven light and look through the oven window.
• Cook several items at the same time. Just make sure to leave enough room for the heat to circulate around each casserole or pie plate.
• Use a microwave oven to cook smaller dishes quickly and efficiently. Microwaves use 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens and they don’t heat up the kitchen.
• Slow cookers, or crock-pots, also are an efficient option. They can cook a whole meal for about 17 cents worth of electricity.
• When cooking on top of the range, match the size of the pan to the heating element. Also, clean burners and reflectors provide better heating, while saving energy.
• Do not put aluminum foil in the bottom of your oven to catch spills, etc. This blocks the heat that the oven elements are trying to radiate.
• Consider upgrading your appliances to Energy Star-qualified models that use 10–50 percent less energy and water than standard models. The money you save on your utility bills can more than make up for the cost of the new appliance.

For more energy saving tips, follow us on Twitter @ReliablyGreen.