Trim Your Cooking Energy Use

Quick Facts Affordability Cost Savings CO2 Reduction		Using a full-size oven is not always necessary. Smaller appliances, like toaster ovens and slow cookers, can often get the job done for less, especially when cooking smaller meals. Using the right tool for the job will save energy – and money. Affordability If your lifestyle makes it difficult to plan meals far enough ahead to use a crock-pot, try a pressure cooker. Pressure-cooking is fast, saves energy and cooks the nutrients into your food. Cost savings A microwave takes 15 minutes to do the same job as an hour of cooking in an electric oven. Using a microwave instead of your oven four times a week could save you more than $20 per year on your electricity bill. Health & comfort Microwave ovens are a highly energy-efficient way to cook, but studies have shown that many foods cooked in them have higher cholesterol levels and in some cases less nutritional value than if cooked in other ways. Balance your microwave use with crock-pots, toaster ovens and other small appliances to save energy and stay healthy. Environmental consideration Your food choices can make a big difference in global energy use. Buying foods that are less processed may seem like more work for you but will actually save much of the energy used in processing and packaging. Eating local foods, fresh foods and buying dried goods in bulk are other great ways to reduce the energy used for shipping, processing and packaging food. Eating whole foods will also give your body more nutrition and therefore more of its own energy.

What you need to know

Small cooking appliances

• Most small appliances use about half the wattage of an electric oven to do the same job.
• Keep small appliances away from cold drafts to ensure they do not have to work so hard to stay warm.
• Keep all appliances clean and well-maintained.

Stovetop

• Use a pressure cooker. By using steam pressure, it cooks at a higher temperature and reduces cooking time.
• Keep the inside of your microwave oven clean to maximize its efficiency.
• Avoid using the microwave to defrost food. Thawing food in the fridge is safer than leaving it on the countertop and it contributes to the fridge's cooling.
• Boiling water in an electric kettle is more efficient than on most stovetops.
• Keep pots and pans covered while cooking. Water boils faster and foods cook more quickly.
• Use the smallest pot or pan possible. Smaller pans require less energy.
• If your stove has different sizes of elements, match the pan size to the element size. A 15-cm (6-inch) pan on a 20-cm (8-inch) element will waste 40% of the energy produced by the element. If you only have one element size, go with the smaller pot.
• With conventional coil burners, use reflective drip pans to help reflect heat up toward the cooking surface. However, do not line drip pans with aluminum foil – they can reflect too much heat and damage the elements.
• Use flat-bottomed cookware on electric stoves. Burner elements are significantly less efficient if the pan does not have good contact with the element.
• Electric ignition for your gas stove can burn about 40% less fuel than a pilot light.
• If the pilot light and flames on your gas stove are yellow, not blue, the gas ports likely need to be cleaned out with a pipe cleaner.

Oven

• When possible, use small appliances such as an electric fry pan with lid, crock-pot, toaster oven, or microwave instead of the full-sized range or wall oven.

The chart below shows several methods of cooking the same meal and the energy consumed by comparison.

• Preheat ovens only when required. Except for baking, most foods can be cooked without preheating.
• No peeking. Each time you open the oven door, 20% of the heat is lost. Instead, use your oven light and look through the window.
• Make sure the seal on your oven door is tight so heat does not escape.
• Do not line oven racks with foil. Foods cook more quickly and evenly when air circulates freely. Stagger pans on upper and lower racks.
• Bake in glass or ceramic cookware instead of metal. You can turn the temperature down by 14°C (25°F) and foods will cook in the same time.
• Check the accuracy of your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer.
• Use timers and meat thermometers to avoid overcooking. Not only does overcooking ruin the meal, it wastes energy as well.
• It takes less energy to reheat food than to cook it. Prepare double portions of food and freeze the leftovers for another meal. This saves your personal time and energy, too.
• Turn the oven off 15 to 20 minutes before the cooking time is up to allow cooking to continue while reducing energy use.
• If you are going to use your oven's self-cleaning feature, run it after you've cooked a meal. The oven will still be hot and this feature will require less energy than if you start with a cold oven. Note, however, that some ovens require that you only run this feature when the oven is cold. Check your manufacturer's instructions for correct use.

Taking it further

• Use a solar oven when you can. Solar ovens are by far the most energy-efficient cooking appliances. They require no fuel, reduce unwanted summer heat in your home by taking the cooking outside, they reach temperatures of 360° to 400° and can cook food just as fast as a conventional oven.
• Hybrid solar ovens have an energy-efficient electric backup for night use or other times when solar power is not available. Even when running on electricity, most models use 75% less energy than conventional electric ranges.
• There are many models of solar ovens available to buy, or look for designs online and build your own.

FAQ

If I buy pre-made foods that I only have to heat up or add water to, does not that save more energy than cooking from scratch?
The energy used to pre-cook, dehydrate or otherwise process, and then package the food is more than you will use to if you purchase fresh food and prepare it yourself. Whole foods are also healthier for your body. The environmental benefits will be even greater if you buy local food and purchase non-perishable items in bulk.

Does it take all day to cook food in a solar oven?
The cooking time in a solar oven depends on how much solar energy is available, what kind and how much food you are cooking, the time of day you are cooking, and how often you turn the oven to face into the sun. For most foods, if you turn the oven to keep the solar energy focused, food will cook in about the same amount of time as with a conventional oven.