With Thanksgiving preparation, and whirlwind of cooking plans underway, you may be wondering how to reduce energy use in the kitchen.  Here are a few green living tips for saving energy while preparing your Thanksgiving dinner….or any dinner!

Scrub, Baby Scrub: A blackened cooktop on your kitchen stove absorbs heat, and causes you to consume more energy, but a shiny stove top efficiently reflects energy into the cooking pan.  Now’s the time to clean your cooktop, and get ready for the Holidays.

Join the Hoods: Range hoods can help you quickly whisk away the extra heat in your kitchen, before you’re prompted to turn on the air conditioner!

Ugh…Clean the Oven: The last thing you wanted to hear, right?  Just like a dirty stove top, a grimy oven steals energy, and can cause foods to cook unevenly.  Ahem…just do it.  [Read more →]

If you’re looking for an energy- efficient kitchen stove, make sure you check out convection ovens before making your final choice. Did you know that convection ovens are much more efficient than traditional ovens? In fact they use one-third less energy, because they continuously circulate air around food, causing it to cook faster.

Convection ovens are available in counter top versions which are about the sames size as a microwave oven, or as a feature on full-size kitchen stoves. My Frigidaire range can be used as a regular oven or a convection oven. It has a switch for turning the convection fan on and off.

And since we’re on the topic of green kitchen appliances, don’t forget to use your microwave oven whenever you can. Microwaves use two-thirds less energy than traditional kitchen ranges! There are also many microwave/convection oven combination units on the market today.

Find out more about energy efficient appliances at Energy Star.