How To Save Electricity in the Kitchen
With the UK in the midst of a cost of living crisis, there’s never been a better time to look for ways to save money. And one of the best places to start is the kitchen - the room that typically uses up the most electricity in your house.
Here are some tips on how to save electricity in the kitchen:
Switch to energy efficient appliances & accessories
Use energy saving cooking techniques
Install LED lighting
Optimise kitchen layout
Improve insulation
1. Switch to Energy Efficient Appliances & Accessories
While we might not necessarily pay much attention to them, kitchen appliances are used every single day, helping us cook, clean, prepare food and live our day to day life. In fact, about ‘4% of your energy bill is spent on powering kitchen appliances’ alone.
When purchasing kitchen appliances like fridges, freezers, ovens, and dishwashers, it’s best to choose models with the ENERGY STAR label, which are designed to be more energy-efficient.
To help save electricity, you should also consider using smaller appliances like toaster ovens, slow cookers, and microwaves for tasks that don't require a full-size appliance like an oven.
The Best Energy Efficient Appliances
Here are some of the top energy efficient appliances for your kitchen:
Quooker Boiling Water Taps
Upgrading your kettle to a Quooker boiling water tap is a popular energy efficient appliance that dispenses cold, hot, and 100°C boiling water. The tank ‘acts like a vacuum flask connected to the water mains. The air in the insulated wall is so thin that the heat is unable to escape’.
As it only takes 10 watts to keep the water in the tank at 110°C, switching to a Quooker boiling water tap reduces, if not eliminates the need to boil your kettle on a regular basis, saving energy and money.
Air Fryers
Air fryers are a highly energy efficient kitchen appliance that are becoming increasingly popular in households across the world.
In fact, research carried out by Utilita found that ‘the annual savings of using an air fryer could be up to £279.66 per year’.
A whole range of sweet and savoury food can be cooked effectively in an air fryer, from air fried salmon to chips to doughnuts, making them a super versatile and energy efficient addition to any kitchen.
Smart Washing Machines
Washing machines are one of the most expensive types of kitchen appliances to run, but switching to the ‘eco mode’ (which although may take longer than standard cycles) will wash at a lower water temperature to save energy while still cleaning effectively.
It’s also a good idea to opt for smart washing machines like the Hotpoint Gentlepower H8 W946WB. This washing machine detects the size of the load and distributes the amount of detergent and water required. What’s more, the inbuilt nozzle sprays the washing rather than soaking it, saving around 65% in energy and 59% in water.
2. Use Energy Saving Cooking Techniques
Another way you can save electricity in the kitchen is to use energy saving cooking techniques, i.e. methods of preparing food that minimise the use of energy while still achieving delicious and well-cooked results. These techniques can significantly help you reduce your energy consumption and lower your electricity bills.
A good example is using a pressure cooker or slow cooker for meals that require long cooking times, as these appliances are much more energy-efficient than traditional stovetop cooking.
For some dishes like stir-fries or pasta, you could also cook everything in a single pot or pan, reducing the need for multiple burners and saving energy.
Another trick is to use the residual heat from the stovetop or oven to finish cooking, as the appliance will stay hot for a while after being turned off.
3. Install LED Lighting
Did you know that LED bulbs use significantly less energy and last much longer than traditional bulbs, reducing the need for frequent replacements? In fact, they use up to 80-90% less energy to produce the same amount of light and can last up to 25,000 to 50,000 hours or more, while traditional bulbs typically last around 1,000 hours.
LED lights are also fantastic for the kitchen as they provide instant lighting when switched on, without the warm-up time required by some fluorescent lights. This can be especially useful in the kitchen when you need immediate and reliable lighting for cooking.
Smart Home Lighting Solutions
On the topic of energy efficient lighting solutions, it’s also worth considering smart home lighting. We’re all guilty of leaving lights on every now and then, when we could be saving energy, and this is where these smart lighting systems can help.
Smart lighting systems offer a solution to wasting electricity as they can be controlled through voice commands or through your phone. The smart lights in your home have a chip that wirelessly connects to a central system, allowing you to control and turn off the lights remotely through an app on your smartphone.
Smart lights generate less heat and also allow you to create schedules where your lights are supposed to be on and off, helping you conserve energy without even having to think about it.
At Cwtch Haus, we can create personalised lighting plans that incorporate LED fixtures, task lighting, and smart lighting controls to ensure efficient illumination while reducing energy use.
4. Optimise Kitchen Layout
Another way to reduce kitchen electricity is to optimise your kitchen layout. By this we mean designing your kitchen so that it minimises the need for excessive artificial lighting, heating and cooling.
Some of our top energy efficient kitchen layout tips include:
Position Appliances Strategically - Place the fridge away from heat sources like ovens and direct sunlight to reduce the energy it needs to maintain a cool temperature.
Install Task Lighting - Use lighting solutions where they’re most needed, such as under-cabinet LED lights, without relying on overhead lighting.
Efficient Use of Fridge - Organise your fridge properly to ensure that frequently used items are at the front. This reduces the time the door is open, maintaining a consistent temperature and reducing energy use.
Maximise Natural Lighting - Design the kitchen layout to maximise natural light via well-placed windows or skylights, reducing the need for artificial lighting throughout the day.
Our Experts at Cwtch Haus can help you design your kitchen layout to optimise appliance placement, ensuring that appliances are positioned strategically to minimise heat buildup, reduce energy consumption, and increase ventilation.
5. Improve Insulation
Last, but by no means least, improving your kitchen’s insulation and ventilation can help maintain a comfortable temperature in the kitchen, which requires less heating or cooling, resulting in electricity savings.
Insulate big areas like walls, ceilings, and floors to maintain a consistent temperature, reducing the need for heating or cooling appliances like underfloor heating.
When it comes to windows and doors, choose energy efficient options with good insulation to again, help regulate indoor temperatures. Check for air leaks around windows, doors, and other openings, and ensure these gaps are properly sealed.
You should also look into proper ventilation systems, like range hoods, which can help improve indoor air quality and prevent the buildup of excess heat, reducing the need for cooling in your kitchen.
And there we have it! I hope you now have a good idea of how to save electricity in your kitchen. Please get in touch with a friendly member of our team with any questions you have about your next kitchen renovation.
For more tips, tricks and design ideas please visit our kitchen design blog, and for kitchen design inspiration or even some ideas for your bedroom or bathroom, be sure to check out our work gallery.
Written by Kate Jones for Cwtch Haus, kitchen designers in West Wales.
