Efficient Cooking with Electric
Slight Changes Will Make Electric Cooking More Efficient
There are ways to conserve energy while preparing meals cooking with an electric cooktop or oven. Choosing the right equipment and using it properly will significantly reduce the energy it takes to prepare a meal for a family.
Tips for Energy Efficient Cooking
- With flat-surface electric burners, make sure the bottom of pans are flat and make good contact with the element. The pans used should match the burner size. A six-inch pan on an eight-inch burner wastes half the energy produced by the burner.
- Turn off electric burners toward the end of the cooking as the burner radiates heat and remains hot for a period of time.
- Keep lids on pans while cooking. Cooking without lids can require three times as much energy as cooking with a lid. Use glass lids if foods must be watched during cooking.
- Keep water to a minimum when boiling foods. Using excess water wastes energy to heat to temperature.
Types of Electric cooktops
The least expensive and most common electric cooktops consist of four exposed metal coil burners in various sizes.
Radiant elements under ceramic glass are becoming very popular and have the advantage of being easy to clean and can provide workspace when not in use. With flat cooking surfaces it is important to use pans with smooth, flat bottoms to conduct the heat.
Halogen cooktops use halogen lamps under glass to produce heat. They heat instantly and respond quickly to setting changes. Their efficiency is the same as a radiant unit.
With the Induction Element Cooktop, the heat is transferred by electromagnetic energy directly to the pan, which is the most energy-efficient cooktop. When the pan is removed, the heat is gone. Induction cooktops use less than half as much energy as electric coil burners. One draw-back is they only work with certain types of pans.
Energy Efficient Cooking with an Electric Oven
Electric ovens are cheaper to purchase than gas models and are easier to install. Ovens with a self-cleaning feature are more energy efficient because they are better insulated. Although using more energy while cleaning, they use less energy while cooking.
Convection ovens cook by circulating hot air about the food and use only one-third as much energy to operate as conventional electric ovens. A convection oven cooks quicker and uses less energy by reduced cooking time and is the most energy efficient oven.
- Cooking with glass or ceramic pans in an oven can allow for a reduced temperature setting by 25 degrees F, and the foods cook just as fast.
- Use the oven only when a smaller or more efficient appliance will not work. Toaster ovens are better for small items and microwaves use less energy and less cooking time. Crockpots, countertop steamers and other small appliances made for cooking certain items use less energy than heating an entire oven for an extended time.
- Operate the oven the least possible amount of time and turn it off toward the end of the cooking time to let it slowly cool down. Cooking several dishes at the same time, when possible, will save on energy, being careful not to block air flow in the oven.
- With self cleaning ovens, perform the cleaning cycle right after using the oven to take advantage of it being pre-heated. Only clean when it is really needed.
A savings on energy is the overall desired results for today’s homemaker. Using these energy efficient cooking with electric tips can help decide where and when savings are possible in the kitchen to save energy, save money and ultimately Mother Earth.
Electric Cooktop
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