Chances are that your family spends a lot of time in your kitchen preparing meals, talking and just spending time together. With a little planning, you'll find lots of no- and low-cost ways to save electricity (and your hard-earned dollars).

Refrigerators/Freezers

Refrigerators and freezers are among the top energy users of all the appliances in your home. If you're going to replace one older appliance, think about getting a new energy-saving refrigerator. If your refrigerator was made before 1987, it costs you around $190 per year to run it! Upgrading to an energy-efficient fridge with the ENERGY STAR® label could cut your refrigerator energy usage by as much as 70% and save you close to $133 every year.¹

Put it in the Right Place

The location of your refrigerator and freezer can make a big difference in the running time and energy usage. Placing your refrigerator and freezer out of direct sunlight in an air-conditioned area (instead of in the garage) and keeping it away from an outside door or other appliances that heat (such as a stove or dishwasher) will reduce the amount of time the unit has to run to keep food cold.

Stuff Your Mama Told You

• Keep the doors closed whenever possible.
• Remove and return as much food at one time as possible.
• Leave space for air circulation between items.
• Let hot foods cool before placing them in the refrigerator or freezer.
• Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator instead of on the counter; this helps cool the refrigerator.
• Keeping your freezer two-thirds to three-fourths full helps it operate more efficiently. You can use frozen bottles of water to help fill the empty space (don't fill the bottles to the top, though).

Set the Right Temperature

• Set the refrigerator temperature between 38° F and 42° F and the freezer temperature at 31° F, or follow the manufacturer's guide for the most energy-efficient settings.
• Check the rubber gasket that creates the seal around the door. If it doesn’t seal completely, that means cold air is escaping and the motor is working harder.

Keep it Clean

• Don’t allow frost to exceed a quarter-inch in a refrigerator with manual defrost.
• Clean the condenser coils in the back of the refrigerator at least twice a year. To do this, follow these four simple steps:

1. Pull the refrigerator away from the wall and unplug it.
2. Remove the cover panel to reveal the coils. On most models you can simply flip up the panel; refer to your owner's manual for detailed instructions.
3. Use your narrowest vacuum-cleaner nozzle to clean the condenser coils. A refrigerator coil brush is great for removing dust and debris.
4. Replace the cover, move the refrigerator back into place and plug it in.

¹Source: ENERGY STAR

Dishwasher

If you're replacing a dishwasher, ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers can save more than $25 a year in electricity costs compared with standard models.²

Saving Hot Water = Saving Electricity

• Washing a load of dishes in the dishwasher uses about 10 gallons of water. Washing the same amount of dishes by hand uses an average of 16 gallons. By using the dishwasher, you’re not only saving water, you’re also saving the money it costs to heat those extra six gallons.
• Rinsing dirty dishes before you load your dishwasher means you’re basically washing your dishes twice. Scraping food instead of rinsing should be sufficient for most dishwashers.
• Your dishwasher uses the same amount of water and electricity regardless of how many dishes are loaded. Always run a full load and the shortest cycle necessary to get them clean.

Watch that Hot Dishwasher

• If you’re doing a remodel, think about energy-efficient kitchen design. For example, install your dishwasher away from your refrigerator. The heat from the dishwasher makes the fridge work harder. If you have to put them side-by-side, make sure to install foam insulation between them.
• Running your dishwasher generates heat, so running it at night during the summer and day during the winter can help with cooling and heating costs.

Dry Naturally

Cancel the drying cycle and allow the dishes to air dry. Depending on your model, this can save between 15-50% of the total energy your dishwasher uses.

²Source: Consumer Energy Center

Stove/Oven

To save electricity in your kitchen, use a slow cooker or microwave whenever possible. (Naturally, that doesn’t apply if you’re whipping up cookies or a pie. Mmm…)

Keep the Heat in the Oven

• When you're using your regular oven, open the door only when necessary. The heat from an open oven door reduces the cooking temperature and heats up your home, making your air conditioner work harder. (During the winter, leaving the oven door open once you've turned the oven off is a great energy-saving tip.)
• If your oven has a glass door and internal light, check your food without opening the door when possible.

Keep the Heat Out of the House

• If your kitchen has internal doors that separate it from the rest of the house, keep them closed when you're cooking in the summer. This keeps the kitchen from heating up the rest of your home, which makes your air conditioner work harder. In the winter, leave the kitchen doors open to allow the heat from your stove or oven to help heat the rest of your home.
• Use the stove exhaust fan to help draw the excess heat out of the kitchen.
• If your kitchen has windows, open them to let the hot air out. This works best when the kitchen door is closed and you're running a ceiling fan.

Faucets

Repair Leaky Faucets

A single leak can waste gallons of water. If it's hot water that’s leaking, you're not only wasting water, you’re also wasting the energy it took to heat it.

Lighting

Get Energy-Saving Light Bulbs

• Replace your incandescent bulbs (the kind we've all used for decades) with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
• CFL bulbs use as much as 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs while providing the same amount of light, and they can last up to 10 times longer.
• For example, a 13-watt CFL replacing a 60-watt incandescent will save about 470 kWh over its lifetime. At $0.14 per kWh, you would save $65.80 with a single light bulb—and remove over 600 lbs of carbon from the Texas environment.³

³Based on 1.35 lbs/CO₂ per 1kWh. Source: US EPA 2005 Texas emissions data.