As Thanksgiving approaches, there are numerous ways to save money on your household’s electric bill for the month of November while still enjoying this holiday.
1. Select Recipes that Do Not Require the Oven
The oven requires a high wattage of energy when used throughout the entire day. It also can omit a magnitude of heat and require people to turn on air conditioning. To cut back on power consider making recipes that do not require the oven. This includes non-bake desserts.
2. Use All Kitchen Appliances to Make the Meal
While your turkey is cooking in the oven, save time and energy by using the stove to cook other dishes. Also, consider using the microwave to cook or heat up certain dishes. Notable energy efficient appliances are pressure cookers, air fryers, food processors, and immersion blenders. A stovetop griddle can also be used to cook many dishes.
3. Cook Food by Dividing it into Small Proportions
Cooking habitats represents a great way to save energy in the kitchen. By breaking food into smaller proportions, it allows for foods to cook faster as more heat is exchanged through a larger surface area. Consider this when preparing starches and vegetables. Overall, making this a habit in the kitchen not just on the holidays will save energy and money on a person’s electric bill.
4. Use Glass or Ceramic Dishes
Glass dishes retain heat better than metallic ones and allow a person to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F less while cooking in the same amount of time[1]. Ceramic and glass dishes also distribute heat more evenly and stay hot over a longer period of time.
5. Use a Dishwasher Over Handwashing
Dishwashers are known to cut down on water consumption. More specifically, a person can save over 5,000 gallons of water over its lifetime[2]. On the holidays be sure to skip washing dishes by hand and load the dishwasher to capacity.
[1] Your complete guide to baking pans (Hamel, 2023).
[2] Dishwashers (Energy Star, 2024).
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