Remember that you can’t save much energy by changing your cooking methods. Cooking uses a fraction of total household energy compared to things like heating, cooling, and lighting.
- Use a crock pot and a microwave oven for baking. These are the cheapest ways to bake.
- Open the oven door only when necessary. Oven temperature drops 25-30 degrees every time you open the door. Getting an oven with a light and glass window in the door will let you check on your food without opening the door.
- Don’t put aluminum foil on the bottom of a gas oven to catch drippings. The foil blocks the heat that the oven is trying to produce. (It’s fine to put foil in an electric oven, as long as you leave the heating elements on the side exposed.)
- Use glass and ceramic pans when baking. They retain heat better than metal pans and allow you to lower the baking temperature by 25 degrees.
- Isolate the kitchen. If the oven is on for an hour or more, close doors leading to the kitchen to keep the kitchen from heating up the rest of the house. If you have a stove exhaust fan, use it.
Click here for more information about saving electricity.
This material was funded partially by the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The SNAP (food stamp) Program provides nutrition assistance to people with low income. It can help you buy nutritious foods for a better diet.
Made Available By:
Layne A. Langley
Extension Agent- FNP & FCS
West Baton Rouge Parish
225-336-2426