When winter arrives, many homeowners have concerns about their utility bills. Since you’re likely to spend more on heating your home, you may want to make savings elsewhere. So, here we have some tips for saving energy on your appliances during winter.
Refrigerator:
The simplest way to waste energy is to keep opening and closing your refrigerator door. Each time you open the door, cold air can escape, and your appliance will need to work a little harder to compensate for this.
The ideal solution for this is to have a glass door refrigerator or smart fridge with an interior camera. However, if this is not feasible, try to limit how often you open the door. Try to avoid browsing the contents with the door open. Instead, have a clear idea of what you need before you open the door.
Oven Range:
Rather than heating your entire oven to reheat any leftovers, use a microwave or toaster oven. These smaller countertop appliances use less energy than a conventional gas or electric range.
Additionally, if you’re cooking in the oven, look through the door to check on the progress of your dish. Use the oven light rather than opening the door. The internal temperature can drop by 25º each time that you open the door.
Washer:
While it may be tempting to just run a wash cycle with only a few items, this wastes water and energy. So, you should only wash full laundry loads. You can also save as much as $60 each year by washing your laundry in cold water. Although some laundry detergents are designed to work best with warm water, most modern products can perform just as well in cooler temperatures. Additionally, washing winter knits in cold temperatures can cause less fraying. So, your clothing will last longer.
Dryer:
In addition to saving energy, you can reduce the risk of a fire by cleaning the lint filter on your dryer regularly. It is also a good idea to check the tubing to ensure there isn’t an accumulation of lint. Run your vacuum cleaner nozzle down the tubing to clean out any stubborn particles.
If you want to save additional energy, try to air dry where possible. Use drying racks if you can’t hang your laundry outdoors due to adverse weather conditions.
Dishwasher:
Like your washer, you should only run your dishwasher if you have a full load. Many dishwasher models may feature a light load function, but this often still uses more water when compared to washing a similar number of dishes on a full load.
Another way to save water and energy is to avoid using “rinse hold” during the cycle. This feature can use as much as seven times more hot water per use. Additionally, avoid using a rinse precycle. This not only uses more water, but it can also compromise the detergent performance. Most modern detergents are designed to work with particles of food debris. So simply scrape your dishes before loading.
Finally, consider air drying your clean dishes rather than using a drying cycle. This can reduce the energy use of your dishwasher by 15 to 50 percent.
Watch Out For Energy Spikes:
While it is inevitable for your energy bills to increase over winter, be aware of any spikes in usage. These may indicate that one of your appliances is no longer operating efficiently. As appliances age, they need to work harder to perform correctly. This increases energy use. So, if your energy bills have increased more than expected and one of your kitchen appliances is getting to the end of its lifespan, it may be time for an upgrade.
If your kitchen appliances can no longer handle the demands of your household, you can explore your options with our online kitchen appliance collection. Alternatively, speak to one of our home appliance specialists for expert help and guidance.