The truth is, you use your kitchen appliances. Every day. Multiple times in fact. That fridge is opened at least 5 times a day. Gas stoves are leaking. (not gas, but they are certainly bleeding cash) They might be less expensive and fast – but energy wise, they are woefully inefficient. These things are some of the biggest uses of your home energy. And it’s certainly no wonder. When you take into consideration the state of the economy, more and more people are remaining at home instead of going out to eat. Vacations become ‘Stay-cations’, and this causes the family to use more and more energy and generally making you spend money that you’d rather invest elsewhere.
If you’re going to invest, then at least invest in appliances that work to save you money in the long run. For example, you might find that a dishwasher is something you can do without. You’re getting along fine with hand washing right? Wrong.
Hand washing can use up to 16 gallons of water each time. Imagine pouring 16 gallons of water down the drain almost every day. A dishwasher might cost you more initially, but consider that it only uses up to 5 gallons on average each clean and you can see where your money is going. Clean dishes, more time for you to get on with other things, and you are trimming the water utility bill over a long period of time.
As for cooking, as mentioned previously, gas is not efficient. Electric ceramic cooker stoves are a little better, but if you really want to feel the pressure easing off your bills, then an electric induction stove is the way to go. It works by generating a magnetic field that reacts to the metal of your pan. Basically, the pan itself becomes the heating element, rather than heat generated from beneath. This is going to improve your life in several ways:
- Time– Induction is faster than gas. How fast? Well, a pint of water will boil in only a
minute and a half. Compare this to gas, which takes around 3 minutes and you can see
how much time you are saving.
- Energy– Gas is almost 80% less efficient than induction. Your heat is being used more
effectively, which means less energy is needed to cook. You’ll save a little on the bills
here.
- Safety – The surface of the stove will not be heated, only the pan is hot. This means that
cleaning is much easier and you won’t burn things if they spill over. Or yourself if you
accidentally leave your hand on the top!
These are only a couple of things you could do to make the bills a little more bearable. Yes, they do involve spending a little money initially, but considering the average lifetime of an appliance is 10-15 years, you’ll reap the benefits further down the road.
Halit Bozdogan is a writer for Appliances Online, and has just had a baby. He likes Chinese food, has just started a pension and hopes to one day meet William Shatner.
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