Each month, your house consumes a great deal of energy, and the kitchen is one of the biggest drains on your electrical grid. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are some simple changes you can make to your lifestyle in order to bring those bills down. Check out the tips in this article to get started with turning your kitchen into a “green” place.
Many of the appliances in your kitchen have their own dedicated circuit — you can see this if you check out the labels in your circuit box. Some of them may even have a dedicated double circuit. This means that these appliances are some of the biggest energy users in your home. You need things like an oven, a refrigerator and a dishwasher, though, so getting rid of them is not really an option. Instead, when you shop for appliances, look for the Energy Star label on the tags. This is an organization with stringent certification standards for appliances, and if the refrigerator that you are looking at has an Energy Star label, it will use energy much more efficiently than those that do not have it.
Kitchen flooring does not consume energy — except in the manufacturing process. Linoleum and tile are not renewable — and not natural. They are expensive to make and to buy, and the process also uses a great deal of energy. Instead of investing in these processes, look for natural flooring materials, such as bamboo or cork. These will not be as water-resistant, but they take a lot less energy to produce.
When you remodel your kitchen, look for light fixtures that have that Energy Star certification as well. Not all lines of fixtures receive it, so make sure that you talk to the home improvement professional about this when you are shopping. Choosing the CFL bulbs will also help you ensure that your lights are energy efficient. Open window blinds in your kitchen to allow more natural light to come in, so that you don’t have to turn on the lights for as much of the day. Every kilowatt-hour adds up.
You can use a similar procedure when choosing your counter tops that you did when you were choosing your flooring. Instead of choosing that marble or granite, or even that composite plastic, think about using a chipboard that has been stained or even some recycled tiles. This will give you a much “greener” vibe in your kitchen, and there are many older items out there that are coming back into vogue. You can end up with a look in your kitchen that will be the newest trend!
It’s also important to remember that your microwave cooks with much greater energy efficiency than your oven. When possible, nuke your food instead of waiting for that big box to get to 350 degrees.
When it’s remodeling time in the kitchen, making it “greener” will help the environment as well as the value of your home. You don’t have to spend more to do it, if you research in a smart way.