Kitchen appliances are responsible for a large part of your home energy bill. Here are a few tips that should help save energy (and money) in your kitchen:

* Try to keep your refrigerator door closed. You will waste a considerable amount of energy when continually opening and closing your refrigerator. When getting ready to prepare a meal, take all ingredients out at the same time. Also, make certain that the door has closed completely after you are done using the refrigerator.

* Position your freezer or refrigerator away from heating equipment, heater vents and direct sunlight. Provide enough open space behind, above and on the sides for unhindered air circulation.

* Set the temperature of your refrigerator between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at 0 degrees for best results. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also advocates these settings to preclude quick development of bacteria

* Keep your freezer or refrigerator full, but do not overdo it. Overfilling causes the compressor to have to run longer. Keep foods slightly separated on the shelves, making sure they do not obstruct the unit's interior air vents.

* For the greatest energy conservation, be sure that refrigerator and freezer condenser coils are kept unblocked and dirt free.

* Clean door seals with warm water or a residue-free detergent because a tight-fitting door gasket is critical to the efficiency of your refrigerator.

* Seal all moist items kept in the refrigerator. If uncovered, moisture may transfer into the air, requiring the unit to work for a longer period of time.

* If you have an older extra freezer that only has a little food in it, use the primary freezer and shut down the older one.

Cooking Appliances

* If you have both a large and a small oven, you will save money by using the smaller oven whenever possible.

* Save both time and money by using a single oven to cook the complete meal. A pie or cake can be placed in the already heated oven after the main dish is finished.

* Using a pressure cooker reduces cooking time to less than half compared to typical methods.

* Warming foods, plates and platters with the oven's stored heat after broiling, requires no energy. If the food must be kept hot for a relatively lengthy period of time, adjust the oven's temperature no more than 140 to 18 degrees.

* Think about cooking with a microwave oven, portable electric frying pan, grill, or toaster oven/broiler rather than a full size oven. Prepare foods out-of-doors or prepare cold meals to prevent adding heat to the kitchen and humidity to the air inside your home. Microwaves use less than 1/2 of the power of a regular oven and prepare food in approximately one-fourth the time.

* Covered cookware will begin producing steam or boiling more rapidly than those that are open, permitting quicker results with reduced energy use.

* Choose cooking vessels that fully cover the stove's burners. Use pots with flat bases, straight sides and tight-fitting lids that retain heat and allow the use of lower energy settings.

* Make use of crock pots, outside grills or casserol dishes to lessen the use of your stove top burners and conventional oven.

* Limit the use of water to the amount needed to produce steam and prevent sticking when preparing frozen or fresh vegetables.

* Make sure that reflector pans below your stove's heating coils are stain free and bright. The reflector pans direct heat back to the bottom of the cooking vessel.

* Do not cover oven racks with foil. The foil impedes the flow of heated air and makes it necessary for the oven to work harder to complete the job.

* Cook following specific timing and temperature guidelines. Specific timing eliminates the need for repeated opening and closing of the oven door to check on cooking progress. Every time the oven door opens, the oven loses 25 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

* On an electric range, start with more heat then lower the setting when the food starts to boil or bubble. Switch off the heating element a short time before cooking is complete. Electric stoves stay hot for a few minutes after they have been turned off.

* During warmer days, do your heavy cooking in the cooler early-morning or evening hours. Try to use the stove top more and the oven less.

Jim Navary has been a freelance author and researcher for over thirty years reporting on a broad variety of topics. He is also a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia specializing in Petersburg VA real estate and, in particular, Fort Lee VA homes for sale.

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