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How to reduce energy use and save money

Updated on March 29, 2024

5-minute read

How to reduce energy use and save money

Updated on March 29, 2024

5-minute read

Using less energy will reduce your energy costs. To do that, you need to know how energy is used around your home and where it is wasted.

We鈥檝e gathered some tips on how to save energy in the kitchen, laundry room, bathroom and other areas in your home. You can use these quick links to jump to each section:

Save energy in the kitchen.

The kitchen can use a lot of electricity! Cooking with the stove or oven, running the microwave and countertop appliances, and keeping things cool in the fridge all require energy. Here are some ways you can adjust your habits to save energy in the kitchen.

Using the stove and oven

If you have a gas stove, make sure the flame only reaches the bottom of the pot. If the flame is engulfing your pot, it is wasting energy and can be a fire hazard.听 In addition, make sure your pot lids fit tightly and keep them on when possible during cooking. A tight-fitting lid will help your food heat quickly while using less energy.

You can also turn off the stovetop burner in the last two to three minutes of cooking time. The residual heat will keep cooking your food without using additional energy. And if you want to boil water, consider using an electric kettle instead of the stovetop burner. Electric kettles generally use less energy, and you can keep them running efficiently by cleaning them regularly.

Like an electric kettle, an electric skillet can be more efficient than a stovetop burner. For some meals, it can reduce cooking time and energy use.

Turn on the oven light to check your meal instead of opening the door. Opening the door causes heat to escape, and your oven will use more energy to heat up again. You can also turn the oven off for the last ten minutes of cooking. Like the stove burner, that residual heat will finish the job.

Using the fridge and freezer

The most efficient temperatures to set your fridge and freezer are 4掳C for the refrigerator and -18 掳C for the freezer. If you want to check the temperature, pick up a fridge thermometer at a major appliance dealer.

If you have leftovers, let them cool down on the counter before putting them in the fridge. Putting hot food in the fridge will make it work harder to cool it down, using more electricity.

If you鈥檙e buying a new freezer and want to save energy, get a chest freezer instead of an upright model. The door on a chest unit releases less of the freezer's cold air, reducing the energy used to maintain its temperature. 听

Make the most of your freezer. Match the size of your freezer with your needs. If you can get by with your fridge freezer, unplug your extra deep freezer until you really need it again.

Fill your freezer. Keeping a freezer full uses less energy. Warm air from an opened door will have less space to fill. Any warm air that does get in will be quickly cooled by frozen items already in the freezer. Generally, a full freezer uses more than an empty one because all that frozen food keeps the temperature low.

Using the dishwasher

Depending on your dishwasher, you might not have to rinse your dishes before using it. Make sure you scrape off extra food, put it in, and let the dishwasher do the rest. Learn more ways to .

Your dishwasher also has a filter that needs to be cleaned regularly. Bits of food and other gunk can get in there and reduce efficiency.

Woman placing vegetables into freezer
Woman placing vegetables into freezer
Woman placing vegetables into freezer

Save energy in the laundry room.

When washing clothes, use cold water instead of hot or warm water. Using听听and can help your clothes keep their bright colours longer. If you鈥檙e doing an extra dirty load, use the pre-soak cycle instead of washing the clothes twice.

When drying your clothes, make sure the dryer has a full load. You can combine loads to fill it up and dry clothes of similar weight. And, doing your laundry all at once can be an energy-saving hack. You can take advantage of the heat already in the dryer when you do one load after another. Just make sure you鈥檙e cleaning the dryer鈥檚 lint screen after each use. A clogged screen can increase energy use and is also a fire hazard.

If you鈥檙e upgrading your clothes dryer, find one with a sensor that automatically turns off the machine when the clothes are dry. This will reduce unnecessary energy use and help you save money.

Read more ways to听.

Man removing clothes from dryer
Man removing clothes from dryer
Man removing clothes from dryer

Save energy in the bathroom.

Installing low-flow faucets and fixtures is a great way to reduce water use in the bathroom.听听than standard fixtures. And low flow doesn鈥檛 mean low pressure. You can enjoy the benefits of energy savings without sacrificing strong water pressure.

Low-flow toilets also make a significant difference in daily water use. For example, a standard older toilet can use up to six gallons of water per flush, while a low-flow toilet can use less than 1.5 gallons with every flush!

Changing your habits in the bathroom can also help with energy savings. For example, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth and taking shorter showers will help lower your water use.

Finally, maintaining your bathroom鈥檚 plumbing is critical to water efficiency. A dripping faucet or running toilet can lead to significant water waste and higher utility bills.

Saving energy throughout the house

Changing a few habits around the house can help with energy savings. Here are a few tips for saving energy throughout the house:

  • Turn off electronics. Leaving your computers, televisions, and video game consoles on standby or in sleep mode drains your power.
  • Use a power bar for these systems. Then, you can easily switch off the power when you鈥檙e not using them.
  • Install dimmer switches or buy three-way lamps. That way, you can lower the lighting to set a cozy ambiance and lower energy use.
  • Swap out older incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient LED bulbs. They last longer and use a fraction of the energy.
  • Turn off lights when you leave the room.

Changing your habits and making simple home upgrades can help you reduce energy use, lower monthly bills and reduce your environmental impact.


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