Economic Generation Kitchen: How To Save On Equipment

We can say that we need 4 components to prepare a meal: products, dishes, appliances and, of course, a cook. Because in order to cook and eat economically, you need to take care of savings at all levels. We have already more or less figured out how to save on food, but now let's talk about how to save on kitchen appliances.

What they should be - economical and efficient devices . The first step is to choose and buy the right device , and then to use it correctly. Here, special attention should be paid to energy consumption, because, excluding direct purchases, this is the main item of expenditure on kitchen appliances .

Economical devices

A variety of home appliances have special energy-saving modes of operation, the use of which, if possible, should not be neglected, as well as various technologies that help the user save money .

The refrigerator works constantly, so the device constantly consumes electricity. However, its energy consumption can be somewhat reduced. So, for example, in two-compressor models, one of the compressors can be turned off, which means that one of the departments (refrigerator or freezer) will not work. This mode is beneficial to use when going on vacation or on a business trip. The freezer with frozen products for long-term storage will work in the usual mode, and you should remove food from the refrigerator compartment, turn it off and leave the door open. In single-compressor models, there is mostly an analogue of this scheme of operation - a mode that leaves the operation of the freezer unchanged, and in the refrigerating department the temperature is maintained, sufficient to prevent an unpleasant smell (usually about 15ºС) - it is also better to remove the products.

LED lighting in the refrigerator, instead of a regular incandescent lamp, is considered more economical and durable. With it, the quality of the internal lighting of the device usually improves .

The optimal temperature level for the refrigerating department is from 3 to 8ºС, and for the freezer, for storing frozen supplies in it -18ºС.

The oven is also able to work economically. For example, a forced limitation of the maximum level of power consumption can be implemented in the device . In the ovens of some brands (Bosh, Siemens, SMEG, etc.), it is possible to save electricity by cooking a few products at the same level of cooking: lower electricity consumption due to the impulse activation of the grill, the lower heater, and the convector fan, which contributes to the even distribution of warm air . The surface of the grill (upper heater) used can be larger or smaller, depending on the number of products - in Bosch and Siemens appliances , for example, this is the Vario-grill function, in Samsung - the grill with the ECO function.

In the vast majority of modern electric ovens, the convection mode is implemented, which allows a powerful flow of hot air to be evenly and quickly distributed throughout the working chamber. As a result, the dish is prepared faster, and less electricity is consumed - sometimes even up to 30%.

Energy consumption can be reduced in another way - by using a combination of conventional heating and microwave operation. Such ovens are on sale from many well-known manufacturers, they are usually compact models (volume about 45 l, height - 45 cm).

Another saving option , present in some models of the device , is turning off the heating a few minutes before the end of the main cooking time and bringing it to readiness with residual heat.

Most modern electric stoves have an indication of the residual heat of the heating zones. This was done for the safety of the user (so as not to be accidentally burned) and also for economy — the residual heat can be used to keep food warm for a certain time, or to heat some products.

Various cooking modes will also help to save money . For example, modern devices have the "Automatic boiling" function. It consists in the fact that when the liquid boils, the power of the burner will automatically decrease to the preset level, which, in turn, will save electricity . All automatic programs, which consist in switching to cooking at a lower power at a certain stage, allow you to save .

You can also save money by using a microwave oven. Products and dishes are quickly heated in it, while the power consumption of the device is usually less than any of the burners of an electric stove (usually 700-900 W versus 1000 W and more), even if heated at the maximum level.

And cooking a variety of dishes in a microwave oven, although not very popular among users, can also serve to save money . As in the case of heating, the process takes less time than cooking on the stove, and therefore less electricity is consumed. And the final result — the finished dish — can be very, very tasty.

Modern dishwashers have a special eco-cycle designed for washing dishes with an average degree of contamination. The essence of such a program is that the water temperature does not rise above 50ºС (which allows you to save on heating), but the washing time increases.

To wash lightly soiled dishes, you can use the program intended for glasses - the machine will wash light dirt from any dishes.

An automatic program will also help to save electricity - the device evaluates the degree of soiling of dishes, its quantity, and based on this data chooses the optimal washing algorithm. The water temperature can be, for example, 65ºС, or it can be 45ºС — and this is already an economy . It all depends on how dirty the dishes are.

Another useful device mode is the half-load mode. After all, if there are few dishes, then less water will need to be heated, and less electricity will be consumed.

Economical operation

In addition to the fact that various energy-saving technologies and functions are implemented in modern kitchen appliances , there are also simple rules of operation that will reduce the costs of using them

Let's start with our favorite refrigerator. First of all, you should look at it less, pondering with the door open, what would be so tasty to eat. With each opening, warm air enters the refrigerator, which is not very useful for the products, and the compressor is forced to work more intensively, consuming more electricity .

Of course, you should not put the refrigerator next to heat sources - batteries, a stove or a built-in oven. Additional external temperature influence also does not contribute to saving electricity.

It is not recommended to put hot or even warm products in the refrigerator - let them cool down. No, the dishes will not spoil because of this, but the device will spend much more energy in order to maintain the internal temperature.

If the freezer compartment of your refrigerator is without auto-defrosting (No Frost), then you need to control the degree of freezing of ice inside it and remember to defrost it in a timely manner - if there is a lot of ice, then electricity consumption will be higher and the quality of food storage will be lower.

It has already been said that for the sake of economy it is logical to use a microwave oven for some culinary experiments. Now further.

If you need hot water during the cooking process, it is better to heat it in a kettle, and not on the burner of an electric stove. The kettle will do this much faster, which means that less electricity will be used. This is the most economical option, especially if you don't need a lot of water.

If possible, cover the pan with a lid when cooking on the stove — the rapid evaporation of water can increase the cooking time by almost a third, which leads to an increase in electricity consumption .

Use low-temperature modes of cooking in the oven, if the dishes allow. If your oven does not have an automatic shut-off for some time (usually about 10 minutes) before the end of the cooking time, so that the dish reaches due to residual heat, you can do it yourself manually. In this case, it is especially important not to open the door too often, so as not to waste heat.

Also, during cooking, you can turn off the oven light. In order to save money , in some models of the device , this happens automatically - a few minutes after the start of baking.

All household appliances, in which scale formation is possible, should be systematically cleaned from it. Electric kettle, dishwasher — they are all vulnerable to this problem to varying degrees. Due to scale, the energy efficiency of devices decreases , water heating is slower, and more electricity is consumed. Not to mention the fact that this can lead to the breakdown of the device . Scale is always visible in the kettle, so it should be cleaned as needed. But, for example, in the dishwasher - no. After all, clean with special tools at least once every six months.