Menu
Organisation tips

Sustainable Kitchens: How Much Energy Does your Kitchen Use?

Kitchens take up a huge part of energy consumption in the home. From making meals, to running the fridge freezer, there are a lot of appliances that are in use at any one time. That’s why we decided to analyse the public’s average usage habits, to show the Co2 production of each kitchen appliance and the running costs.

Whilst cooking and preparing meals is a necessity of life, you can save power and money by adopting new habits, with our kitchen energy saving tips.

KITCHEN ENERGY SAVING TIPS

  1. Freezer
    • Typically your freezer uses the most energy of all kitchen appliances, producing 495kg of Co2 and will cost you £280 every year. The best way to reduce its energy consumption is to fill the freezer up because keeping air cold uses more energy than keeping food cold does.
  2. Fridge
    • The fridge is the second most energy drawing appliance, producing 371kg of Co2, and costing £210 per year. For a more sustainable kitchen, save power by avoiding leaving the door open when you’re taking food out, as more energy will be needed to reduce the temperature again.
  3. Electric oven
    • An imperative part of the modern kitchen, an electric oven produces 103.2kg of Co2 a year and costs on average £58. To save energy and money, try not to leave the oven on standby. Instead, turn it off at the plug between uses.
  4. Dishwasher
    • Invented by Joesphine Garis Cochran in 1886, the dishwasher has become another staple appliance in the family home. The average machine uses 55.75kg of Co2 and costs £52.56 annually. For an energy-efficient kitchen, use the dishwasher’s energy-saving mode, and reduce the temperature to curtail power consumption.
  5. Electric hob
    • The electric hob uses on average 77.4kg of Co2 yearly and costs £44. Covering pots and pans with lids will help things cook faster, so the hob will use less energy overall. Keeping it clean will also help, as burnt food or grease will absorb heat and make it less efficient.
  6. Kettle
    • Another imperative appliance in the British kitchen; the average kettle makes five cups of tea a day, which costs £11.7 a year and uses 20.65kg of Co2. To save energy, only boil the amount of water you need. If you boil more, that energy will just go to waste.
  7. Toaster
    • The toaster is used on average for five minutes a day by British households, which equates to £7.30 a year, and 7.75kg of Co2. As this is minimal, the best way to save on both is to buy a reliable toaster, as the production and distribution of a new one will expend more energy.
  8. Microwave
    • Surprisingly, the microwave is the most energy-efficient kitchen appliance, being used for five minutes a day on average, and costing £5 a year, producing 12.9 Co2 kg. The first microwave was introduced to the public in 1947, and now it’s uncommon for a household to be without one. With low energy usage levels like these, you can still use your microwave on a daily basis, while ensuring you have a sustainable kitchen.

Knowing your energy ratings

When buying a kitchen appliance you can use energy efficiency ratings to determine how environmentally friendly the appliance is during use.

Each appliance is required to have a label which shows a rating from A+++ all the way to D (image detailed below).

energy_rating

The higher the rating (closer to A+++) the more efficient the appliance.

So if you’re in the market for a new fridge, kettle or cooker – make sure you check the label before purchasing.

Sources:
We at Wren conducted a UK survey on kitchen appliance use and used the data received to calculate the yearly costs and Co2 emissions of common kitchen appliances.
https://www.carbonfootprint.com/energyconsumption.html
https://www.carbontrust.com/home/
https://bulb.co.uk/carbon-tracker/

No Comments

    Leave a Reply