Save on heat and air conditioning ...

by cooking inside in the winter and grilling outside in the summer.

Remember that old phrase, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” When we used wood and coal burning cast iron stoves, the kitchen would get real hot. Even today, cooking heats up our kitchens. This is great in winter because we get double use of the heat. We cook our food and help heat the home. In summer it is the opposite because the air conditioner has to work extra hard to re-cool a hot kitchen.

Consider seasonal cooking. In winter, cook soups, stews, and other hot dishes. Good for you and it helps heat the house. In summer, serve salads, sandwiches, and cold soups, or cook outside on the grill. Avoid heating the home. Every erg of energy added by the stove requires three from the air conditioner to cool your home back down. This is definitely energy inefficient.

Think of summer fare that does not need to be cooked a lot and winter fare that benefits from being cooked. It is a little thing, but in the long run every little thing counts.

Also, microwaves cooking, is much more energy efficient than gas or electric cooking. Use the microwave to heat up water for soups and hot drinks in summer.

When you replace your coffee pot, think about selecting one of the thermos models. A thermos based drip coffee maker doesn’t need or use a hot plate to keep the coffee warm. This saves on electricity, avoids burned coffee in the pot, and reduces the chance of a fire. The metal and plastic pots are also much less prone to breaking than the glass pots.