An oven, just like any other cooking appliance, consumes quite a significant amount of power. If your power bills are draining up your bank account, it might be time to change the way you use your oven in a bid to trim the huge spending. Here are some tips on how to make sure you are not needlessly wasting energy
- Cook meals in batches
The oven has multiple racks that can enable you to multitask. Some foods can be baked simultaneously without any problem. Hence you should make the most use of the oven by putting more than one thing in the oven.
- Keep oven door closed
You might find it difficult to resist the urge of peeping in the oven to see if your cake is rising as expected. However, each time you open the door, the oven loses heat. More energy is required to heat up the oven back to the required temperature. Therefore, you should always ensure the oven doors are closed while cooking.
- Use the right cookware
Glass and ceramic cookware are the best to use in an oven as they hold heat much better than metallic cookware. This can help you decrease the oven temperature by 25 degrees thus saving a fair amount of energy.
- Switching off the oven before time
An oven retains the same temperature for up to ten minutes after switching off. Therefore, you can switch off the oven 10 minutes before the designated time without affecting your cooking. This saves energy in return.
- Keep the oven clean
Dirt and other debris may absorb heat in the oven. Keeping the oven sparkling ensures that all the heat is directed to the food you are cooking hence saving energy. In case the oven has a self-cleaning option, start the function immediately after cooking so that you will not have to heat up the oven again when self-cleaning.
- Defrost food before cooking
Always thaw your frozen foods before cooking. Cooking frozen foods leads to the oven using up more energy. You should also consider if it’s really necessary to preheat the oven. Some meals such as vegetables don’t necessarily need a preheated oven.
- Proper maintenance
Regular and proper maintenance can help you cut down the energy bills. For instance, if a door seal is loose, it will result to heat escaping. In case of any faults, call Nationwide Appliance Repairs to fix the issues and get the oven working efficiently again.
