Safety & Energy Articles from FEC

The Rural Missouri NEWS Service
Jim McCarty 573-635-6857, ext. 3402

2007 Safety Articles | 2008 Safety Articles

August 2009

Cook Your Food, Not Your Kitchen: Think Efficiency!

Proper preparation offers energy-saving meals

In 18th and 19th century, people often cooked outside in the summer or in kitchens outside the main house. Summer kitchens are a design of the past, but there are still ways to efficiently cook your food without heating up your kitchen and triggering the air conditioner. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Department of Energy’s Energy Star offer these tips for energy-efficient cooking:

Match method to meal – Select the method that will heat the smallest area. A toaster oven will save energy over an oven. A microwave saves energy over both but may sacrifice quality. Microwaves can reduce cooking energy by as much as 80 percent and also can save on air conditioning costs in summer, since they heat only the food being cooked, not the oven and the surroundings.
Match pan to element – Use the smallest pan, then cover it. On an electric cooktop, a 6-inch pan on an 8-inch burner will waste more than 40 percent of the heat.
Use flat-bottomed cookware – The ideal pan has a slightly concave bottom. When it heats up, the metal expands, and the bottom flattens out. An electric element is much less efficient if the pan does not have good contact with the element. Boiling water for pasta could use 50 percent more energy on a warped-bottom pan than a flat-bottomed pan.
Use high-conductivity materials – Copper-bottom pans heat faster than regular pans. In the oven, glass or ceramic pans are typically better than metal; you can turn down the temperature about 25 degrees Fahrenheit and cook foods just as quickly.
Keep burner pans shiny - If blackened, they absorb rather than reflect heat.
Reduce cooking time – Before you start, defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator before cooking, and keep preheat time to a minimum for conventional ovens. During cooking, keep oven racks clear. Don’t lay foil on the racks. Stagger multiple pans to improve air flow. Avoid peeking into the oven – every time you open the door, the temperature drops 25 to 50 degrees. Turn off the heat just before cooking is finished to prevent overcooking. Turn down the heat once water is boiled. Next time, cook double portions so all you have to do is reheat the extras. Use the self-cleaning option in your oven infrequently and only after you’ve cooked a meal so it can use the residual heat.

Buying efficient cooking appliances

If you plan to purchase new kitchen/cooking appliances soon, Consumer Reports and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy offer these useful tips on energy-efficient choices:

Microwaves – Microwaves use a lot of energy when operating, but because they so drastically reduce cooking time, they still reduce energy use by about two-thirds compared to conventional ovens. For heating up leftovers, popping popcorn and making a cup of hot chocolate, microwaves are still your best choice.
Look for microwaves that boost energy efficiency and cooking performance with temperature probes, controls to turn off the microwave when food is cooked and variable power settings. New “rapid-cook” ovens combine microwaves with halogen lights or convection to further cut cooking time and improve food quality.
Remember, microwaves do not make food radioactive. They can, however, burn. Keep microwaves out of reach of young children who may reach inside for hot foods and drinks.
Self-cleaning or standard oven – Conventional electric ovens with self-cleaning features are more energy efficient because they have more insulation. But if you use the self-cleaning feature more than about once a month, you’ll use more energy than you save from the extra insulation.
Conventional or convection oven – Convection ovens are usually more energy efficient than conventional ones because the heated air is continuously circulated around the food being cooked. On average, you’ll cut energy use by about 20 percent. Look for models with a window in the door so you don’t have to open the door to check food.
Electric elements – The least expensive and most common cooktops have exposed metal coil burners, but they are not the most efficient. For flat-surface electric burners, induction elements are the most energy efficient but are pricey and require stainless steel, cast iron or enameled iron pots. Aluminum and glass won’t work. Radiant and halogen cooktops are about the same in efficiency.
Pressure cookers, toaster ovens and slow cookers – Pressure cookers use 50 to 75 percent less energy, because cooking times are reduced when food is cooked at higher temperatures. For baking and broiling, toaster ovens use about half the energy of the average electric stove, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Slow cookers cook an entire meal for literally pennies.

Other energy-saving tips in the kitchen

Unplug appliances when not in operation to reduce phantom electricity use
When shopping for new kitchen appliances, always consider Energy Star-qualified models; they may cost more but save significantly on energy use: for example, a new Energy Star refrigerator can save up to 75 percent of the electricity used by older models
Defrost frozen foods in the refrigerator to improve efficiency
Avoid opening the refrigerator door; keep the temperature between 38 degrees and 42 degrees; keep the freezer between 0 degrees and 5 degrees; use the power saver switch; and make sure the door seals tightly
Warm foods in a microwave to reduce oven time
Use an electric kettle to boil water and save half the energy of boiling water on the stove
Keep the inside of ovens, microwaves and toaster ovens clean so they maximize the energy reflected toward the food
Try steaming vegetables rather than boiling them in a pot of water

An End to Water Waste

New Technology Reduces Water Waste In Homes & Businesses

It is estimated that a leaking or stuck open toilet flapper can lead to more than 6,000 gallons of wasted water flow in a single day. For one Arizona man, an open flapper on a toilet in one of his unattended rental properties led to water leakage for over two weeks and a whopping bill of over $2,800 for the month.

According to the EPA and the American Water Works Association, the toilet is the No. 1 water wasting appliance in the house. But now a unique toilet technology called the H2Orb Water Management System is being launched to flush that problem away for consumers.

The patented H2Orb by AquaOne Technologies, LLC is an answer to the problem of toilet leaks, stuck open flappers, leaky fill valves and more. If the toilet begins to run excessively, the H2Orb’s integrated smart valve, designed around Texas Instruments technology, intercepts the flow of water to the toilet tank before the leak becomes a huge problem and expense.

Conversely, if the water level in the bowl gets too high, the H2Orb shuts off the water supply so not even a second flush is possible. H2Orb’s audible alarm and easily visible control panel screen also alert you that a fault has occurred in the system.

Obviously, the H2Orb is environmentally friendly because of its water-saving capabilities. And from a cost-savings standpoint, the H2Orb can pay for itself in water savings within the first year just by stopping a leaky toilet. Another added bonus is that installing an H2ORB system is simple and can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

The H2Orb is the brainchild of AquaOne Technologies, LLC, the company that launched the infamous Fish n Flush toilet tank aquarium a few years back. Strangely enough, water conservation was not even the original purpose of the H2Orb. It was initially designed to eliminate simple toilet overflows that dump just a gallon or two of water on the floor. That design was in response to the unfortunate death of a 90-year-old Alzheimer’s patient.

While staying at a senior living facility, the man often overflowed his toilet. One day after an overflow, he slipped on the standing water on the floor, breaking his hip. A few months later, he passed away due to complications from the injury. AquaOne Technologies, LLC Founder Richard Quintana was the facilities director at that nursing home at that time. He was unable to find a quality and effective overflow prevention device on the market, so Quintana set forth to invent the first of a generation of quality products from AquaOne Technologies, leading to the launch of the H2Orb Water Management System.

The H2Orb retails for $127 and is available at: www.theH2Orb.com. For more information call: 866-598-3474.

The last thing you need in the summer is extra heat in the house. Use the microwave to cook whenever possible. You avoid the extra heat, and the microwave uses two-thirds less energy than your stove.

Doug Rye says . . .

Oh my word, its summertime again! And time to turn the thermostat to cool . This means that your air conditioner’s compressor will start churning out that cold air and the electric meter will run faster. Well, for many of us that is what will happen, but for many others the thermostat will be turned to cool only to find that the air conditioning unit won’t cool.

Some systems are just old and worn out. However, some are only a few years old and not working . So you call the local heating and cooling company and a technician comes to your house, says “hello,” takes his gauges out of the truck, and goes directly to the outdoor air conditioning unit. He soon returns to tell you that the unit has a mechanical problem or is low on freon. If it is low on refrigerant gas, he charges the system and says “it’s OK now.” You turn the unit on and sure enough, good cold air is coming out of the registers.

All is well for perhaps another year or two and it happens again. Freon is added and all is well for a couple of more years when you find that the compressor is now bad.

Let’s think about this. If your unit is only three or four years old, why did it lose the freon? A neighbor might have the same unit as you and never have a problem with his/her unit. If the leak is not fixed, it is sure to leak again.

Air conditioner failures can be caused by a number of things. It may be a manufacturer’s problem or an installer’s mistake. But there’s another cause you may not be aware of — restricted air flow. Restricted air flow will shorten the system’s life and reduce the system’s performance.

Please remember this famous Doug Rye quote, “An air conditioner cannot blow more air out than it can suck in.” In some cases, restricted air flow can be caused by furniture placement. However, it is usually caused by a dirty filter, or an undersized return air filter grill.

How often do you need to change the AC filter in your house? Some say every month, but I’m telling you it is “as needed.” Some may need to change them monthly, some every two months, some every six months, etc. As related to return air filter grills, one needs approximately 2 square feet of filter grill per ton (12,000 British thermal units) of cooling.

So if you have a 3-ton air conditioning system, you need 6 square feet of return air filter grill for the system to operate at maximum capacity and not stress the equipment. Remember, it is impossible to oversize the return air system — the larger the return air, the better. I know what many of you are thinking, “Well, my return air is only half the size it needs to be!” Well, the next time the technician comes to your house to add freon or other repairs, ask him about increasing the size of your return air filter grill.

Stay cool and see you next month!

P.S. Before you start calling me, I am very much aware that most air conditioning refrigerant is not now freon, but all readers recognize that term.

Doug Rye can be heard on KGOZ and KAAN locally. Every Saturday morning, Doug Rye hosts a live call-in show on several area radio stations. He can be heard from 9-10 a.m. on KGOZ, 101.7, Gallatin, and on KAAN, 95.5, Bethany.

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