The best energy is that which we do not consume in the first place.
Federal Government
Saving energy starts with small things. Even with a few simple adjustments, we can not only save money, but also do something good for the environment and conserve our resources. According to EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, private households will account for around a quarter of electricity consumption in Germany in 2023.
The biggest electricity consumers are in the kitchen. So it's high time to take a closer look at our electricity guzzlers. Because even small changes can often help to save a lot of electricity at the end of the month! In this article, we show you eight simple adjustments for energy-efficient cooking and baking.
1. be careful when choosing a pot
Even before you really start cooking, you can do a lot of things wrong. Saving energy starts with the choice of pot. It should always match the amount of food and the cooker top. If the pot is unnecessarily large or, for example, smaller than the plate that is being heated, energy is lost unnecessarily.
2. use the cooking water sparingly
How much water do you need to cook potatoes or other vegetables? Not much, because the vegetables will also cook in steam. It is sufficient to cover them with up to two centimetres of water. This way you need to heat less water and save energy.
3. keep the lid on while cooking
Actually, we are all aware that food heats up faster if we cover the pot or pan with a suitable lid. Are you one of those people who like to do without a lid? Then you should change that now, because without a lid you use about three times as much energy. For the oven, keep the door closed. Every time you open the door of your oven and then close it again, the oven needs a lot of energy to regulate the temperature again.
4. avoid pre-cooking and pre-heating
Bring the water to the boil and preheat the oven - These are phrases we read in many recipes, but you can delete them from any recipe. Preheating is usually only to ensure that the times given on the packaging or in the recipe can be adhered to, because not every oven or cooker heats up equally quickly. Food, such as pasta, also cooks while the water is being heated. This not only saves you time, but also energy!
5. from pre-cooking to residual heat
After switching off, the cooker and oven are still warm for quite a while. Why don't we use this heat for cooking and baking? If you bake for 40 minutes or more, you can usually switch off the oven 10 minutes before the end of the baking time. If you use an electric cooker for cooking, you can also switch off the cooker before the food is cooked. The residual heat is usually enough to finish cooking your food. The great thing about ovens and cookers is that you can regulate the temperature. Continuous cooking on the highest setting only wastes energy unnecessarily.
6. convection instead of top/bottom heat
Circulating air distributes the temperature evenly in the oven. If you set your oven to convection, you can usually achieve the same results with the same baking time. However, a lower temperature is sufficient than with top/bottom heat.
7. cooker and oven - always the best choice?
Cooker and oven are not always the best choice. For example, if you boil the pasta water in the kettle or bake the rolls in your toaster, you will be more energy efficient. So before implementing your recipes, check whether the cooker and oven are the best options. You can find out which food you should use the cooker for, which oven you should use and which you should use the microwave for in this contribution read up.
8. saving electricity with hot drinks
Last but not least, a small tip for preparing tea or coffee: Instead of boiling water several times or using the hot plate of your coffee maker, you can simply fill your tea or coffee into the thermos flask. The coffee maker and kettle should also be regularly descaled. If they are heavily calcified, the kitchen appliances have to use around 30 percent more energy.
Conclusion
So there are many ways to easily save electricity at home. Do you have any simple tips on how to save energy in the kitchen? Then share them with us in the comments. The less energy you use, the better it is. So plan your week in advance and cook a larger amount of food and heat it up (Meal Preparing) than to use your cooker several times. Or consider whether you really need two plates for the dish or whether the dish can be made as a one-pot recipe.
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Sources: ENBW, Federal Government, BMWK, WWF, Consumer advice centre, Polarstern, Bavarian Radio
Dear Wacker Team,
I would like to see even more sustainable packaging for your products and larger packs of e.g. lentils, crackers ...
Hello Katrin,
Thank you for your comment and feedback on our packaging!
We see it just like you do! We want to become even more sustainable here, which is why we are already working on our packaging.
Many greetings
Fabienne