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Kitchens

 

Many people think of the kitchen as the heart of the home. It’s also where a lot of energy and water is used for cooking, food storage, and cleaning.

If you’re planning a renovation project  or replacing equipment  in your kitchen, incorporating energy-efficient appliances can improve your home value while delivering lasting energy savings and a healthier living space.

Here are some key kitchen appliance upgrades to consider.

Stoves and Cooktops

What if you could spend less time cooking and cleaning while creating a healthier home? That’s the power of induction cooking.

Induction stoves work by “inducing” an electromagnetic current within metal cookware. This heats up the cookware rather than the cooktop surface, meaning greater energy efficiency and safety. The cooler cooktop surface also makes for easier cleanup, since spills or splatter won’t burn and are safe to wipe up right away.

Induction stoves run on electricity, meaning no harmful emission from burning fossil fuels like natural gas. Research shows that gas stoves leak harmful pollutants, including carbon monoxide and benzene, even when turned off [1].

Learn More: The Buyer’s Guide to Induction Cooktops

Refrigerators

The refrigerator is often the most expensive appliance to operate in the kitchen and accounts for a significant portion of a home's energy use and expenses. Depending on the model year of your refrigerator, you could save up to $200 on your energy costs annually when you replace it with an ENERGY STAR® certified model, which use around 20% less energy than conventional refrigerator models without sacrificing style and performance.

Not sure if you need to replace your refrigerator? Here are some signs it might be time to consider replacement:

  • Your refrigerator is more than 10 years old
  • You have a side-by-side refrigerator (they use 25% more energy)
  • Your household size has decreased and you could use a smaller model
  • Your refrigerator has been unreliable or required repairs in the past

When you decide to upgrade to an ENERGY STAR certified refrigerator, ask your retailer to help you choose the best size and style to fit your needs. While French door and side-by-side fridges are popular design, keep in mind that they use more energy than top-mount freezer models.

When replacing a refrigerator, it's important to recycle the equipment. The refrigerant and insulation in many older refrigerators and freezers may contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are ozone-depleting chemicals that are required to be recycled so they are not released into the atmosphere. Many appliance retailers will pick up and recycle your old refrigerator when you purchase a new one. Alternatively, some local recycling centersLink opens in new window - close new window to return to this page. and transfer stationsLink opens in new window - close new window to return to this page. provide recycling services as well.

Freezers

Purchasing food in bulk and storing it in a freezer is a great way to save money, but if you're using an old freezer you may be saving less than you think.

ENERGY STAR certified freezers use 10% less energy than standard models and feature removable lift-out bins, slide-out baskets, and glass shelving to help you organize your frozen items. Many freezers offer automatic defrost, but you can use half the energy if you defrost your freezer manually. It's best to defrost periodically before frost builds up to more than one-quarter of an inch.

Ask your retailer to help you choose the best size and style freezer for your needs. The larger the freezer, the more energy it will consume. Also consider that a chest freezer is typically more energy efficient than an upright freezer because less cold air escapes from its top-mounted door.

Dishwashers

ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers use 30% less energy and 800 fewer gallons of water per year than conventional dishwashers while providing superior cleaning performance and advanced features.

ENERGY STAR certified dishwashers include several energy and water-saving features such as:

  • High-pressure jets that eliminate the need to pre-rinse dishes
  • Internal water heaters that reduce water-heating costs by up to 10%
  • Soil sensors that test how dirty dishes are throughout the wash and adjust the cycle to achieve optimum cleaning with minimum water and energy use
  • Improved water filtration that removes food soils from the wash water, which allows efficient use of detergent and water throughout the cycle
  • Innovative dish rack designs that maximize cleaning by strategically situating the dishes

So when you're in the market for a new dishwasher, visit a retailer near you and ask the sales associate to show you models with the ENERGY STAR and the yellow EnergyGuide labelLink opens in new window - close new window to return to this page..

Additional Energy-Saving Opportunities

Explore additional ways to save energy at home.

  • Residential Energy Assessment : Getting a no-cost home energy assessment can help identify energy efficiency improvements that will lower your home energy costs.
  • Seal and Insulate Your Home : Adding air sealing and insulation can improve your home’s comfort and air quality while saving energy used for heating and cooling.
  • Home Heating and Cooling : Switching to efficient, emission-free heating and cooling can enhance home comfort and cut energy use.
  • On-Site Solar : Installing solar panels can improve your home’s energy resilience while cutting energy costs.

 

Footnotes

  1. Lebel, E. D., Michanowicz, D. R., Bilsback, K. R., Hill, L. A., Goldman, J. S., Domen, J. K., Jaeger, J. M., Ruiz, A., & Shonkoff, S. B. (2022). Composition, emissions, and air quality impacts of hazardous air pollutants in unburned natural gas from residential stoves in California. Environmental Science & Technology, 56(22), 15828–15838. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c02581 Link opens in new window - close new window to return to this page.