According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) and Prognos, a Swiss private household consumes on average 15 per cent of its total energy needs for cooking and dishwashing and 9 per cent for cooling and freezing. Added to this is the share of total electricity consumption for space heating, hot water, air conditioning, ventilation, building services, lighting and other electrical appliances. All in all, a household is likely to consume about one third of its energy needs in the kitchen. There is a lot of potential for saving electricity.
4 energy-saving tips for the oven
Do without preheating, use all the energy and put the casserole, roast or pizza into the oven while it is still cold.
Use the convection function, switch off the oven earlier and use the residual heat to finish baking, cooking or gratinating.
Bake in a dark or black baking tin, this shortens the baking time and thus saves electricity.
Reheat food in the pan or microwave, which uses seven times less electricity than reheating in the oven.
Good to know
Baking or cooking without preheating reduces electricity consumption by up to a fifth.
4 energy-saving tips for the dishwasher
Do not start the dishwasher until it is full. Modern dishwashers are so economical that washing by hand usually consumes more energy.
Put heavily soiled cutlery and crockery in the bottom drawer.
Try the economy programme. This is usually enough, even without pre-rinsing.
Switch off the dishwasher as soon as it is finished to avoid standby power consumption.
3 energy-saving tips for the cooker
Cook with double-walled pots and pans with flat bottoms that are the right size for the hob or cooker top.
Put the lid on the pot, cook on as low a setting as possible and use the residual heat to finish cooking.
Heat water in the kettle and pour the hot or boiling water into the saucepan or pan. Alternatively, there are also smart kitchen gadgets such as the Quooker tap, which prepares boiling water in no time.
Good to know
Cooking with a lid reduces electricity consumption by up to a quarter.
The tap that can do everything
Use less water and energy and reduce plastic waste with Quooker.
Set the temperature at 5 to 7 degrees (in the middle of the refrigerator). A difference of 2 degrees, for example 6 instead of 4 degrees, saves up to 12 per cent electricity.
Never leave the door open for any length of time. Make sure that the door closes airtight and check its seal regularly for cracks or brittle spots.
Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator. This way you use the cold to cool in the refrigerator, but the refrigerator has to perform less and needs less electricity.
Let warm food cool down outside before putting it in the refrigerator, otherwise the temperature inside will rise and the refrigerator will have to work harder and consume more electricity.
Defrost the freezer compartment if a layer of ice forms. Even a layer of ice only 5 millimetres thick increases electricity consumption by up to a third.
Tip
Look for the energy efficiency class when replacing old kitchen appliances. More energy efficient devices cost a little more, but they pay for themselves quickly because they consume less electricity. Of course, this also applies to all other electrical appliances in your household.
Not leaving the refrigerator open for long is one measure against high electricity consumption.
6 water-saving tips for the kitchen
Only in the bathroom do we use more water than in the kitchen. With a few simple measures, you can minimise water consumption without having to restrict yourself:
The first water-saving tip follows on seamlessly from the energy-saving tips because energy efficiency is also important for water consumption. The more energy-efficient the dishwasher, the less water it uses. That's why investing in a new machine pays off twice.
If you still prefer to wash by hand or do not have a dishwasher, wash a lot of dishes and cutlery once instead of washing individual plates or forks seven times a day. Fill the sink with water, which is more economical than washing dishes under running water.
You should also not wash fruits, vegetables or lettuce under running water. Fill a bowl with water, soak lettuce briefly, for example, and rub it dry. This is more economical and necessary for example for nut lettuce or spinach, which grow on sandy soils.
Use the water with which you washed fruits, vegetables or lettuce a second time and water your plants with it, for example.
A dripping tap increases the annual water consumption by several hundred litres. Often only the seal is defective or the valve is calcified. Replace the leaking seal or descale the valve. This is easy, costs little and saves a lot of water, drop by drop.
Measure water that you heat in a kettle or pot for tea, for example. This saves water and electricity because you only heat as much water as you need. If you still have hot water left over, leave it in the pot or kettle and heat it again later.
Smart kitchen helper: you can go simpler and cheaper
With a Quooker system you save electricity, time and water. The tap with boiling water reservoir provides 100 degree hot water instantly. The reservoir is installed in the kitchen base cabinet and connected to the cold water pipe, the Quooker tap replaces the traditional tap. In the vacuum-insulated reservoir under the worktop, 3 or 7 litres of water are heated to 110 degrees. The air in the insulation jacket becomes so thin that no heat can escape. That's why the smart water system needs less electricity than an energy-saving lamp to keep the water temperature just above boiling point.
Good to know
The COMBI reservoir mixes hot water with cold water from the tap for hot water. Once the boiler supplies hot water, Quooker no longer supplies hot water.
The tap with boiling water reservoir provides 100 degree hot water immediately and replaces the traditional tap.
Tip
With the optional CUBE, a Quooker system delivers all types of water: hot, cold and boiling plus chilled sparkling or still water without a long waiting time. This reduces a lot of plastic waste and protects the environment.
With Quooker, you no longer have to let the water run until it is warm or hot, and you save a lot of electricity and water. The smart water system is available in many models and variations, for example chrome-plated, full stainless steel or black, and therefore fits into all kitchens.
