Cooking that big Thanksgiving day feast for our loved ones is no easy task. Hours of hard work in the kitchen to make tasty turkey and other delicious side dishes may mean that energy efficiency takes the back burner. Approximately 15 percent of total household energy costs come from the kitchen but there are ways to conserve.
Roughly 45 million turkeys are cooked every year on Thanksgiving. The average turkey takes four hours to cook in an oven equaling 8 kilowatt (kWh) of energy. Check out these conservation tips to help you save energy and save money this holiday season:
- Thawed out: thawing your turkey in the refrigerator can consume a lot of energy (24 hours to thaw for every 4 or 5 pounds). Instead, get a fresh bird or thaw out the frozen turkey in cold water.
- Your turkey needs a friend: consider cooking your side dishes in the oven with your turkey to help conserve energy.
- Think outside the oven: Use a gas grill if you have one. They are much more energy efficient.
- Eyes off the turkey: opening the oven door to check on the turkey can reduce the temperature by 25 degrees, ultimately taking longer to cook and costing you more money.
- Pan out: using glass or ceramic pots and pans can reduce the required cooking temperature by 25 degrees.
- Energy efficient appliances: check out SDG&E’s Marketplace for some great rebates and savings on energy efficient appliances.
Click here for more easy ways to help you save energy at home. Happy Thanksgiving!