As reported by CNBC, with UK energy costs set to rise to a mind-blowing 80% with a new price cap coming into effect from October 1st this year, households and businesses are being forced to tighten their belts to withstand a difficult winter ahead.
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Many UK households have already changed how they shop and eat to cope with the current crisis, including reducing how much they are using their ovens. Besides that, here are some other tips by The Telegraph which will help you cut down energy costs in the kitchen by hundreds of pounds.
Firstly, know how much electricity different gadgets consume
The first step towards conserving your energy bill is to know exactly how much your electric gadgets have been consuming. According to The Telegraph, you can get this information by multiplying the KwH (kilowatt-hour) rating by the time the gadget needs to finish doing the job. Multiplying this with the cost/ KwH charged to you will reveal the energy efficiency of your different gadgets and you can decide accordingly which one you can use more versus which ones you should avoid if possible.
Defrost your freezer regularly
Fridges and freezers consume a lot of energy and even here, an old fridge can consume substantially more energy than a newer one. As per The Telegraph, the difference in price can be as much as £500 a year. Additionally, by letting your freezer freeze over and not defrosting it regularly, you can add hundreds of pounds to your electricity bill in a year.
Pre-soak beans and rice before cooking and lid your saucepans
Soaking rice and beans overnight or even an hour before cooking can shave off a substantial amount of their cooking time, thereby resulting in saving energy costs for you.
Also, always use your saucepans for cooking, with the lid on. This leads to less escaped heat. So your food will be cooked faster and with lesser energy used leading to less energy costs.
Pressure cookers and slow cookers are the way to go
Pressure cooker can cook food thoroughly in a very short span of time, making them very fuel efficient. There is practically nothing this handy tool cannot help you with, including cooking rice, meat, potatoes and even soup.
If you are planning to have a slow cooked casserole for a meal, using a slow cooker is always advisable over cooking on a stovetop. Slow-cookers use way less energy even if the cooking time is longer. According to The Telegraph, a slow-cooker used 180 watts on high setting to cook a casserole for 6 hours, while the same casserole would take a normal stove 1.5 hours and 1500 watts too cook.
Read more:
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⋙ The British government is handing out £400 for energy bills, here’s how to claim it
⋙ UK residents could see energy bills soar up to £1,000 from October, according to expert
