Start saving energy, *, in
BY SALLY BAIR
Staff Correspondent
LEBANON - With the cost of
energy going ever higher, it makes
sense to try to conserve wherever
possible, including in the kitchen.
Although Letie Schadler, Lebanon
County Extension home
economist, points out that the
energy saved in the kitchen is not
likely to be dramatic, it will slowly
add up and make an impact on the
total bill.
Letie points out, “The amount of
money in the total electric bill used
for cooking is relatively small. To
make'changes in how much we are
spending we will have to change
techniques, and the amount of
money you save will be relative to
the amount you are now spen
ding.”
A look at baking four potatoes in
various kitchen appliances gives a
good idea of how much energy is
consumed by each, and shows
clearly which is the most energy
efficient.
A microwave countertop oven
stands out as the most efficient
unit, using just .16 KWH to bake
the four potatoes. A conventional
electric oven is the least energy
efficient, taking 1.36 KWH to do the
job. A single element toaster oven
is next best in efficiency, using .26
KWH, followed by a pressure
cooker on an electric range at .34
KWH. An electric skillet takes .54
KWH and a convection countertop
electric oven uses .64 KWH.
Despite what may se'em obvious,
Letie cautions that purchasing a
microwave oven to save energy
may not be the best answer for
your home. She said homemakers
must consider the “payback rate"
on. the initial investment in an
appliance like a microwave. It will
take years to make up the savings
on the electric bill for the price of a
several hundred dollar
microwave.
Other' considerations before
purchasing a new appliance with
the idea of saving energy include
how much time you have to spend
using the appliance, its speed, its
portability, its capacity and new
learning required to use it.
She cautioned homemakers to
have the answers to some basic
question well thought out before
they begin shopping for a new
appliance.
Letie pointed out, “A toaster
oven for a one or two person
household definitely makes
sense.” She noted that a toaster
oven, which requires a modest
investment will pay back that
investment fairly quickly.
Letie said that the reason it is
expensive to heat a conventional
oven is the time it takes to heat the
oven walls and racks, adding, “It
is really inefficient to heat up an
oven for short term cooking.”
However, she said a real savings
can accrue by using the oven for
complete meals, including meat,
vegetables and dessert. She made
it clear that there will be no
mingling of flavors when totally
different items are put in an oven
together.
A self-cleaning oven will always
save money on electricity over a
conventional oven because it has
extremely good insulation to allow
the kitchen
it safely to be heated up to the
intense heat of the cleaning cycle.
In a microwave, she said, the
oven is not being heated up. The
molecules of food an being heated
up directly, without the oven walls
and the air also being heated. A
' disadvantage of the microwave is
that it requires a lot of time and
attention to do a sequential meal.
“A microwave can save money,
but it can also cost more,” Letie
states. *Tt requires management,
and it will save money but only if
you are using it for what it does
well. If you use a microwave and a
conventional oven plus two bur
ners for a meal, it is not saving you
money.”
Because several companies are
now scaling down the size of their
microwave ovens, Letie pointed
out that the price of the initial
investment can be reduced by
getting a smaller sized oven.
Convection ovens take less
energy than conventional electric
ovens because they operate with
forced moving air which makes
food cook faster and uses less
energy to accomplish the job. It
saves time and energy only with
uncovered foods. An advantage of
the convection oven is that it uses
regular utensils.
There are no cookbooks
available yet to help the
homemaker take advantage of the
convection oven, or to show how to
use it most effectively in the
microwave convection com
bination which is on the market.
Experimentation will be needed to
use this oven to its best advantage.
An appliance which can be a real
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 31,1981—81 S
The electric frying pan, almost a must in any kitchen, can be
used more frequently to save energy on jobs which may have
been done in a conventional oven. This appliance can be a
real energy saver. *
energy saver in the kitchen is the
electric fry pan. Letie said, “It is a
very efficient piece of equipment
because it has a thermostatic
control that allows you to regulate
the temperature. It is more ef
ficient and effective to use the
frying pan than the countertop.”
Letie told homemakers to
consider using the frying pan for
things that may be unusual, in
cluding making popcorn and
baking cakes. She said cakes can
be baked either by pouring the
batter directly into the pan, or by
putting a conventional cake pan on
a rack m the frying pan. Potatoes
can be baked easily in the frying
pan simply by putting them on
crumbled aluminum foil.
Pressure cooker, though Letie
says they have gone “out of
fashion,” are also energy savers in
the kitchen.
She called blue agate roast pans
"the unsung heroes of the kit
chen,” and said they can be used
HARRISBURG - The Penn
sylvania Junior Angus Association
met recently to elect officers.
Elected were; president, Diane
Krause; vice president and show
secretary, Tammy Eisenhour;
secretary-treasurer, Chris Shive;
reonrter .Tnlie Myers; directors,
for roasts, without browning the
meat first or dredging with flour.
Just put the meat in the enamel
pan, add a small amount of water
and bake at 350 degrees for one
hour per pound. "You get lots of
drippings and marvelous gravy,”
Letie says.
Other good investment for the
energy conscious includes thermos
equipment to keep coffee, hot
throughout the day and for
keeping cold drinks available in
the summer without- opening the
refrigerator door repeatedly.
Letie concluded that the most
important thing for homemakers
to do in the kitchen is “to think
creatively.” She suggested they
take a look at a meal and ask
themselves how else they could
have done it and saved more
energy.
The overall savings may not be
large, but with the cost of elec
tricity movmg ever higher, even a
modest savings will be welcome.
PJAA
meets
Kaye Sweigard, Bill Wise, Don
Cairns, and Diane Keen; and
advisor, Gail Dennis.
Diane Krause was nominated as
the Pennsylvania candidate to the
National Junior Angus Board next
year in Wisconsin.