10 Simple Ways to Make Your Stovetop and Oven Run More Efficiently to Save Money and Energy

There are ways to make your stove and oven run more efficiently and save money. These 10 ideas are simple and efficient ways to get the best energy uses from your stove and oven. Simple energy saving techniques do not only help your budget and prevent a little more money from going to bill payments. These easy energy saving methods for your stove top and oven help the environment too.

1. The first and most obvious way to get your stove and oven to run more efficiently is to start with an energy saving purchase. If it's time to get a new stove and oven, look around carefully before you make your final purchase. Look for stoves and ovens made by manufacturers who build energy efficient models. Look for the energy star label which will tell you how efficient a particular model is. Also look at the differences in cost for running a gas stove and oven vs. an electric one in your area.. There are models that offer a double oven option with a smaller oven on top and a larger one on the bottom. These are great for heating smaller items instead of heating up a huge full oven when you don't need it. Also buy a stove top that has different sized burners.

2. Keep your stove top burners and oven elements maintained. Keep them clean. That includes the stove tops with smooth surfaces. Keep the burner pans clean. Replace defective or poorly functioning elements. They have to work harder if they are covered in old food and baked on gunk.

3. Make maximum use of your oven when you do have it on. If you have more than one dish to prepare, try to put them into the oven at the same time. You will run the oven for shorter time and save energy. Plan the cooking time around multiple dish meals so that they can be cooked at the same time if they can cook at the same temperature.

4. When you are making something on the stove top, keep the lids on pots and pans whenever possible. Keeping the heat in, instead of letting it vent out to the open air, will make more efficient use of the stove.

5. If you're using water to cook something, eggs or pasta for example don't use more water than you need. It takes longer to heat up and longer to cook. For instance if you are cooking hard boiled eggs, don't put them in a huge pot of water when a small one works fine.

6. Use the right sized pan for the right sized burner on the stove top. Don't put tiny pots and pans on great big burners when you have the option of using a smaller burner for smaller pan.

7. If you are cooking in the oven don't keep opening and closing the door to check the food unless you have to. Most ovens have windows. Keep the windows clean and make use of them by looking through the open windows to see all the food is cooking instead of opening and closing the oven door constantly will the food is cooking. Your oven has to work harder to replace the heat lost by opening the door.

8. If possible plan your meals ahead of time and thaw any frozen foods you will be using ahead of time, unless the direction specifically say that that food item needs to be put directly in the oven from the freezer.

9. If there are other, cheaper options for cooking use them when you can. A toaster oven, microwave, crock pot or even the stove top vs. the oven are more energy efficient ways to cook, especially for smaller items.

10. If you're baking in the oven, once you are done baking, turn the oven off and open the door. Let the heat from the oven help warm the house. It isn't a lot of heat, but every little bit helps. Make the most efficient energy uses of your oven and stove to save money and help the environment too. Over the course of time the saved money and decreased energy consumption adds up. Try these 10 methods to cut down on your energy bills.