Green Kitchen Appliances for Your Home

A home cannot go green without an energy efficient and eco-friendly kitchen. Conventional kitchen appliances like refrigerators, cooking ranges, dishwashers, ovens and microwaves use up about 25%-40% of your total energy consumption. Going green in your kitchen will help you keep your environment green and your costs low in the long run.

When you shop for green kitchen appliances, you must know the following.

• Appliances that meet government specification for energy efficiency carry the energy-star logo. Look for this when you evaluate different options for each appliance.

• Every appliance has an energy efficiency rating which gives you a measure of its annual energy consumption in a range comparable with other appliances. A higher rating means a costlier appliance. You have to tradeoff between upfront appliance costs and costs from energy savings before you buy. Keep in mind that eco friendly appliances pay for themselves in energy cost savings within 3-4 years.

• Look for appliances of the right size and capacity for the needs of your family. An overly big eco-friendly freezer may end up eating more energy than your smaller conventional freezer!

• Many new appliances are designed to go green in more ways than just saving energy. Green dishwashers use less water without compromising wash quality. Many eco-friendly ovens do not require pre-heating. Evaluate all features before buying a model.

• The government offers up to $1,500 in tax credits on the total purchase of energy efficient products including energy-star approved green kitchen appliances in 2009 and 2010. This may help you offset some of the upfront costs on kitchen appliances.

Home improvement stores like Sears, Home Depot and Lowes stock a wide range of energy efficient kitchen appliances.

To truly go green, you must use your eco-friendly kitchen appliances wisely. Make sure you have a full load of dishes before you run your dishwasher - this will save energy and water. Do not use hot water in the dishwasher if your dishes can be cleaned without it. Whenever you can, use the microwave instead of the cooking range to heat. Set the temperature in your refrigerator optimally - do not run it in its coldest settings unless your food needs it. Use environment friendly kitchen cleaners and biodegradable detergents.