The Low Power Kitchen

There are many things that go into creating a low power home.  Much of the work is done throughout the infrastructure, such as having very good insulation, lots of natural lighting and good windows for heat entrapment during the colder months, water capture and usage for grey and black water, solar installations, etc.  Your kitchen can seriously contribute to your power usage, but there are ways to save quite a bit.

Flooring

Depending on the type of flooring you put in, you can save energy, especially if you have a crawlspace or a basement, by putting down insulation under, for example, a laminate floor.  You will most likely have a number of great windows in a green home, so natural light will be everywhere.  Having a lighter color flooring, combined with a warm or white colored set of RTA kitchen cabinets helps amplify the effect.

Lighting

You can have a very bright kitchen just from reflection, but what about at night?  Well, on a home with a solar installation and batteries, having them all be LED lighting is a must.  There are a huge number of lighting options available, and oftentimes under-cabinet lighting gives a great accent to your kitchen, brightening it considerably at a low energy cost.

Appliances

You can purchase low power appliances.  In the past, they were uncommon, but now, nearly every manufacturer is trying to figure out ways to cook and store your food more efficiently.

Pro Tip: don’t go for black refrigerators if you can help it.  It does make the slightest difference, but over 20 years that energy savings could be the cost of a new refrigerator.

Lifestyle

Oftentimes, lifestyle changes make the largest energy savings.  For example, set a crockpot on a timer, and your food will be ready when you get home, and will have used direct solar transfer energy rather than the battery.  These cooking devices also use considerably less energy than an oven.

Fill empty space in your fridge with bottles of water.  They will take up empty space and keep your fridge chilled at a lower energy output.  Wash your dishes in a sink filled with water, rather than the faucet running.  One enterprising person even added a black stone surface in their kitchen, which perfectly caught the sun for many hours a day, and also used a mirror for reflection on the surface.  No microwave needed at lunchtime!

Have Fun!

Making your green kitchen shouldn’t be a burden, but fun!  Just like the natural microwave, you can find and implement many great ideas, even hooking up a toaster, for example, to an exercise bike.  You will find you will never be prouder of your toast.  Just remember though, to have a green kitchen, you will need a great kitchen.  Get a $500 kitchen design consultation for free! RTA Cabinet Store’s professional design consultants are happy to provide a customized design for your kitchen. Get started here! And make sure you let them know you want to go green!

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