Social Science

“The kitchen is the busiest room in the house.” A kitchen is also a room that consumes the most energy in the whole house, about 20-40% of the home’s energy use. From anything to a microwave to a refrigerator will consume valuable energy that can have a great impact on the environment. As technology grows scientists and manufacturers have researched new, ways and new products that will enforce energy savings that will not only help the environment, but will also save you money in your energy bill.

As you may know global warming is becoming to be of great concern, as the earth is slowly getting warmer. In fact, the 1980s and the 1990s were the warmest decades ever, and there is no doubt that it will get worse in the 2000s. To lower the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that create global warming we must lower the energy use in our vehicles, industries, and of course homes. One of the easiest things humans can do is to adjust their energy use through not only more efficient appliances, but also how we use those appliances on a day-to-day basis. In this project, I will be designing a kitchen that is environmentally friendly, and meets the needs of the average family of three.

Problem Statement- Energy Star Appliances can create a more economical kitchen.

Question-What specific appliances and components create kitchen that is environmentally friendly, yet suitable enough for your average family? We need to consider each appliance that is used in a kitchen and figure out exactly the amount of energy used in (Kilowatt-hour) and the different types of energy that is available. Everything from stoves, to lighting, to household recycling can factor in to what makes a kitchen environmentally friendly. We need to take that information to figure out what specific brands and styles give us that solution. Furthermore, we need to factor in the placement, sizing and different tips that you can use everyday to lower the energy used in a kitchen. Many appliances say that they are environmentally friendly, but which ones are the best and why. We need to research what makes a kitchen environmentally friendly and why we should make kitchens in Canada environmentally friendly. We must compare new appliances with old ones and see what brands, styles and types can best suit your family and the environment that affects Canada.

What does an environmentally friendly kitchen have anything to do with Canada? The answer is that because our country is so wide and people are often spread out, it takes a lot more energy with cars and trucks to transport people and their products around Canada. With the amount of emissions added from vehicles to the everyday uses of our appliances and the expensive gas bills to keep our houses warm in this cold environment adds up. So making even a small difference in our kitchens will hopefully also add in decreasing the effects of global warming. If every person in Canada did their part in making their kitchen environmentally friendly it would not only make a difference in the climate of Canada, but would also show the rest of the world where populations and housing are high, to follow the same trend.

Unfortunately, not everybody is willing or can afford to simply throw away their old, 10-year fridge for a new Energy Star appliance that will lower the energy used, just for the sake of the environment. But while researching I found that you can save up to $2000 in your energy bills by replacing old appliances with new ones. In addition, you can calculate the “second price tag” using EnerGuide (refer to figure1), which calculates the amount of money you will have to pay for its energy use for the appliance’s life span.

Energy Star appliances- I have found that the Energy Star appliances, by far meets the requirements for having an environmentally friendly kitchen as they prevent greenhouse gases from being emitted into the air, while still being practical enough for your average family. In fact, if you replaced a refrigerator that was bought in 1990, with an energy star appliance you would save enough energy to light your household for almost 5 months! That in itself is a reason to have an environmentally friendly kitchen. The following explains how each appliance can save energy and promote an “eco” friendly kitchen.

Refrigerator- The refrigerator is the most energy-consuming appliance in your kitchen, so it is imperative that you use a fridge that uses the least amount of energy possible.

Sizing

You want a fridge that is the smallest size possible while still meeting you family’s needs. It has been researched that a family of one or two people should have a fridge no larger than 12 cu.ft capacity and a family of three or four people should have a fridge between the capacities of 14 to 17cu.ft, and for each additional member, add on 2 cu.ft. Exceeding these capacities can mean that either you are storing too much food in your fridge for your family, or you have extra space, which wastes energy.

Rating

Having a fridge that ...

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Sizing

You want a fridge that is the smallest size possible while still meeting you family’s needs. It has been researched that a family of one or two people should have a fridge no larger than 12 cu.ft capacity and a family of three or four people should have a fridge between the capacities of 14 to 17cu.ft, and for each additional member, add on 2 cu.ft. Exceeding these capacities can mean that either you are storing too much food in your fridge for your family, or you have extra space, which wastes energy.

Rating

Having a fridge that is efficient can save money and the environment. I have found that the Energy Star rated appliances are efficient by using the least Kilowatt Hour compared to non Energy Star rated appliances. These appliances decrease the amount of energy needed to run refrigerators by improving the compressors, insulation, temperature and defrost mechanisms, which use a good percentage of the total energy used by a fridge. In fact, they use 15% less energy than what is generally required by federal standards and use 40% less energy than the average models manufactured in 2001.

Placement

Unbelievably, where you place your fridge in your kitchen in relation to other appliances can dramatically change how much energy your refrigerator uses. Placing it next to an oven or dishwasher, which can emit hot air, makes the compressor, which makes the fridge cold, work harder therefore uses more energy. Placing it in direct sunlight (e.g. window) also has the same effect as the sunlight can warm up the air around the fridge. Furthermore, refrigerators needs enough space around them so the heat created from the compressor and the condensing coils can escape (refer to figure 2.) If you have cabinets to close to the refrigerator, the heat will remain creating more work and energy for the compressor.

Type

Refrigerators generally come in 3 different types: bottom-freezer, side-by-side and top freezer. The most energy efficient of them all are the top freezers as they are most space-efficient. While the side-by-sides have more feature and generally larger which consume the most energy. They are usually the only fridges, which have automatic icemakers, which hike the energy use. In fact, you are likely to pay $5 to $20 more per year to run side-by-sides compared to top freezers. The bottom freezers are also less energy efficient than the top freezers as they offer less capacity. Furthermore, you want to choose a fridge that has no CFC refrigerants that will harm the Earth’s ozone layer.

Tips

In addition to the placement, type, rating and sizing of your fridge, there are some ways to lower energy use on a day-to-day basis. First, is that you should always keep your fridge at a temperature of 3 degrees C and –18 degrees C for the freezer section. Second, adjust the energy saver switch depending on the time of the year; the energy saver switch helps the condensation on the outside of the fridge. Thirdly, vacuum coils, which are located at the back of the fridge. These coils help to get rid of the heat that has been removed from inside the fridge, if the coils are covered in dirt then they work less efficiently using more energy. Lastly, keep your fridge door closed as much as possible, the more you open and close it, the more heat comes into the fridge.

Dishwashers-

Although the actually task of washing dishing by hand may seem like that would be the most energy efficient way, a fully loaded dishwasher which contains the same amount of dishes actually uses less energy. This is because heating water is very energy consuming. In fact, 80% of the energy used to operate a dishwasher is used to heat water! Given this, there are many ways that can save energy by using less hot water.

Type

As I said before, Energy Star appliances are always the most efficient, however making sure that you chose a model that has a switch that allows you to turn off the electric-dry section of the dishwasher is ideal as you can just as easily manual dry your dishes using a towel or let them air dry. Also, since water is the most energy consuming you want to make sure that the appliance uses the least amount of water. In fact, some dishwashers drain their water up to 5 times, using 35 liters of water. Furthermore, models with a feature called booster heaters make the temperature at a consistent 60 degrees Celsius, which is the recommended temperature.

Tips

Like the refrigerator, there are many tips of using the dishwasher that also lowers the energy used. Such as, using the dishwasher only when it’s full, not using a very powerful energy cycle, and turning the temperature down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit can all help in reducing the energy used.

Ovens- Although ovens are not rated, using Energy Star, the type of energy you use determines its energy efficiency. Whether you use an electric oven or gas oven and the different types of coils and elements used all factor in the environmentally friendly efficiency.

Type

The two most popular ovens to choose from are gas and electric. Gas takes less time to heat, while electric retains more heat. However, because you use so much electricity in your house it is best to take advantage of the gas option and gas usually costs less than electricity. Gas ranges also have improved insulation and pilot less systems, which use about half as much energy than electric ranges. Both types have also the option of having a convection oven or a standard oven. A convection oven should use a fan to circulate the heat this increases the efficiency and means it can cook at lower temperatures. Self-cleaning ovens are also ideal as they might use more energy to heat the oven up really high, self-cleaning oven come with extra insulation which lower the energy use on a daily bases and also avoids the needs of harsh chemicals that can harm the environment.

Sizing

The sizing of the oven also plays a big role, as you need to consider how much food at a time you will be putting in an oven. Not enough space can mean you have to, frequently open the oven to change food items being cooked, which looses heat, while too much space means your heating space in the oven, which is not being used.

Tips

avoid preheating
organize meals so you can cook everything in order starting from the highest temperature needed down
after cooking a meal always use the self-cleaning feature
defrost frozen food before cooking to save the amount of time and energy needed in the oven
avoid opening the oven door, you can lose up to 20% of the heat
use quality cookware and right sizing to improve cooking efficiency

Small Appliances

Although you may think that small appliances are just a waste of electricity as they are used for luxury items such as coffee, they actually use so little electricity that it is not something to worry about and can actually save energy.

Microwaves

When heating food, microwaves are usually the best for energy efficiency as it takes less space to heat up in a microwave than heating up a whole oven just for a piece of pizza. In fact microwaves use about half as much energy than your average electric oven and take a lot less time to cook. Microwaves also keep your kitchen cooler so you do not need to spend more money in air conditioning to cool down your house. Like the refrigerator, there are specific placements that are best for microwaves such as leaving enough space at the top, side and back for air vents and of course, enough room so the door can open. Some tips in saving energy for microwaves are: buy appropriate sized microwaves, learn where the hot and cold spots are in the microwave so you can position the food appropriately and choose a microwave with a rotating tray as it speeds up cooking.

Toaster Ovens

Like the microwave, the toaster oven can also be very efficient when cooking small quantities of food. It also consumes half as much energy as a convectional oven. To make sure that the toaster oven works efficiently ensure that there is enough room for air to circulate around the appliance.

Electric Kettles

Although you may think it might be more efficient to boil water on a cook top than an electric kettle, like the microwave and toaster, it is a lot more efficient and quicker. However, make sure that the kettle shows the water level so you can boil only the amount you need.

Lighting

For kitchens, there are three main types of lighting: fluorescent, incandescent and natural light.

Although it might seem logical to have a kitchen, completely made up of natural light, there are some downsides, which make a mix of electric and natural light ideal.

Natural

The best way to obtain natural light is to have windows, but beware that having too many can create some problems such as glares and increasing heat or loosing heat. Heat loss and loosing heat can increase the amount of energy you use on your furnace or air conditioning systems. However, there are ways to get by these problems such as having good insulation around your windows and multiple glazing and coating, which will lower the glow and redirect the sunlight. In fact, you can see how efficient a window is by their U-factor, which is the rate of heat flow, a high U factor means that there is a high heat transfer and a low U factor means there is a low heat transfer. Furthermore, placement of these windows is also key. It is usually best to place windows on the south side of the room to capture heat in the winter. However, in the summer, you can get external shading which will block out unwanted heat. Lastly, skylights can also be very usefully as the light comes downward like an electric light fixture would. Like windows, do not go overboard in the size as they can let unwanted heat or cold in. It also helps, to angle the walls of the skylight, so all the light can spread down and light up most of the room.

Electric

The two most common types of electric lighting are incandescent and fluorescent. Florescent lights by far are the most efficient light in a kitchen as they use less energy and last 10 times longer than incandescents. In fact, linear florescent lights can convert electricity four times better than an incandescent lamp and only 10% of electricity that enters into an incandescent lamp comes out as light, the rest comes out as heat. This proves that fluorescents should be used when mixed with natural light. Good spots for florescent lighting are over the sink, and in ceiling mounted fixtures.
When using electric lighting it is also ideal to have a dimmer switch as you can adjust the brightness and avoid using electricity that is unneeded.

Recycling

Since produce the most waste in the household, having some sort of recycling system in your kitchen can lower the amount of waste you are contributing the world. Having compactors can compact your garbage to a manageable size, and having various bins and baskets to hold used grocery bags and trash bags can be useful. (Refer to picture 4)

Kitchen Materials

Instead of just preparing your waste to be recycled you can also use various materials for your kitchens floor, countertops etc. that will help the environment. For example, using ceramic tiles made out of glass bottles, floorboards used from old barn wood, and cellulose insulation made up of newspapers. You can also using nontoxic products for sealing and finishing are also useful.

Insulation and Sealing

Keeping a kitchen well insulated is key, since there are so many ducts and passageways to the outside that can alter the temperature inside. Making sure that you seal ducts and openings can save energy and sealing up passageways where heat or cold can enter your kitchen can lower energy use. In fact, air leaks are responsible for 30% of heat loss in kitchens. Furthermore, make sure that all walls and windows are properly insulated to prevent unwanted air coming into a kitchen.

Water

Heating water can use a lot of energy that is why managing it is its flow and temperature is very important. The temperature of the water should no surpass 120deg.F and you should make sure that the water tank is insulated. In addition, when using faucets in your kitchen, make sure that there water flow is no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. Furthermore, new demand systems can save energy by accelerating the flow of water from the hot water tank.

Now knowing that not only Energy Star rated appliances are the best for a kitchen’s “eco” friendliness but also there are certain characteristics of appliances which make up how efficient a kitchen can really be. In fact finding out the average appliance energy use in kitchen with energy star appliance’s energy use really proves this to be true. (Refer to picture 6). Using that information, I can now determine and choose specific and attainable appliances and materials that make up this environmentally friendly kitchen.

The first appliance in which I have chosen is the refrigerator; since it consumes the most energy in the kitchen, it was imperative that I paid close attention to its energy use. The GE appliances offered a variety of sizes, which made it useful when choosing a size that would be suit a family of 3. I was looking for a sized refrigerator of around 14 to 17cu.ft for the family and I managed to find a fridge with 14.9 cu.ft. which is ideal space for a family of 3. The name of the fridge was GE Appliances Freezer Refrigerator model #GTH15BBRWW. This appliance is a top freezer (which is most efficient) and is the lowest energy user that I could find of only 380KwH, with absolutely no CFC refrigerants, which definitely makes it an Energy Star appliance. In fact this appliance is so energy efficient that EnerGuide rated it 1.8 as of energy efficiency for that size (1 being most efficient) (Refer to picture 5.)

The next appliance that I decided on to be most environmentally friendly was the dishwasher. Since water was the most energy consuming, I paid close attention to the water use. I found this time that Kenmore’s appliances suited better for dishwashers as they provided simple dishwasher’s which got the job done and saved energy. The model I decided on was Kenmore 24in Built-In Dishwasher model #16162. This model has a standard capacity, which is good for ensuring you only have to do one load at a time, and a KwH of 319. The water use ranked 11, which is the lowest water use for that size and type. Overall, given its energy use this model by far meets the requirements of an Energy Star appliance and is suitable for an environmentally friendly kitchen.

The third appliance that I looked at was the ovens and cook tops. This time I was not so much concerned with the amount of energy use, but the type of energy use. From knowing that I definitely wanted a gas oven to be most efficient, I found Frigidaire 30in Gas Self-Clean Freestanding Range model #GLGFS75DQ best suited all the characteristics that I wanted in an oven. It covered the self-clean feature that I wanted to save energy and included great insulation. It is also a convectional oven, which is good for efficient and fast cooking.

For small appliances, I thought it was important to include a microwave in the kitchen to use when cooking smaller appliances. I choose Sunbeam 0.7cu.ft Microwave model# AMW757. I thought this microwave was the most efficient due to its size and features; this microwave is fairly small which mean the energy use is to a minimum and it has a rotating tray which cooks food faster and more evenly to be more efficient.

Lastly, as a great component to the recycling system to the kitchen I thought including a compactor would help greatly to the amount of waste being exported out of the kitchen. The compactor Kenmore 15in. Convertible Compactor model#13612 did the job by using little energy and effectively compacting recycled items.

The next thing to solve is where to put all these environmentally friendly appliances in the kitchen. Referring to picture 6, you can see the design, in which I have created, as a form of a “square shape”, where the refrigerator is on the opposite side of the dishwasher and the oven, and little heat from windows directly shines onto the fridge. These placements ensure that little heat come in contact with the fridge to ensure less energy use. I have placed 3 medium sized windows 20 by 50 inch window, which will allow ample light to be emitted into the kitchen, however will allow little heat to be emitted in or out of the kitchen, due to its low U factor and various glazing and coating which will also lower glare. A small skylight is also included on the ceiling of the kitchen, where sloping sides help spread out the light throughout the kitchen effectively. As an addition to the natural, florescent tube beams (2) are included on the ceiling for night use, and a dimmer switch will help to adjust brightness. Inside cabinets and drawers there are various recycling systems such as a compactor a place to store composting items that can be transferred into a composer and places for garbage and recycling bins. All insulation is made out of used newspaper, and the floor is made out of ceramic tiles, which were once glass bottles. Furthermore, the countertops are made out of 75% recycled glass bottles and 25% cement (refer to picture 7.)

Overall, this solution for this kitchen proves that not only energy star rated appliances save energy, but by putting all the characteristics of an efficient appliance together, with other methods of saving energy makes a kitchen which can save tons of energy every year and can save the environment.

As you can see by putting the pieces together of appliances, lighting, materials, and placements, we can create a kitchen that is environmentally friendly. We now know that Energy Star appliances can be proven to be environmentally friendly by comparing their energy use with their size and type using EnerGuide. We also know that by combining energy efficient appliances with different methods of using energy such as electric and gas can increase how well we use our resources given to us. Making an environmentally friendly kitchen is all about balance, knowing when to look at nature to help with energy and when to use human inventions to keep the kitchen practical enough for a family.

But most importantly, we know the rational about saving energy in our kitchens, about why we would go to all this trouble to make an environmentally friendly kitchen. That is the global warming effect that Canada is contributing to and how we can slow it down. By making a kitchen, which uses the least amount of energy possible, we can in fact help this situation.