Energy saving when cooking

A friend asked me whether it saves energy to not preheat your oven.  My utility company had some tips in the monthly newsletter on saving energy when cooking.  I added a tip of my own to the list below and here’s this week’s post.  Happy cooking!

• Copper-bottomed pans heat faster on the stove.
• In the oven, with ceramic and glass baking dishes, you can turn the oven temperature down about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and your meal will cook just as quickly.   
• Turn off the stove burner a minute or two (or more) before your food is done.  The residual heat in the burner element (if it’s an electric burner) and the residual heat in the pan will continue to cook the food for a few minutes after the burner is turned off.
• Unless you are baking something that requires the oven heat to be carefully controlled, turn off the oven a few minutes (or longer for items like casseroles) before the items are ready.  If you don’t open the oven door, the oven will stay hot for a while after it’s turned off. 
• Don’t keep opening the oven door to peek at the food.  Every time you open the door, additional energy is needed to bring the temperature in the oven back up.
• For regular cooking, it's probably not necessary to have your oven on as long—or set as high—as the recipe calls for. For recipes that need to bake for longer than an hour, pre-heating the oven isn't necessary. 

Here’s an article with more information.  https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/articles/energy-efficient-cooking-winter
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