Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tips

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just over 2 weeks away? While some of us have probably already found that perfect turkey to make, others are still compiling a to do list for the holiday. Since Thanksgiving usually is one of your largest meals of the year, it should come at no surprise that it is also one of the largest energy consuming meals of the year as well when you take into consideration the energy to store and cook the food, as well as the energy to entertain your guests. Nortek Environmental, Inc. has compiled a list of Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tips for you to consider while getting your home ready for the big turkey day!

Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tip #1: Think of Side Dishes that can be Cooked WITH Your Turkey - Figure out which of your traditional Thanksgiving recipes cook at the same (or similar temperature) as your turkey and cook the 2 (or more) side by side depending on how much room you have available in your oven. Regardless of how many items are in your oven, the same amount of energy is being used to keep the heat at your desired temperature. So make the most of it and fit as many dishes in that oven as possible!

Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tip #2: Consider Using Either Ceramic or Glass Pans to Cook With - Did you know that when you cook with ceramic or glass that you can actually set your oven back 25 degrees than you would need to with cooking with dishes made of other materials? It’s true! This allows you to save even more while cooking due to the decreased temperature.

Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tip #3: Set Your Thermostat Down on the Big Day - Because you are going to be cooking so much and you’re going to have more bodies in your home than you’re used to, you can safely set your thermostat down a few degrees because of all the extra heat that will be in your home that day. Setting your thermostat down will also save you a decent amount of energy costs since heating costs make up a large portion of your home’s energy consumption.

Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tip #4: Use that Microwave - Have any dishes that you can make in the microwave rather than the oven or stove? USE IT! Your microwave uses much less energy than your oven!

Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tip #5: Scrape, Don’t Rinse - If you have a dishwasher, we highly advise using your dishwasher on Thanksgiving rather than washing your dishes by hand. Not only will it save you a large amount of time, but it will also save a lot of energy costs as well. Additionally, don’t rinse all of your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Instead, scrape any waste into the trash and then place your dishes in your dishwasher. Unless your food is near impossible to scrape off, your dishwasher should be able to remove the food while washing without you having to rinse your dishes!

We hope you enjoyed our list of Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tips! Even if Thanksgiving isn’t going to be at your home, we encourage you to share this list with whoever you know that will be cooking for Thanksgiving! We will also be posting more Thanksgiving Energy Saving Tips as Thanksgiving draws closer and closer!