Use kitchen appliances efficiently – how to save on electricity and costs at home

In many Swiss households, the day starts with a cup of tea or coffee – so we are already using our electrical appliances for the first time straight away in the morning. The kitchen accounts for around 32 percent of household electricity consumption. This means that buying energy-efficient appliances is always worth it – for both environmental and financial reasons. According to SwissEnergy, efficient electric appliances can help you save up to 1,000 francs with minimal effort. These three kitchen appliances offer a great deal of potential:

Fridges and freezers

Cooling appliances constantly consume energy and account for ten percent of household electricity usage. This is where it really pays to look at energy efficiency. Be sure to buy a class A fridge or freezer. If you compare these to a new class C appliance, you can save up to 40 percent in electricity. The size is also key. Allow for 40 to 50 litres of capacity per adult when buying a fridge, and 20 to 30 litres of holding capacity per adult for a freezer. What’s more, freezer chests save 12 percent in energy compared to upright fridges.

More savings tips

• Make sure your fridge has an alarm so that the door is never left open for too long
• Do not put warm leftovers into the fridge/freezer
• Defrost foods in the fridge. This helps keep it cool
• Set the fridge temperature to 7 °C and the freezer temperature to –18 °C
• Defrost your freezer on a regular basis

Ovens

In Switzerland, seven percent of the electricity used by households goes towards baking and cooking. When buying large kitchen appliances, make sure they are of the highest available energy efficiency class. The old energy label on ovens still displays a scale between A+++ and D. Select a suitable size to save electricity.

More savings tips

• Save 15 percent in energy by using the fan function
• Avoid pre-heating the oven. This will save 20 percent in energy
• Turn the oven off five minutes before you’ve finished cooking your meal
• Prepare several meals in the oven at the same time
• Only open the oven door when you need to

Dishwashers

Washing by hand is not only a pain, it’s also energy-inefficient. When washing the same amount of dishes, a modern dishwasher will use a quarter less electricity and only half the water compared to hand-washing. But you should make sure you use a class A appliance. Compared with a new class C appliance, this will consume 30% less electricity. It’s also critical that you use the right size: for up to two people, eight to ten place settings should be enough; for three or more people, we recommend eleven or more place settings.

More savings tips

• Avoid pre-rinsing the dishes with water
• Only start the dishwasher when it’s full (but not too full)
• Use eco, low temperature or energy-saving settings
• Refill the dishwasher salt on a regular basis. This will increase efficiency
• Clean the filter regularly

When should you replace kitchen appliances?

You should only replace electrical appliances once they have come to the end of their working life and no longer work. However, for appliances that consume resources when running, it may be a good idea to replace an old model with a new one. Especially if the faults are piling up or the appliance is more than ten years old. Additionally, many electrical appliances use power on standby mode as well. Newer technologies do use less electricity, but it’s still worth unplugging the appliance, for instance if it’s a coffee machine.

Repair or replace broken domestic appliances?

What should you do if your dishwasher conks out? Are you better off getting it repaired or replaced? The age of the appliance is a useful benchmark here. Compare the costs of repairing the appliance to the costs of buying a new one. As a general rule, the older the appliance is, the lower the repair costs should be, compared to buying a new one. You should also factor in the energy efficiency of a defective appliance into your decision, as well as the amount of grey energy used, for instance to dispose of the product.

Replacing domestic appliances: don’t have quite enough money at the moment?

If you need a new kitchen appliance, you shouldn’t look solely at the purchase price. Cheaper products often consume more electricity and therefore end up being less economical and less environmentally friendly over their working life. Want to buy an energy-efficient electrical appliance but can’t afford to at the moment? A personal loan from PostFinance will allow you to invest in a new model, so you can do your bit for the environment while also saving money in the long term.