Choosing Faucets For a Green Kitchen Design

 To have a great green kitchen, one of the primary things you need to do is save water. How can you do this? By switching to a low-flow kitchen faucet! In this article, we shall give you tips on faucets for your green kitchen. While redesigning, you must always take everything into consideration, and that includes the faucets. We advise you to switch to water-saving models, these help to cut down on the water, while you’re going about other tasks in the kitchen.

Many worry that low-flow faucets for the green kitchen will increase the amount of time you need to fill up the pasta pot. But don’t worry about this. These new models, in truth, save water without affecting your other tasks. How do they do this? Well, they are fitted with sensors – these shut off the water, which would probably have been running while you were doing something else. They also make use of aerators – these decrease the flow of the water – and don’t worry, it’s not very noticeable!

Faucets for the kitchen come in many shapes and sizes – so you are split for a choice. Go for one that fits your décor, go for a stylish model that will be eye-catching in your kitchen. There are also many kinds of technologies available, which will decrease the amount of water consumption. A good suggestion is to go for a metered valve faucet – this delivers .25 gallons of water, and then automatically shuts off. This sounds like a practical solution and is widely available.

Of course, these are not the only kinds available for consumers today. You could choose a self-closing faucet. This is spring-loaded, and will shut off after few seconds after the water supply is turned on and has been running. The benefit of this? It completely eliminates the possibility of water wastage – imagine you turning on the tap to fill a pot, then turning away for something else, you come back and see the pot is overflowing! A self-closing faucet makes your work much more efficient! You can also go  for a faucet that has an infrared sensor – this turns the water on automatically, when a hand is placed underneath it, and it shuts off automatically when nothing is sensed underneath. This kind of faucet is used in most restrooms, and if you have been to Disney World you saw the leaders in this technology using what are extremely efficient when it comes to saving water.

You need to keep in mind that even though the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t rate kitchen faucets, you should still install an aerator, or purchase a touchless faucet. Another basic tip is – stainless steel and cast iron sinks contain recycled material.

However, remember that whichever low-flow kitchen faucet you go for, you will be making your kitchen more energy efficient. You will also save water – this not only affects your water bills effectively, but also has a positive effect on the environment. Of course, there are added benefits like less groundwater pumping, less distribution pumping, and less sewer treatment. So install a new faucet today!

Green Waste – Garbage Disposal

The Kitchen really is a place of many activities, and one of the least talked about is garbage. Just like the rest of the new or updated appliances for your Green Kitchen Design have been thought thru and researched, refuse disposal needs to be reviewed and reconsidered.

Recycle Waste The Green Way

Have you thought about the products you have brought home? Part of living green means eating more veggies and whole foods to stop wasteful packaging that gets tossed into landfills. Recycling has become the normal standard worldwide, such as plastic bottles, metals and paper being seperated for re-use, and replacing an energy wasting garbage disposal should be part of any Green Kitchen update. Having somewhere to compost food waste is great way to recycle discarded leftovers. but this is not always possible for many homeowners.

InSinkErator Review

The latest in going green products is the Insinkerator Household Disposer. Located right under any kitchen sink, you can compact food waste. This is mostly water (70%) so it makes sense to grind it up in your disposal and send via your in house waste system to municipal waste water treatment plants. What is new is that most updated city treatment plants are now taking ethane, the biogas created during the processing, and using it to generate renewable power for the plant or municipality. The biosolids that are created from the treatment can be processed, packaged and then sold as fertilizer and soil run, and only account for one percent for total water consumption of any household. Insinkerator is the largest sellng and most trusted in sink disposal system, has great support, and can be purchased online or at your nearest home goods store.

Choosing Green Stove Cooktops

Stove cooktops, come in many varieties and they are one element of your green kitchen design that shouldn’t be overlooked.  When you are trying to create an eco-friendly kitchen, every little bit counts so choosing a cooktop that is energy-efficient but also meets your culinary needs is critical.

There are basically two types of cooktops – gas and electric – and the cook in your family may prefer one over the other. Most cooks prefer the ease of use and control of a gas stove while others like the sleek appearance and easy cleaning abilities of an electric stove.

Gas stoves are heated with either natural gas or propane bot of which are fossil fuels and are not very eco-friendly.  However, the electricity used to heat electric stoves is predominantly generated in coal burning power plants which also is not eco-friendly. So when it comes right down to it, the search for an eco-friendly cooktop boils down to how efficient it’s energy usage is.

Green Stove Cooktops – Gas VS Electric

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to disappoint everyone who loves to cook on a gas cook top and tell you right now that an electric cooktop is going to be more eco-friendly – hands-down.  However, if you simply must have a gas cook top you want to choose one that has the lowest BTU that you can find as this will be the most energy-efficient.

Electric Cooktop Choices

When it comes to electric cooktops, there’s a huge variety and price range of choices out there, but you basically will find three different kinds – stoves that are heated through induction, stoves that are heated with halogen elements, and electric coil stoves.

Induction Cooktops - induction cooktops are the newest technology and the most energy-efficient so if you’re serious about your green kitchen you really want to consider one of these even though they will be the most expensive. These stove tops transfer heat directly to your pots and pans using electromagnetic energy.  The drawback is that you have to use mental cookware – cast iron, stainless steel or enamel will work but glass and aluminum will not.

Halogen Cooktops – cooktops heated with halogen elements have a flat surface and are easy to clean. They are not quite as energy-efficient as the induction cooktops and can actually be a bit wasteful if your pans are not totally flat because the heat is only transferred to the pan when it is in direct contact with the cooktop.

Electric Coils – these old-fashioned stoves are the least energy-efficient using twice as much energy as the induction cooktops. Not only that, but they’re very difficult to clean. Of course, they will be the least expensive but they won’t do much to increase the value of your kitchen or help the environment.

So when choosing stove cooktops for your green kitchen, it’s really a matter of weighing your cooking preference and your budget against how green you want to be.

What Are The Most Energy Efficient Refrigerators?

Anyone who is thinking about greening up their kitchen should start by looking at energy efficient refrigerators.  In fact, the refrigerator is the single biggest energy consumer of all your appliances and replacing your old, rickety fridge with a new more energy-efficient model will not only help save the environment but it will save you money on your utility bills as well.

The most efficient refrigerators are qualified by Energy Star.  So when you’re shopping for a fridge, you want to look for the Energy Star designation.  These refrigerators use 20% less energy then is required by federal standards.  Today’s refrigerators actually use about 40% less energy than the ones made only seven years ago.

So, what are the most energy-efficient refrigerators?

While basically, you can buy any model that is Energy Star compliant.  Models that have the freezer on the top or on the bottom will be more energy efficient than the side by sides.  Also automatic ice makers increase energy use so you might want to look for model that doesn’t have one of these.

Some top freezer models that are energy efficient include the Frigidaire FRT21HC5D, the whirlpool ET9FHTXM and  the Maytag MTB1953  for under $800.  The top end refrigerators include KitchenAid KTLA22EM and the  Sun Frost R-16  which will set you back a cool $2,807.00

if you’re looking for a refrigerator with a bottom freezer, then you might consider the Kenmore 6523 or the Maytag MBF2254HE.  If you have money to burn and check out the Liebherr CS1350.

If you simply must have a side-by-side in the least expensive energy-efficient model is the whirlpool ED2FHEXN.  Other models might consider include the GE GSH22VGR and Kenmore 4455.

Here are some tips on making your refrigerator even more energy-efficient:

Keep the fridge thermostat set between 35 and 38°F in the freezer temp set at 0°

Don’t stand in front of the refrigerator and leave the door open while you are deciding what to eat,  have a plan before you get to the fridge, grab the food and shut the door.

Make sure your fridge isn’t next to the oven or indirect sunlight or next to your heater.  You don’t want it to have to battle extra heating.

Make sure that air can circulate around the condenser coils so that they can work properly.  In order to do this you want to leave a space between the refrigerator and your cabinets and walls.

Are You Ready For A Solar Powered Refrigerator?

You’ve heard of solar powered calculators, solar garden fountains and even solar patio lights, but a solar powered refrigerator?

Yes, it’s true – there is, in fact, a solar refrigerator or that is powered by a solar-diesel hybrid generator which was developed by the Cambridge Mass company  Promethean Power Systems.  The fridge uses 180 watt solar panels combined with a diesel engine for a green-hybrid type of appliance.  Although the diesel engine makes this fridge only partially powered by renewable energy, future updates may replace the diesel with biodiesel making this a truly green fridge.

This solar refrigerator is actually intended to be used in rural areas – place where there just isn’t the electrical infrastructure to power a regular fridge.  But, what the heck, if you wanted one for your house, you would save about 60% on what it costs you to power your fridge now and you’d be lowering your carbon footprint – after all every little bit counts!

This particular solar powered refrigerator uses thermo electric cooling instead of Freon.  It’s actually made to be used by food distributors and for central food storage in rural India – not for your kitchen.  However, technology that turns your kitchen fridge into a solar powered appliance can’t be that far behind!

Eco Friendly Kitchen Appliances

Shopping for household appliances is always a fun thing to do, especially when you are buying new appliances to replace your old worn out ones. Today, a lot of homeowners are excited about the new “green home” trend, which focuses on protecting our natural resources by recylcing, using natural materials and reducing our carbon footprint. The kitchen is an especially good place to practice this by using eco friendly kitchen appliances that can help reduce the amount of resources consumed. Using enery saving kitchen appliances will not only be a great solution to cut costs on your own electric bill but can be a great addition to the new look of your kitchen and help reduce the strain on the environment to boot!

Most of the newer models and units of appliances are designed to use a minimal amount of energy. Technology aims to improve the old and primitive, and we can see its progression through the production of green kitchen appliances. Here, you can acquire a modern piece of technology and also save energy, money and time. Most of these new models come in stylish compact shapes to be able to fit in any space provided in the kitchen. They also come in more variety and choices to the consumer than ever before.

A normal refrigerator can eat up as much as fifteen percent of the energy being used in the home, multiply that by the number of families in the entire United States and you can just imagine how much energy is wasted through these old models. Eco friendly kitchen appliances, particularly refrigerators, can change that since the materials and the way they are designed are aimed to promote the “green” household trend by not being too expensive. Here are some “green” kitchen appliances that you might want to consider as an alternative to the old versions in your home:

1. Refrigerator
2. Dishwasher
3. Stove
4. Microwave

If you still are unsure of what to do to keep cutting down on energy consumption costs, you can refer to some of the tips below regarding your use of the appliances you have at home.

Don’t leave the refriderator door open while you try to figure out what you wanted in there in the first place. Decide what you are going for then retrieve and close the door right away!

Try to keep your dishwasher running on full mode so that you can make use of the energy being used by it.
When your microwave or other kitchen appliance has an electronic display, make sure to turn them off and unplug them before leaving the room or when you are not using it anymore. These displays and led’s use enery and, while it isn’t a lot, it does add up!

Choosing eco friendly kitchen appliances just makes sense. The prices have come down a lot, but even if you have to pay a bit more for the most efficient ones, you will save that in energy bills over time. And with the wide chioce in styles and models, there’s just no excuse not to go green when it comes to kitchen appliances.