It’s that time of year again! Everyone’s favorite day of feasting and giving thanks is right around the corner. We all can’t wait to sit down and carve that tasty turkey with our loved ones. But before we do, there are some useful tips to keep in mind to ensure energy efficiency in the kitchen.

According to Energy.Gov, as much as 15 percent of annual energy usage in U.S. homes comes from Thanksgiving preparation.  We’ve put together some guidelines to help prevent your electric bill from going sky high this holiday season.

No peeking! Rather than open the oven to check on the turkey, use the oven window. The temperature is reduced by as much as 25 degrees each time the oven door is opened. This forces your oven to work even harder and, as a result, it requires greater electricity to get back to the desired cooking temperature.

Turn down the heat. I’m a huge advocate for staying warm and toasty during the holidays, but even I have found this tip to be helpful during Thanksgiving.  When spending the day in your kitchen preparing the big meal, the stove has the ability to keep your home warmer than usual. To save money and prevent your furnace from working as hard, turn your heat down and let the kitchen keep you comfortable.

Fill it up. It is far more energy efficient to keep your refrigerator and freezer full around the holidays. The large amount of cold items contained inside will help the temperature to recover each time the door is opened. Be careful not to cram them too full in order to allow air to properly circulate around the food. 

Keep it a clean machine. Be sure to clean your burners and reflectors before you begin the big day of cooking. This provides better heating, and it ultimately saves energy. Should you need new reflectors, purchase quality ones. The best on the market can save as much as one-third of the energy used when cooking with a stove.

On behalf of all of us at NOPEC, we wish you a happy, energy-efficient Thanksgiving!