You can have a beautiful kitchen and save the planet, too. With these earth-friendly design tips and stylish green products, going green in the kitchen will save you money on your electricity bill and eco-decor has become even more popular, giving you a wider range of styles than ever before.
Elements of a Green Kitchen
Kitchens are the energy hog of the home, thanks to the fridge, which is second only to your heating and cooling appliances. Throw in your oven, stove, dishwashers, microwaves and other appliances and you can see how a kitchen can cook up most of your electricity bill.
Decreasing your energy use in the kitchen is not the only way to make your kitchen green, you can also create an eco-kitchen by using materials made from recycled or rapidly renewable resources.
Environmentally Friendly Products for your Kitchen
Bamboo Flooring
Well; it’s technically a grass and not a wood, but the rapidly renewable bamboo is gaining popularity as a flooring material. Thanks to its good looks; fast growth and abundance, using stylish bamboo reduces our dependence on hardwoods that can take over 60 years to mature, where bamboo takes only 6 years. Bamboo flooring is available naturally light or stained dark.
Cork
Another rapidly renewable resource, cork comes from the bark of trees and can be harvested every nine years. Most cork flooring producers use recycled cork in their manufacturing processes. Available in tiles, cork flooring is soft underfoot; offers good sound insulation and is naturally water resistant – which makes it a good choice for kitchens and bathrooms. Stone, slate and rubber are also good eco-friendly options for your kitchen floor.
Magnetic Induction Stove Tops
Magnetic Induction stove tops have long been popular in Europe and America, but are slowly entering the South African market. Magnetic induction produces virtually instant heat because the stove top has a magnetic coil that transfers energy into the cookware and heats it quickly. Energy is transferred only to magnetic materials such as cast iron or steel, so the stove top stays cool to the touch and only the pan gets hot. Magnetic Induction is 25% more efficient than electric and 35% more efficient than gas.
Water Saving Features
Choose taps with aerators, which inject air bubbles into the water stream to achieve the same pressure with less volume. Instant hot water dispensers keep hot water at the tap, saving thousands of litres of water a year by eliminating the need to run the water until it gets hot. The dispenser heats the water at the source and therefore uses about 10% - 20% less energy.
Lighting
CFL’s and Fluorescent light bulb use much less electricity and last longer than incandescent lights. Motion sensors can be effectively used to save money on lighting costs as they automatically turn lights on when someone steps into the kitchen and off when there is no one in the kitchen. They are fairly inexpensive and can be mounted in standard switch boxes.
Appliances
Appliances approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Energy Star programme use 10%-50% less energy than standard models reducing energy costs. Remember to use the settings on your appliances, such as the eco-wash option on your washing machine and dishwasher, using these appliances when they are full will also save you money.
Making your kitchen green can be achieved with no extra cost or difficulty, just make the green choice when it comes to improving your kitchen decor.
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