Make your kitchen greener

As the energy hotspot in every home, the kitchen is the first room to target. Use our tips to make your kitchen as green as can be.

Appliance science

Keep your oven door clean

Sparkling glass lets you check on your food without opening the door and wasting precious heat.

Defrost your freezer regularly

This will keep it running at maximum efficiency.

Wash at 30ºC

Many laundry detergents now work at their best at this temperature. This will save you £10 a year. Newer detergents even work well at 15ºC, saving you even more.

Make a swap

Use the toaster instead of the grill, and a clothes airer instead of a tumble dryer, to reduce your energy usage.

Buy right

When it’s time for a new appliance, choose an energy-efficient one. Typical electricity savings a year are £30 for a fridge-freezer, £10 for a washing machine and £20 for a dishwasher.

Iron delicates first

Start your ironing with the clothes that require a lower temperature, so you don’t waste energy waiting for the iron to cool down.

Cook the green way

Cut up your veg

Your five-a-day will cook faster in smaller pieces.

Plan ahead

Take food out of the fridge an hour before cooking so it can reach room temperature – you’ll need to cook it for less time.

Stock up on ceramic

Dishes made from ceramic or glass help shorten cooking time because the heat will diffuse more efficiently.

Get a head start

Boil cooking water in a kettle before it goes in the pan.

Cook in batches

Freeze what you don’t use so you only need to reheat rather than cook a whole meal again.

Buy large

One big container uses less packaging than two smaller ones and you often get the same amount of stuff inside.

Water works

Cool your drinks

If you prefer your water cold, keep a jug in the fridge rather than waste water by running the tap. If you don't like the taste of tap water, you can use a water filter jug and keep it in the fridge. You can buy water filters at Tesco Direct.

Fill up

Fully-loaded dishwashers and washing machines work most efficiently – even if an appliance has a half-load setting, it will still use more than half the water of a full wash.

Wash up in a bowl

Don’t waste water with a running tap – rinse dishes in a batch instead. 

Descale the kettle

Dirty kettles will have to work harder and use more energy to boil. And only boil what you need.

Plan your kitchen greenly

Choose your paint carefully

Buy emulsion with low volatile organic compounds (VOC). With some standard paints, particles sink through the air and settle on counter tops. Try My Little Eco.

Wood is good

If you’re updating your kitchen with wooden features, choose timber that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Perfect positioning

Keep the fridge and freezer in the coldest part of your kitchen.

Make room for recycling

Organised recycling is easier. Buy a recycling bin and make sure it’s easy to get to – with different bins for different types of waste.