Oven Buying Tips

• Consider buying a self-cleaning oven. They use less energy for normal cooking because of higher insulation levels. However, if you use the self-cleaning option more than once a month, you will end up using more energy than you will save from the extra insulation.
• About 58 percent of American households cook with electricity, but gas cooking is making a steady comeback. Gas ovens use much less energy compared to their electric counterparts because the fuel is used directly for cooking. A gas appliance costs less than half as much to operate as an electric one, provided it is equipped with electronic ignition instead of a pilot light.
• With electric cook tops, there are a number of new types of burners on the market: solid disk elements, radiant elements under glass, halogen elements, and induction elements.
• Solid disk elements and radiant elements under glass are easier to clean, but they take longer to heat up and use more electricity.
• Halogen elements and induction elements are more efficient than conventional electric coil elements. Induction elements require that you use only iron or steel pots and pans. Aluminum cookware will not work with induction elements.
• The range hood should ventilate to the outside and not simply recirculate and filter the cooking fumes. This is especially important with gas ranges. But also be careful about the sizes of fans -- too large a fan can waste energy and cause back-drafting of combustion gases into the house. This is a major concern with large downdraft ventilation fans used with some cook-tops and ranges. Ask about make-up air ducts available for these models.

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