Stove

• Preheating your oven takes only 10 minutes. And unless you are baking breads and cakes, you may not need to preheat the oven at all.
  

• Keep oven doors closed and pan lids on! Peeking in the oven causes the temperature to drop 25-50 degrees F.
  

• Make sure your oven door gasket seals properly. The gasket ensures a tight seal between the door and the oven.
  

• Turn off the oven a few minutes before the full cooking time has elapsed. Retained heat will finish the cooking process.
  

• Glass and ceramic pans heat more efficiently than metal. Lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees F but keep the same cooking time.
  

• Use a toaster oven or microwave to cook small quantities. Baking a single potato in an electric oven costs 10¢, in a toaster oven 5¢, and in a microwave 2¢.
  

• Ovens work most efficiently when the air inside circulates freely. Avoid laying foil on oven racks. Stagger multiple pans, allowing at least 1 inch of space on all sides.
  

• Set your oven to self-clean while it is still warm from prior cooking. The oven can reach an energy-intensive 850 degrees F in self-cleaning mode. Use the feature sparingly.
  

• Keep range-top burners and reflectors clean.
  

• As soon as water boils, turn the heat down. Boiling is as hot as water gets. Low heat will maintain it.
  

• On gas stovetops, fit the flame to the pan, and the pan to the task. On electric ranges, use flat-bottomed pans that make full contact with the heating surface.
  

• Copper and copper-bottomed pans conduct heat quickly, saving you a couple of copper-coated pennies.
  

• Check your stovetop flames. They should be blue. A yellow flame may indicate inefficient burning of gas.
  

• Consider using a pressure cooker to reduce cooking times and energy use by 50% or more.