Tips on household appliances

Dishwashers

Good habits

• Clean the filter near the bottom of your dishwasher regularly.
• Don’t run it until it’s really full and use the shortest appropriate cycle.
• Choose the air dry (no heat) drying cycle and use 15% to 50% less energy.
• Choose the energy saver setting.
• Some people think you have to rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, but you don’t. Just scrape off any food scraps. You’ll save water and energy. But if you absolutely have to rinse the dishes, use cold water.

Clothes washers

Good habits

• Wash your clothes in cold water, using a detergent meant for the purpose. Studies show that they’ll come out just as clean as those washed in hot water. Think about it! 80% to 90% of the energy used to wash clothes goes to heating water.
• For very dirty laundry, soak the clothes instead of washing them twice.
• It’s more energy efficient to run a washer when it is full, so make sure you purchase a model that is the right size for your family. Two small loads use twice as much energy as one full load.
• If your model has a water level selector, set it correctly for each load.
• If possible, install the washing machine near the water heater to reduce heat losses through the connecting pipes. Insulate all pipes and hoses, especially those near uninsulated walls.

Dryers

Good habits

• If you put soaking wet clothes in your dryer, it has to work harder and it uses more electricity. Wring out your clothes first, either by hand or using your washer’s spin cycle.
• Avoid running the dryer for small loads.
• Whenever possible, dry light items and heavier items separately.
• Start your next load as soon as the first load has finished, so the dryer doesn’t have time to cool down. You’ll save electricity.
• Avoid overdrying: it uses more electricity, but it also wrinkles and shrinks clothes. The drying cycle should be 40 to 60 minutes.
• Use the automatic shut-off, if there is one, instead of timed drying.
• Choose medium or low heat, since the time saved with a higher setting will not offset the extra power required.
• To save money and avoid wrinkling your clothes, use the “cool-down” cycle, which generally corresponds to the permanent press setting, and uses cool air for the last few minutes of the cycle.
• Remember to clean out the lint filter every time you use your dryer.
• Check that the flaps on all exhaust vents (clothes dryer, bathroom fans, range hood, etc.) are airtight and replace them if necessary.

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Ranges

Good habits

• Use the right size cookware. A pot should just cover the burner for maximum efficiency. With a larger pot, cooking takes longer. With a smaller pot, heat is lost to the air. Either way, you’re wasting energy. For example, if you are using a six-inch pot on an eight-inch burner, over 40% of your heat will be wasted.
• Use only smooth, flat-bottomed cookware. Food cooks faster when pots make full contact with the cooking element.
• Use pots and pans that are in good condition. A warped-bottom pot could take 50% more energy than a flat-bottomed one.
• Covering pots and pans can mean using 8% to 14% less heat.
• Keep drip pans under conventional coil burners clean. Replacing them with top quality new ones can reduce energy use by a third.
• Remember that coil burners use more power than induction or halogen cooktops.
• Keep oven door seals clean and tight. When you close the door, the seal should be able to hold a sheet of paper in place. If it comes out easily, the seal needs to be replaced.
• Use minimal heat. Once water is boiling, choose the lowest setting required to maintain the boil. Food won’t cook any faster at a high boil.
• Keep the oven door shut whenever possible. Every time it’s opened during use, as much as 20% of the heat escapes. Look through the window instead.
• Use a stovetop burner, toaster oven or microwave rather than the regular oven to heat up small quantities of food.
• Don’t preheat the oven for more than 10 minutes.
• If your oven has a convection option, use it as often as possible. The hot air circulates, cutting cooking time by 30%.
• Turn off your oven 10 or 15 minutes early and turn off your range burners 2 or 3 minutes early. The remaining heat will finish the job.
• Preheat the oven only for baking. In other cases, preheating is a waste of energy.
• Whenever possible, use a more energy-efficient appliance, like your toaster oven, microwave or electric kettle.
  • The most energy-efficient kitchen appliance is definitely the microwave oven, which uses only a third of the wattage of most ranges.
  • Using small appliances saves a significant amount of energy, while at the same time extending the life of your large appliances. So use a small one whenever you can: microwave, toaster oven, slow cooker, kettle or electric skillet.
  • Consult our toolbox to find out how much electricity is used by devices when they are turned off.

Buying a range

What you need to know

• Today’s cooktops, ovens and ranges are about as energy-efficient as current technology allows. But you can make them more energy-efficient in various ways, such as by improving the seal on the oven door.
• Look for a self-cleaning oven. They are often better insulated than regular ovens.
• A cooktop with a powerful fan can push up your energy bill in winter, because the fan exhausts a lot of warm air and your heating system has to make up for the loss.

Dehumidifiers

Good habits

• Observe all manufacturer warnings regarding electrical safety.
  Make sure water doesn’t drain near electrical circuits or devices.
• Make sure the dehumidifier is located away from walls and furniture, so that air can circulate freely around the unit.
  Dust and dirt can clog coils and grills.
• If you use a hose to drain the dehumidifier’s water bucket, make sure to place the unit close to the floor drain or sump.
  A long hose could create a tripping hazard!
• Close any doors and windows in the space being dehumidified.
  Humid air from outside may make your dehumidifier less efficient.
• Set the relative humidity (RH) level at between 30% and 50%.
  In colder climates, RH of 30% to 40% is optimal.
• Clean the dehumidifier regularly.
  Pay particular attention to the filter in order to maximize efficiency and eliminate bacteria as much as possible.
• Clean coils by brushing the filter with a solution of bleach and water.
  That will eliminate mould.
• If frost forms on the condenser coil, unplug the dehumidifier and defrost it before starting it up again.
  Running it when it’s cold could cause a mechanical failure.
• Lower the relative humidity throughout the house to reduce the need for a dehumidifier.
  • Be sure all downspouts carry water away from the foundations and avoid overwatering plants next to the house.
  • Make sure the dryer exhausts to the outside and avoid air-drying laundry indoors.
  • Use fans in the bathroom and kitchen to eliminate humidity at the source.
  • Connect the humid room to the central ventilation and air-conditioning system to improve overall air flow and humidity levels.

Selecting a home dehumidifier

Various products

Other good habits to develop

Use ventilation systems effectively: in the space of an hour, a range hood and bathroom fan can exhaust all the heated air in a house. So don’t leave them running unnecessarily.