Modern kitchen design is about so much more than colour palettes and trending style. Many of our forward-thinking clients are also opting for energy efficient kitchen design. With this in mind, we thought we’d show you simple ways to update your kitchen and save money on your energy bills too.
What do you really need from your kitchen? Think about the day-to-day jobs, the cupboard space you need, and your worktop space requirements. It’s also a good idea to consider the work triangle and how traffic will flow through the kitchen. This will increase all types of efficiency in your kitchen design.
One of the simplest ways to improve energy efficiency in your kitchen is to choose the right kitchen appliances. In fact, energy efficient appliances can save families £100s every year.
If you’ve decided on an electric cooker, fit an induction hob rather than a traditional electric hob. It’s 50% more efficient. Similarly, combination ovens can reduce energy costs by 50% too, because of their faster cooking times. What’s more, microwave ovens use 70 – 90% less energy than conventional ovens and should always be used for preparing smaller quantities of food.
Once you have the right appliances in place, make sure you look after them. For example, with your fridge freezer, make sure you don’t leave the door open longer than necessary and that it’s always kept to the right temperature.
Materials that have minimal impact on your health and the environment are ultimately the best materials to choose. Ideally, they should also be durable and low maintenance, serving their function for years.
Replace all your incandescent and florescent bulbs with CFL and LED lighting. LED lights, in particular, are great spotlights for under the cupboards or above cabinets.
Where possible, it’s a good idea to increase the amount of natural light in your kitchen space. Why not see if you can fit skylights and additional windows into your new kitchen design too?
You can also increase the brightness of your kitchen with bright, crisp colours like white. Stay away from dark colours that absorb light in favour of colours that create a bright atmosphere, even with the lights off. A touch of gloss and / or a mirror backsplash works wonders too – helping to reflect light and keep your kitchen space nice and bright.
Today’s technology has been designed with energy efficiency in mind – the popular Quooker tap being just one example of this. The Quooker tap generates both hot and cold water in a single compact tank and ensures you have exactly the right amount of boiling water when you need it.
If you’re interested in revamping your kitchen and building something energy efficient and sustainable, get in touch with the team today or pay a visit to our kitchen showrooms situated throughout the North West including our kitchen showroom at Manchester, our Colne kitchen showroom and our Blackburn showroom.
What measures have you taken to make your kitchen more energy efficient? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @ModernKitchens
