The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home. It’s a constant hub of activity, whether you’re using it for cooking or eating. Kitchens are also one of the highest energy-consuming rooms in a home, thanks to constantly running appliances such as fridges and freezers, and due to near continuous daily use. This is why it is crucial in this day and age to ensure that the kitchen is designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
Luckily there are a multitude of ways in which kitchens can be made eco-friendly:
Opt for wood-based surfaces and cabinets
When it comes to designing a kitchen, one of the most important aspects are the cabinets and worktops, which is why choosing to use environmentally friendly materials is an absolute must. Wood-based boards, such as melamine-faced particleboard and Medium-density fibreboard, from E1 certified companies, are an excellent option as they can be both stylish and environmentally friendly additions to any kitchen. This is because E1-certified companies, such as Sonae Arauco, produce high-quality products and are responsible for fewer emissions and practise sustainable reforestation.
Install low-energy consumption appliances
Kitchen appliances, especially the fridge, use a lot of electricity to run. This means that finding energy-efficient appliances is a top priority for anyone designing an eco-friendly kitchen. Luckily, there are a plethora of stylish, low-energy and eco-friendly kitchen appliances on the market to choose from. Energy-efficient appliances such as convection ovens, up-down refrigerators and induction stoves are excellent examples of energy-saving appliances that can be put into a kitchen to make it more eco-friendly.
Go for gas
Any avid cook will say they prefer using gas when it comes to cooking because gas cooking allows for better temperature control and faster heating. This is why choosing to install a gas stove is a must for any eco-friendly kitchen as not only will it make cooking easier but using gas also has less of an impact on the environment than traditional electric stoves, as they use less energy to heat up and because natural gas is cleaner and produces fewer emissions than the coal that is burned to generate electricity.
Lighting
Having good lighting is something that can make or break any room, especially one which is used as much as a kitchen. Incorporating as much natural light into the kitchen’s design as possible is an excellent way to ensure that your kitchen uses less electricity, thus making it more environmentally friendly. Opting for larger windows will let more light into your space, ensuring that it is brighter and easier to work in. When it comes to choosing eco-friendly lights for the kitchen, LED or fluorescent lights are an absolute no-brainer as they are designed to be energy efficient, using significantly less electricity than their incandescent counterparts.
With so many innovative ways to incorporate environmentally friendly products into a kitchen’s design, there really is no reason not to have an eco-friendly kitchen.
For more information visit us at: https://www.sonae.projects.coppertable.co.za/
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