Be an Eco Champion at Home Smart Training Tips for a Winning Energy Performance

Knowledge is power. But when it comes to energy efficiency around the house, a little knowledge can actually generate power savings.

In every home, the kitchen is the centre of family life. The following energy-saving tips will help you be an eco-champion. Together, they add up to a winning green game plan.

The Big Chill

• position the refrigerator away from a stove, dishwasher, heat duct or sunny window
• thaw frozen food in your fridge to increase its efficiency while avoiding the microwave
• tightly cover leftovers and liquids to contain moisture, which draws more energy from the refrigerator

Soup's On

• always cover pots and pans when cooking
• turn off the burner or oven when your food is almost cooked and let accumulated heat finish the job
• invest in a convection oven, which evenly and efficiently circulates heat through the cooking space

The Dirty Truth About Dishes

• don't pre-rinse dirty dishes
• run your dishwasher only once a day and wash full loads
• upgrade and save — newer dishwashers use half the water of their predecessors

Keep It Clean — and Green!

• perma-press cycles blow cool air over the laundry during the final minutes and save on energy
• sort loads according to drying times and never add wet items to a partially dry loads
• improve air circulation by keeping lint traps and outdoor vents clean

The Kitchen of the Future

Appliances contribute to almost 85% of home energy use. What if your principal kitchen appliances were "smart" enough to optimize their energy consumption — even advise you — during the peak demand of 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. each day?

• A dishwasher that could be programmed to tackle the dinner dishes after you've gone to bed?
• A dryer that could caution you about a load set to run during the most expensive time of the day?
• A refrigerator that defrosts only when energy costs the least?

  Appliance technology is about to take a huge leap forward — and it's just around the corner...

Smart meters, tiered energy pricing and demand-response appliances are the future innovations that will change how we live — for the better. "Smart" appliances will not only help save energy and money, but they will empower us to better manage and plan our energy consumption.

GE brings a gold medal champion's determination to the engineering and performance of its next generation of energy-smart appliances.

Take a tour of the smart ideas behind GE's Kitchen of the Future on display at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.