techspurt

Greening Your Kitchen

In this Summer of Bummer ‘08, roof-busting gas and food prices have kept many of us at home, staring at the car we don’t drive unless absolutely necessary and the milk we dare not waste on such things as topping off coffee or helping the kids grow stronger bones and teeth.

Want to put some money in your pocket today? Start greening your kitchen. It’s the most energy-hungry room in the house, and odds are you’ve got a bunch of appliances that are bleeding you dry every month whether you use them every day or hardly ever. In fact, most kitchen appliances (as well as most gear that plugs into the wall like TVs, stereos, cable boxes, video game consoles, the list goes on and on till your throat is hoarse and only dry dust rolls off your tongue) consume a significant amount of energy even when turned off. That’s right. Put your hand on the appliance, especially near where the power cord attaches to the unit. Feel warm? Say hello to watts you’re paying for 24/7 that aren’t doing a @%#$ thing for you except fattening your utility bills.

The good news: appliance makers are finally starting to take energy efficiency seriously enough to rethink how they design their products. Here are some good examples of new kitchen appliances that pare their energy needs to the bone without sacrificing performance.

Whirlpool’s new GU2800XTV and GU3600XTV dishwashers use one-third less water and energy than the company’s models from seven years ago — 20 gallons less per load, which adds up to 4,300 gallons you’ll be saving per year. The trick is increased water pressure, which breaks up food more efficiently. This new wash system and a soft-start motor help reduce noise, providing for the quietest operation of any of the manufacturer’s dishwashers. The appliances are Energy Star qualified and have a yearly energy usage of 299 kWh (GU2800) and 301 kWh (GU3600). Other features include a new nozzle configuration that delivers a fan of water to clean from all angles and cleaning power that adjusts to soil levels. 800.253.3977. Available at national retailers this fall starting at $699. Whirlpool.

My favorite coffee maker brand Jura-Capresso just announced their new eco-friendly ENA line of super-automatic coffee centers that combine best-ever coffee taste with a new focus on energy efficiency. The three new ENA models offer a true bean-to-cup experience, with single button operation and environmentally friendly features to save energy. The Swiss-made collection also offers high style, exciting new color choices and advanced features at entry-level prices.

When turning the ENA off, the patent-pending Smart Zero Energy Button lets the machine finish any beverage already in progress and then completely disconnects from the electrical outlet, using no energy whatsoever. For additional energy savings, the machine can be switched to Energy Save Standby Mode in situations where it is used infrequently. This reduces power consumption up to 40 percent.

The ENA models are the first in the Jura-Capresso line to feature a see-through bean chamber visible on top of the machine, romancing the beauty of fresh coffee beans. A built-in five-level conical burr grinder grinds the beans right before brewing for optimal taste. This high-performance grinder can be adjusted for regular or oily beans from fine to coarse simply by turning the chrome adjustment ring while the grinder is running. ENA machines can also brew pre-ground coffee to cater to those who prefer decaffeinated or other specialty coffee blends.

Because fresh, pure water is an essential element of great coffee taste, the new ENA models feature the CLEARYL Plus Water Filter that removes impurities and reduces scale deposits in heating elements. This filter can transform hard tap water into water that is pH-neutral balanced so it will not disrupt coffee flavor.

“ENA” means “number one” in Greek, for the number one choice for anyone who wants the ultimate in a compact model. The line includes the ENA 3 in Ristretto Black and Blossom White; the ENA 4 in rich metallic Platinum with Ristretto Black accents; and the ENA 5 with Chrome and rich metallic Platinum with either Ristretto Black, Blossom White or Coffee Cherry Red accents.

The Jura-Capresso ENA collection has an actual retail price range from $899 to $1,199 and will be sold at specialty and online retailers. Jura-Capresso.

Do you boil a lot of water to make tea and other hot drinks? Do yourself a favor and start saving money on every cup with Jura-Capresso’s cordless H2O Plus glass water kettle. Not only does it boil water ten times faster than a tea kettle on a stovetop, but it uses much less energy to boot. The H20 boils water fast, quietly and safe…then shuts off automatically. A gleaming stainless steel dome which is easy to clean covers the concealed heating element. The German-made SCHOTT heat resistant glass has ounce and cup markings for easy filling. $60. Jura-Capresso.

Google the Intertubes for “Going Green” and you’ll be swamped with articles extolling the miracle of eco-friendly illumination known as the compact fluorescent lamp, or CFL. “New Compact Fluorescents Finally Look As Good As Incandescent Light!” they’ll jibber. “Replacing Your Home Lighting With CFLs Will Make Dolphins Like You” they’ll jabber.

Bullshit, I say.

The “new” compact fluorescents are nothing but the same junk that’s been hurting our eyes and making us all look like the walking dead in offices for years. So they now make them shaped like a real light bulb — who gives a rat’s? They still throw the kind of harsh, flickering, unnatural light that makes everything look terrible. Like a gas station men’s room bathroom at 3AM. You ever look at yourself in a bathroom mirror lit with fluorescents? You want this in your HOME?! Hell no. You think Laurie David’s got CFLs at her house? Not a chance.

And you know what else? Forget vanity. I have a better reason for you to shun CFLs like lepers. Mercury. In every single serving of CFL, you get a heaping helping of MERCURY to do who the hell knows what to you and your family. Read the fine print on these so-called “eco-friendly” bulbs:

“Fluorescent lamps contain mercury. Mercury at atmospheric pressure is a silver colored liquid that tends to form balls. Mercury is a hazardous substance. When one lamp is broken, the best thing to do is to wear chemical resistant glove to clean it up. The gloves can be vinyl, rubber, PVC, or neoprene. The gloves you buy in the supermarket for household cleaning are sufficient. The gloves protect your skin from absorbing mercury and from getting cut by the glass. The remains of one lamp can be disposed as normal waste since the amount of mercury is small. However, for future reference, when large quantities of lamps are being disposed you must follow your state and the federal regulation for disposing of mercury-containing lamps.”

That’s from the web site of frickin’ GE, one of the biggest pushers of CFLs. And when your bulbs burn out, don’t even think about tossing them in the trash. The fine print says you need to take them back to where you bought them and they’ll recycle them for you. Uh-huh. I tested this by taking some CFLs back to Home Depot and told them I was returning them for safe recycling — you never saw a more slack-jawed, bewildered stare in your life. These people have no idea they’re supposed to take CFLs back and get them to the right (?) authorities who will somehow dispose of the mercury so it won’t leech back into the environment and poison even more kids. I asked the guy what he was going to do with the dead bulbs I gave him, and he said, “I don’t know, I guess throw them in the dumpster out back.” The less you know, the happier you are, especially if you wear a fucking orange smock all day.

If you told Kafka about this stuff, he’d laugh and say, “Naww, you’re makin’ this shit up. Not a chance. Nobody’s that stupid to push such a dangerous product as being good for the environment.”

So repeat after me: JUST SAY NO TO COMPACT FLUORESCENTS. Affordable LED bulbs will be here in a year or two, with excellent light and zero environmental baggage. The good old incandescent bulb can carry us a few more guilt-free years. You’re doing more for the planet by staying away from CFLs than you would be using the evil things. And the people who are pushing them are going straight to hell. Trust me. I know about such things.