In Hawaii, cooking accounts for about 8% of the average household's energy use.

The estimated energy use of an electric range is between 30 and 60 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, depending on usage. By comparison, a 1,500-watt microwave oven operated on high power for 20 minutes a day will use roughly 15 kWh per month.

Keep some of the following energy-saving tips in mind to minimize the amount of energy used for your holiday cooking.

• Select cookware that conducts heat well. Aluminum and copper are good conductors of heat. Stainless steel pans are heavy and durable, but they are not good conductors of heat unless they have a copper or aluminum bottom. Cast iron heats slowly and is best used for long cooking processes.
• Glass and ceramic pans are poor conductors of heat for surface cooking but are good absorbers of oven heat. They allow you to turn down the oven temperature by about 25° F, and foods will cook just as quickly.
• When using the surface units, cover cookware whenever possible and turn the heat down when food reaches the proper cooking temperature. Turn the unit off a few minutes before the food is completely cooked and let the residual heat complete the cooking.
• Whether using a surface unit or oven, cook several batches of food at a time and freeze the extra for future use.
• When using the oven, you don't need to preheat it unless you are baking products like breads, cakes, cookies, or pastries. And unless baking these products, you can turn off the oven about five minutes before the cooking time is up and make use of the residual heat.
• Use small appliances, such as microwave ovens, toaster ovens, and crockpots, when cooking or reheating small quantities of food. The following chart shows the benefits of using a smaller appliance.

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