Well, obviously the most fuel efficient lawn mower would be the manual reel mower (well, if you don’t want to use the scythe), but that’s not always the best option for some households. The next most efficient mower would probably be the self-propelled reel mowers. These are kind of like push mowers, but they use the reel style blades rather than the rotary blades. The fuel efficiency continues to go down the larger you get, but that is replaced by the time you save and the convenience. There are some diesel models out there, but expect to pay more for them.

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Before we jump right into the types of lawn mowers, let’s lay down a few things that you’re going to need to know before buying a mower of any kind. Here’s a quick list:

• Size of your yard. This will help you determine how large a mower to buy.

• What kind of yard you have. Smooth and flat with nothing in the way to steep hillside with trees and rocks everywhere.

• How mechanical you are. Well, let’s face it. Pretty much every type of mower is going to need some kind of work sometime.

• What your budget is. If you have one, stick to it.

There are two main types of mowers today: reel and rotary mowers. Some people do still use scythes, but they were pretty much replaced by the reel mower in the 1830s. Reel mowers were much easier to use than scythes. Those early reel mowers were much harder to operate and maneuver than the modern styles.

Modern reel mowers are much lighter than their ancient predecessors. They are also silent, practically maintenance free, and efficient. Many people say that reel mowers are the most environmentally friendly because there is no source of energy other than yourself. Reel mowers are not without difficulties though. They don’t work on tall-ish, flexible weeds (e.g. dandelions), and they will bog down on tall grass. It’s also going to take you longer to mow your lawn with a reel mower; and if your lawn is larger than a half acre or so, reel mowers probably aren’t for you.

Push mowers can be electric or gas powered. Gas-powered mowers tend to be more powerful, but with the electric models you don’t have to deal with the mess and inconvenience of gas. The push mowers are available in both rotary and reel styles.

Riding lawn mowers are used for large yards. Most models are designed to be used with the operator sitting, but some models are stand-behind. The stand-behind models are typically used by professionals. Riding mowers have rotary blades, and they work better on longer grass.

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… for a new lawn mower?

Here’s some things we’ll look at in later posts:

• Type: From those manual scythes to the solar-powered lawn mowers that do it all.

• Efficiency: We’ll try to discover which of those lawn mowers are the most efficient.

• What can you do? Finally, we’ll work on digging things up that you can do with your current lawn mower to make it more efficient.

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Okay, so this doesn’t necessarily fit in the “stove tops” category, but it kind of does. Whether it does or not though, here it is.

Size has already been mentioned a time or two, but it does make a difference… at least on those stove tops that aren’t induction. Think for a second: if you’re boiling water in a pot on a burner that’s close to twice the size of the pot, how much energy are you wasting by heating up all that extra space? Small pots and pans on the small burners, and large pots and pans on large burners!

The size of your pot is something to consider too. Using a larger pot than you really need wastes energy heating up the all that extra space. It will always be more efficient to use just the right-sized equipment.

What your cookware is made of also matters. Some materials heat up quickly, using less energy; copper is a good example of that. Other materials retain heat well. A good example of this is cast iron. Remember: when you’re buying cookware, check what will work on your cook top. For example, induction stoves require magnetic cookware to work.

Make sure your pots and pans have flat, or very nearly flat, bottoms. That lets the pans touch as much of the burner as possible, maximizing efficiency.

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Here are a few things you can do to increase your current stove’s efficiency:

On electric stove tops:

•  Turn off the burner before you’re completely done cooking; use the residual heat to finish.

• Keep the burners and reflectors clean; they will work much more efficiently.

• Use the correct size pan: large pan on large burner, small pan on small burner.

• Flat-bottom pans will waste much less energy.

• Make sure all the elements work correctly.

On gas stove tops:

• Moderate flame settings will conserve gas

• A blue flame means the stove is working correctly.

• Pressure cookers are efficient. Cooking high and fast reduces the energy by as much as 75%.

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Most of the options that I’m going to touch on come with the electric stoves. Here’s a quick list of the options I’ll look into:

• Induction elements

• Halogen elements

• Standard electric coils

• Solid disk elements

Induction elements. With this option you can adjust the heat immediately and precisely. Induction stoves are, in this way, like gas stoves. Because the energy is applied directly to the pot or pan with which you are cooking, there is virtually no wasted energy. The stove doesn’t even get hot except where the bottom of the pan transferred it! The biggest drawback to induction stoves is that they require magnetic cookware such as stainless steel or cast iron. These can be difficult to find too.

Halogen elements. These are fairly common. Halogen elements are usually under ceramic glass tops. They heat up and respond fairly quickly, but they only work well if there is good contact by the cookware to the cook top.

Standard electric coils. This type of stove top is only above the solid disk elements in the efficiency department. They are hard to clean, but they are common…

Solid disk elements. These have the advantage of having absolutely no hot spots, but they are still at the very bottom on the efficiency scale.

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Which is better?

Well, the main advantage gas has over electric is that the cook can truly control the amount of heat that is applied. However, electric stoves are cheaper, at least initially. Also, if you didn’t already have a gas line to the kitchen, you would have to get one installed; this would make the electric stoves quite a bit cheaper.

Gas stove tops do come with some little risk. They have pilot lights on all the time, and gas lines nearby. Those who fear this should stick with electric stoves, but those who don’t care about that will have to let their budget and requirements choose for them. The most common statement out there about this question is that electric is cheaper to buy, but gas is cheaper to operate.

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… for a new stove top?

There are some interesting things to watch for if you are:

•  Gas or electric?

• Options, options, options. Buy only the ones you will use, remember!

• Energy Star doesn’t label stove tops, but there are some things that you can do with the stove you have now to increase its efficiency.

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There are so many more microwave features than just the warming and defrosting options! There are microwaves that have grilling options! Some have grilling and convection oven options. Removable trays are another option.

The grilling option works by using a grilling element along with the normal microwave. This gives the food a more even texture.

Microwaves also come with features such as popcorn, pizza, and vegetable buttons. They eliminate the necessity of setting the power and time; you just punch the button and go about your business. These can be very handy, especially if you have children that use the microwave.

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Size will always play a large part in what appliance you buy, and microwaves are no different. You need to look at your needs as a household: what do you, or will you, use this appliance for most?

If you are only going to be melting and warming things, a smaller microwave would probably work for you. What you can actually fit into the microwave is still important; you should be able to fit a regular dinner plate into a small, compact microwave with no difficulty.

If you are going to fix entire meals in the microwave you will need a mid- to full-size one. These range from 0.9-2.0 cubic feet and sometimes even larger. The larger microwaves have more power, and this higher wattage will cook faster. Remember what you will be fixing in there. If you’ve got casserole dishes that will be going in there often, make sure they fit!

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… for a new microwave?

Microwaves. Most people have them, but is yours efficient? It uses a great deal of energy while it runs, but it cooks things so much faster that it uses is about a third of the energy that an oven would!

There are certainly options when buying a microwave, but they are mostly size and built-in/counter top options. So I won’t really go into them here, but microwaves are more efficient than ovens for small things that just need warming up. Use it for that purpose if you have one!

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There are so many options when it comes to most anything, and ovens are no different.  Here is a quick look at just a few of them:

• Gas vs. electric. Different than pretty much anything else, electric ovens are generally considered more efficient and better in the long run. However, they can be more expensive .

• Double ovens, wall ovens, etc. These options will generally be smaller than traditional ovens, but for some households traditional ovens are more than they need.

• Some ovens come with self-cleaning options. You should definitely take advantage of this option. Self-cleaning ovens will have better insulation, so they are generally more efficient. However, if you clean the oven too often, you negate the efficient benefit.

• Ovens come with appearance features, rack options, and various settings. You will just have to weed through all the options, and decide which ones would work best for your household.

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Well, we all have different capacity needs, so the first thing you need to do here is determine how large an oven you really need. I mean, do you cook/bake a lot? or do you do more just toasting bread? Don’t get a full-sized oven unless you really need it. When a small, counter top appliance works pretty much just as well, use that; those appliances tend to be more efficient, certainly more efficient than heating up the entire oven for a couple of pieces of bread!

I realize that for many households, counter top appliances won’t do. In this case, you still need to find out what size oven you need. Remember: need. If that need combines with your want, you’re in luck. It’s much more important to consider your needs over your desires. So, if you like and are looking at a built-in wall-mounted oven, remember that those ovens tend to be much smaller than the typical oven/range combo.

The main thing to remember is not to buy too little an oven for your needs. Don’t buy one too large either, but for sanity’s sake, it would be better to be stuck with an oven rather larger than you need than to have one you can hardly use because it’s too small.

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As I mentioned in the last post, Energy Star does not have a standard for ovens. There are a few things you can look for, and do, to help keep things efficient.

Electric ovens, believe it or not, are actually considered more efficient than gas ovens! Self-cleaning ovens are usually more efficient because they are insulated better. However, you will only save energy if you use it only two or three times a year. Convection ovens are also more efficient than convention alovens; if they work correctly, they will use a third less energy and save you time!

You can also do things yourself to increase efficiency… or at least decrease inefficiency. Don’t preheat the oven a long time before you actually use it; only leave it on as long as you absolutely need it. You can even turn the oven off a few minutes before what you’re cooking is completely done; this allows you to still take advantage of the oven while it’s not working to heat up. Leave room for the air to circulate freely. This cuts down on the cooking/baking time, and, as a result, uses less energy. Glass pans are another really good way to save energy. When you cook with glass or ceramic pans, you can decrease the temperature by as much as 25°!

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… for a new oven?

As with any major appliance, there are things to consider. Here are just a few of them; we’ll go into more detail later.

• Efficiency ~ There is currently no Energy Star label for ovens, but there are still some things to watch for to help you keep it efficient.

• Size ~ This can be quite an important consideration; you really don’t want to have an oven that’s too small for your needs.

• Options ~ There are really quite a few options for ovens: electric or gas? double? self-cleaning? etc.

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