Energy Saving Cooking Methods On Or Off-Grid...

We had our propane tank filled the other day. Even though Number One negotiated a good price the bill was still over 1K. Ouch! Propane, natural gas and electricity are set to rise in price up to 40% in the coming months, so I put on my thinking cap to try to think of ways to reduce our propane usage. I started by taking a look at what uses the most propane every day that I could change or cut out altogether. 

I would like to only use solar power, but that really is not possible, because the sun does not always shine. The one thing that I do every day that I could change is brew tea differently. I usually brew my tea in a percolator on our propane stove every morning without fail. So, I changed the way I brew my tea. Now I steep my tea by using my electric kettle to heat the water. Sounds simple, right? Not so simple, because it draws too much power first thing in the morning and we live off-grid with solar power, so now I make my tea it in the late afternoon and store it in a thermos overnight. This works well, since I now have hot tea on demand in the morning without having to wait. 

It only takes 7 minutes to boil 1.7 liters or nearly a half-gallon of cold water. I can also use it to make Ramen noodles or other foods that can easily be cooked with boiling water like instant oats. 

My Sun Oven is a great tool to use to save propane, and I use it frequently, but I have not been using it as much as I could have. I have re-committed myself to use it as often as possible. 

It only requires one thing and that is the sun. Our solar system is powered by the sun also. If there is no sun, then there is no power for either system.

I can and have cooked many delicious foods in my Sun Oven.

However, the Sun Oven has other limitations. It can withstand winds up to 35 MPH. On this day it was blowing 50 MPH with gusts of 65 MPH causing a ground blizzard.

When the sun sets in the evening the Sun Oven no longer has power.

When the Sun is hidden behind clouds the Sun Oven stops heating.

There is no power for the Sun Oven before the sun rises either.

Thermos Cooking is another way to cook foods without propane. It does not require much power except for the initial heating up of the ingredients or boiling water. The wind has no effects on thermos cooking. I can use my electric kettle or my electric pressure cooker for heating the water or ingredients.

Thermos cooking is an option and I have used this technique, but there are limitations to the types of foods that can be cooked. For instance, bread cannot be cooked in a thermos. 

I have successfully cooked grains and pastas and soups in my thermos. The thermos is also great for keeping foods piping hot for long periods of time. It is pretty simple to use, I just put the boiling liquid and ingredients in the thermos early in the morning and it is ready to eat for dinner or if I'm preparing breakfast or lunch, I prepare the ingredients and put them in the thermos before I go to bed.

One of my favorite ways to cook is in my electric pressure cooker. It is fast and uses less power than a traditional stovetop. 

These are the ways that I cook living off-grid on a solar system without using propane. Our goal is to make our propane last two years without a fill-up. We can reduce our usage, but the fact is that the winter months are a determining factor. We can go a year easily, maybe a year in a half with normal consumption depending on the winter, but two years? We will see...

Mrs. Smith