Energy Saving Cookware
Choosing the right pan for the job can actually save energy--small amounts per meal, maybe, but they add up.
Remember to use the smallest pan you need for the dish you are making since smaller pans take less energy to heat up. Then put the pan on the burner that fits it best. Make sure the pan covers the burner without going more than an inch beyond it. If the burner is wider than the pan, you are wasting energy. Remember that smaller burners use less electricity.
Every type of heating element on an electric cook-top (coils, solid disk elements and radiant elements under ceramic glass) will work significantly more efficiently when the bottom of the pan is flat. In fact, the most efficient pan has a slightly concave bottom, which flattens out when the metal heats up. The more rounded or warped the pan, the less direct contact it has with the burner so the harder the element has to work to heat up the pan. For that reason, those old battered pans from the '50s you've been using may be costing you money.
 Copper-bottom pans heap up faster than other pans. (And they look neat, don't they?)
The tighter the fit on the pot lid, the less heat escapes.
Using glass or ceramic pans in the oven allows you to turn down the temperature about 25 degrees Fahrenheit and still cook the food in the same amount of time.
Pressure cookers, which build up steam pressure, reduce cooking time and energy use. A lot.
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