In the spirit of Earth Day, the City of Calgary is telling citizens how to reduce their environmental impact and save some money at the same time.
Besides the fact that they heat up your house, which is highly undesirable on scorching summer days, using your oven is actually harder on the environment than the barbecue. The city released some tips Friday for “green grilling” that can maximize your backyard grilling experience, while ensuring a minimal eco-footprint.
The main thing to keep in mind is reducing how much fuel you are using. Make sure all your connections are clean and functioning properly to prevent fuel leakage, which is both wasteful and potentially hazardous. Also try to maximize grilling space and get as much meat or vegetables cooking in one haul as possible to reduce cooking time.
At last! A chance to bring your Tetris skills to the barbecue.
Even something as simple and seemingly innocuous as keeping an immaculately clean grill can help to minimize energy waste; a dirty grill takes longer to heat up, therefore more fuel to do so. Another thing to remember is to keep the hood/lid down as much as possible to cut down on fuel waste, and try to maintain a consistent temperature as fluctuation use more energy.
Finally, cut down on your energy bill even more by lighting your grill zone with LED bulbs – they look cool, they save you money and they’re easier on the planet. Win, win, win.
As well as enlightening Calgarians with some ways to be a little more Earth-friendly this summer, the city continues to strive to be a “leader in environmental stewardship.” One of their recent projects was the installation of 600 solar panels atop the Southland Leisure Centre.
“The installation uses the sun’s energy to produce enough electricity to offset the usage of up to 24 average Calgary homes each year,” staff said in a release.
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