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Designing a Sustainable Kitchen
December 11, 2023
Mrinmoy Dey
Kitchen is the one of the major contributors as far as the usage of water and electricity is concerned. While bathrooms use the most water in a typical home, kitchens use the most energy. In that context, a sustainable approach in designing the kitchen would go a long way in saving these precious resources as well as saving the mullah in the bargain!
So what is a sustainable design? Sustainable kitchen design, as most people think of it, primarily concerns two most important factors minimising the usage of water and energy without compromising on the functionality of the kitchen space! It naturally involves the selection of appropriate appliances (water-saving dishwashers, energy-efficient refrigerators) and the materials that go into making the Kitchen. In short, Sustainable design is about using less to get more.
The enhanced awareness about conserving, or rather not wasting, water is on the rise and consumers are gradually shifting towards making the smart choice. Photo Courtesy: Grohe
Sustainable Product Design
In India, however, the concept of sustainable or green products – be it in the bathroom or the kitchen space has largely been driven by manufacturers. What has prevented wide-scale acceptance is probably the misconception that green products cost more. Thus, while the commercial and hospitality sectors have shown keen interest in moving towards sustainable solutions, the residential segment is still caught in a loop.
More interestingly, till 2010 India did not have any standard benchmark to rate water-efficient appliances. In 2011, the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) jointly introduced the ‘Uniform Plumbing Code–India’ (UPC–1) as well as the water efficiency rating specification ‘Water Efficient Products India’ (WEP–1).
This development has encouraged manufacturers to promote green products, and in fact, helped them segregate their products with star ratings.
Designing a sustainable kitchen, which is an intrinsic part of the green building set-up, will go a long way in conserving natural resources.
Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more. Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go to font for titles, paragraphs & more.
Sustainable Kitchen Design Approach:
The moot idea here is to reduce the amount of energy and water used. Let’s look at some strategies to help reduce energy and water consumption in the kitchen space.
Daylighting: While using energy-efficient LED lighting will help minimise energy usage, for a better result, it is always good to design it in a way to allow more natural light (wherever possible!) and thus reduces the need for artificial lighting at least during the daytime.
Akkisetti Ramprasad, Managing Director of Pune-based design firm CCBA Designs Pvt Ltd says, “The first and foremost things when it comes designing a, design it in such a manner that there should be more natural light. Ventilation and lighting should be the primary aspect while designing a kitchen. So, harnessing daylight and natural ventilation will reduce energy consumption significantly.”
Enlarged and efficient windows and doors, skylights and reflective surfaces help minimise the need for electrical lighting during the day, maintain desired indoor temperature, provide for desired ventilation, and with all that minimise operating expenses. In addition, daylighting enhances the psychological well-being and productivity of indoor occupants.
Further, if the house is using some sort of home automation or at least automation of lighting the savings can be increased. Motion sensor and auto-adjusting lights which adjusts brightness according to the level of lighting available would go a long way in optimising electricity usage.
What makes a kitchen sustainable?
Late Dr Prem C Jain, the then Chairman, IGBC explained the nitty gritty of designing a sustainable kitchen
What are the key things an architect/ interior designer should consider while designing a sustainable kitchen?
Essentially, an architect/ interior designer will have to emphasize their overall design by focusing on fresh air ventilation, mechanical exhaust over cooking areas, glazing/lighting, water efficient fixtures, grease traps for wastewater and recycling treated wastewater for horticulture.
What are the aspects of a kitchen that can fetch IGBC Green points?
Ensure that the kitchen is adequately ventilated, so as to improve the quality of the indoor environment
Ensure connectivity between the interior and the exterior environment, by providing adequate openings
Provision of efficient Lo-Flow water fixtures
Use of star-rated appliances (Refrigerator, Oven and other appliances)
Use of FSC-certified wood in cabinets
Use of wood with higher recycled content
Low VOC paint
Efficient lighting fixtures
Flooring material with higher recycled content
Rethinking Appliances: Appliances are the main reason behind high energy usage in the kitchen. Carefully selecting energy-efficient ones would help in saving energy bills and increase the sustainability quotient of the project. A slightly higher price may sway the client from such appliances but it is up to the designers to educate them and highlight the benefits. The initial price of high-efficiency appliances might be higher than that of less efficient equipment but this will be offset by future savings. The designers need to get these calculations from the appliance companies, compare them, and make sure to include them in the design-sale presentation. This can also help the designer create a differentiation or USP for themselves!
Fridge: One of the most energy-hungry appliances which run non-stop is the fridge. So, it is prudent to be critical of their size and special offerings (eg, ice makers are major home energy vampires). Bigger, with more gadgets, is not necessarily better! In fact, big fridges are to blame for most food waste, simply because they are often ‘lost’, hidden and forgotten behind other stuff. Besides, designing with a smaller fridge will create more room for storage and a working surface in the kitchen!
Special features like water dispensers draw extra energy and should be considered if they are really a must. It is always tempting to go for those fancy features but designers need to assess the needs of the clients and educate the client about how they can save energy by doing away with rarely used features! Additionally, placing the fridge in a ventilated position and away from sources of heat will lessen the load on the fridge thus saving on energy.
Embracing Sustainability in Product Design
Embracing sustainability in product design and manufacturing yields anticipated environmental improvements, but drives greater innovation, quality improvement, energy savings, and revenue growth as well.
Essentially, sustainability in design and manufacturing has a lot to do with ‘doing better with less’ and embracing a broader view of product development. The importance of sustainable design lies in pairing it with financial benefits along with the environment and society, which will enable it to succeed.
The good news about sustainable design is that manufacturers are increasingly finding that there are key business benefits associated with ‘going green’ and offering eco-friendly products. This is a combination of market dynamics wherein the percentage of conscious consumers is on the rise and technology is rapidly evolving as well.
The enhanced awareness about conserving, or rather not wasting, water is on the rise and consumers are gradually shifting towards making the smart choice.
Induction cooking: Induction cooktops are a safe and reliable alternative to natural gas. They use electricity to create an electromagnetic field, and as such have no primary fuel source and do not use combustion as a source of heat. The heat is transferred from the element to the pot or pan on the cooktop, there is no open flame to worry about, therefore making cooking safer and more energy efficient.
Another benefit of induction cooking is that due to the efficiency of how induction cooktops transfer heat, they also heat food faster. This directly reduces cooking time, and therefore energy consumption. The precise temperature control and instantaneous heat of induction stoves are similar to that of gas stoves. However, induction stoves heat more evenly as the cookware transfer heat directly to the food.
Conserving Water
Zubin Zainuddin, Principal Architect, ZZ Architects says, “Sustainability is more about the usage of the Kitchen in terms of how you segregate your waste, preventing waste of water by using good flow taps, sensor-based sink mixers etc. And all these factors go a long way in making a kitchen sustainable.”
Cooking, and cleaning dishes and pots can really jack up water use in the kitchen. Low-flow faucet aerators can help save water. Aerators add air to the water flow to reduce the amount of water released from the activated kitchen faucet. They are quite effective as they can reduce flow rates by up to 50% but still provide the same ability of the stream to wash while saving water. In addition, they also reduce splashing and with that water waste.
Single-lever taps or mixing taps also reduce water waste by avoiding the need to use separate hot and cold controls to balance water flow and temperature. It is recommended to use an instant water heater next to the kitchen tap. Because of the small amount of water it uses, the water heats up quickly, and it saves many litres of water from going down the drain while waiting for the tap water to get hot.
Kitchen is the one of the major contributors as far as the usage of water and electricity is concerned.
Another way of reducing water waste would be by using automatic or hands-free, motion sensor faucets. They are equipped with a proximity sensor and mechanism that opens their valve to allow water to flow in response and close its valve again after a few seconds or when it no longer detects the presence of hands. Most are battery-powered and incorporate an active infrared sensor to detect hand motion. They help reduce water consumption and waste. Quarter-turn taps provide better control over water flow. Water savings are estimated at 5% of conventional taps as they have ceramic seats and are less likely to leak.
Designers should always recommend a dishwasher with the lowest water use per cycle. The lower the water use of a dishwasher, it uses water. A dishwasher that is connected to the cold tap is even more economical because it reduces energy use. Some dishwashers have economic cycles which can use -sufficiently- less water.
Designing a sustainable kitchen, which is an intrinsic part of the green building set-up, will go a long way in conserving natural resources. The process will also make the cooking process more enriching and inspiring!
All in all, a sustainable design offered an array of economic advantages over traditional design in terms of reduced operating expenses and increased occupant health and productivity. It is up to the designers to break the myths surrounding sustainable design approaches and carve a niche for themselves in the process!
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