It cuts cooking time to one-third that of conventional methods. Consider cooking small quantities of food in appliances such as an electric toaster oven, skillet, or grill instead of your oven. Portable appliances generally use about one-third the electricity of your oven. Also, consider using smaller coffee makers if you only want one or two cups of coffee. Use your microwave oven instead of your conventional electric oven whenever possible.
Microwaves can cook food in one-fourth or less the normal cooking time.
Prepare your whole meal in the oven at the same time. Often you can simultaneously cook foods that have different cooking temperatures. Variations of 25 degrees usually produce favorable cooking results. Carefully time your preheat period when baking. Generally, five to eight minutes is sufficient.