The Problem
Refrigerators and stoves require time and energy to alter their internal temperatures to desired levels. The overall design of these household appliances has remand largely the same for decades. Their common configuration allows a dramatic shift of temperature every time the door is opened, the duration the room’s air is allowed to mix greatly influencing the amount of additional energy that must be expended to return the temperature to operating levels.

The Opportunity
Create alternate mechanisms to allow using the appliance without fully compromising the containment of the treated interior space.

The Insight
Opening a gaping hole into an environment simple because that is the way it has always been done is senseless. We can treat the heated/cooled air with more reverence if we view it as an actual resource versus a commodity with no associated cost.

The Execution
Have the door of a refrigerator open in two stages: one that gives access to the most commonly used items that are held on the door itself, and a second that gives access to the larger interior compartments. A clear divider between the two would allow for the location of an item or provide the time one needs to decide what is desired.

Have the door of an oven be supplemented with a sliding drawer(s) that bring the food and rack outside of the cooking area, but in such a way that the seal is not compromised. The preheating would be done with the drawer closed, which would keep the metal coking surface form leaching heat, and then the food can be placed in without much of the fuss that is often associated from handling unwieldy raw food around exceeding hot metal.

The Selling Point
Save energy; lower bills; do your part.