An engineer has compared boiling water in a kettle and on a hob to see which is cheaper. The TikTok user, who is also an academic, said he was surprised by what he found.
His experiment measured how much energy - and therefore cost - was needed to boil two litres of water from room temperature. The man, who posts under the name dinosaurdannyx, measured the flow of gas through his stove to work out how much it used.
He said that he calculated it cost around 1.99p to boil the water on the hob. The engineer then boiled the same amount of water in his kettle and found that it cost nearly double - 3.94p, reports the Mirror.
"The results of this actually surprised me," he said. Although kettles use less energy overall, the differing prices of electricity and gas meant the hob worked out cheaper.
"If you're looking for an energy saving, go for the electric kettle," he said. "If you're looking for a cost saving, go for the hob."
Brits who rely on oven cooking could save up to £604 per year on their energy bills by switching to other appliances, according to new research. A study by energy supplier Utilita and supermarket chain Iceland has revealed a detailed cost breakdown of each of the six main types of cooking appliance typically found in UK homes.
Their research is based on the average amount of time each appliance is used for per day. The most energy-intensive is the electric cooker, which can cost up to £316.54 a year to run – while at the other end of the scale, the microwave costs just 8p a day, totalling a meagre £30.02 annually.
Other cooking appliances commonly used include the gas cooker, which costs 33p a day, or £120.83 a year, and the part-electric, part-gas dual cooker, which sets users back 72p daily, or £264.03 annually. Meanwhile an air fryer is at the more economical end of the scale, costing just 14p a day to run – totalling £52.74 over a 12-month period.
The figures – based on the latest figures from Cornwall Insight on August 22 – come as Utilita and Iceland are set to rollout the “Shop Smart, Cook Savvy” campaign in-stores and online in September, to help identify the most economical ways of cooking.
And it is not just switching appliances that could save money, as the data found batch-cooking food could save up to £158 a year, while using the right sized pan, with a lid, could cut costs by £72. Letting water simmer rather than leaving it boiling can also save £68 annually, and not overfilling the kettle could leave you with an extra £19 over a 12-month period.
The research was based on the energy consumption of 83 appliances across 24 sources, including academic research, legislation, and data collected from popular shopping websites.
