As families try to hold off using their heating for as long as possible thanks to the rising energy costs, the humble kettle looks like it may be pressed into duty even more this winter.
Form hot drinks to hot water bottles, the kettle is one of the kitchen's unsung heroes, with some people even claiming that it costs less to boil a kettle for hot water to wash up, boil vegetables or pasta - or even wash themselves instead of taking a shower.
If you're looking to lower your energy bills, you might have already started asking yourself how much it costs to boil a kettle. Although it may seem trivial cost in the grand scheme of things, UK households drinks an estimated 165 million cups of tea each day, so it's no surprise we're looking at where savings can be made before the new energy price cap hits on October 1.
Read more: Forget £2,500, here's how much your family will really pay for energy from next month
In advance of Saturday's energy price rise, we've looked at how much it actually costs to boil a kettle now and how much it will cost from the weekend. Real Homes spoke to the experts who gave their insight on the price of using a kettle and how best to use it if you're trying to lower your electric bill and keep energy usage down in general.
"With an estimated 95% of British families boiling their kettle at least once a day and 40% of families more than five times a day, the exact costs will vary on the size/power rating of your kettle plus your electric tariff cost," says Matthew Jenkins, energy expert at MyJobQuote. "The average two2-litre kettle has a power rating of three kilowatts per hour (kWh), although it must be noted that it will never take a whole hour to boil your kettle! Instead, boiling a kettle for an average of four minutes uses 0.225kWh."
The average cost per unit of electricity now is 28p, which will rise to 34p on Saturday. Using the following sum: Power used (0.225kWh) x cost of one kWh (28p), the cost of boiling your kettle today is around:
- Full kettle (2 litres): 6p
- Half-full kettle (1 litre): 3p
- Two cups for tea (500ml): 1.5p
From Saturday, this will rise to:
- Full kettle (2 litres): 8p
- Half-full kettle (1 litre): 4p
- Two cups for tea (500ml): 2p
Clearly, overfilling your kettle is an unnecessary cost and if you are in the habit of filling it all the way when you only want one or two cups of tea, then this can add up throughout the year. You will also pay less if you have recently boiled the kettle and the water is still hot, but if you have left your boiled water for longer than 10 minutes then it will most likely need to boil entirely again, costing the same amount as before.
Generally speaking, a kettle is not the biggest electricity cost in your kitchen, and if you use it correctly it can be used relatively inexpensively, says Matthew Jenkins.
"Using a kettle to boil water is 80% efficient, as long as you make sure you boil the exact amount of water you need and try not to leave it plugged in when not in use, then the kettle is a convenient appliance," he said.
He also suggested going back to basics and boiling your water in a traditional kettle or saucepan on a hob, as gas is cheaper than electricity (the average cost now 7p, going up to 10p from October 1. However, if you decide to do this, to ensure you only boil the exact amount of water you need on the correct sized hob. For example, boiling a small pan of water on a big flame won’t make your water boil any faster and will cost more than using a smaller ring.
If your family drinks a lot of hot drinks, you may have considered a hot water dispenser as an alternative to a kettle. However, consumer group Which? has advised that these gadgets are re only cheaper and more efficient if you want to boil a single mug of water, and you have a kettle with a minimum fill volume of more than 250ml. In those cases, the kettle will take longer to boil and will cost you more money.
An average mug holds 250ml of water and to heat this amount of water in a kettle or a hot water dispenser takes the same amount of time - around a minute - and the same amount of electricity.
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