Is it cheaper to use gas or electricity to boil a small amount of water?

zozitufnell

I recently used an electricity meter-register device I borrowed from the library to see what electricity everything in the house used, after a shockingly large bill this winter. To my surprise the thing that used the most electricity was the electric kettle, way more than anything else including the hoover and hairdryer. I've always assumed electricity is cheaper than gas, but given the huge price increases I don't know if that's true anymore. So is it now cheaper to boil a small amount of water using a pan on my gas cooker than use the kettle which needs a minimum amount? I use the kettle several times a day, usually with the minimum amount in it.

Or am I making a fuss about a very little amount either way? I'd be curious to know if anyone knows the answer.

easy

zozitufnell wrote: »

I recently used an electricity meter-register device I borrowed from the library to see what electricity everything in the house used, after a shockingly large bill this winter. To my surprise the thing that used the most electricity was the electric kettle, way more than anything else including the hoover and hairdryer. I've always assumed electricity is cheaper than gas, but given the huge price increases I don't know if that's true anymore. So is it now cheaper to boil a small amount of water using a pan on my gas cooker than use the kettle which needs a minimum amount? I use the kettle several times a day, usually with the minimum amount in it.

Or am I making a fuss about a very little amount either way? I'd be curious to know if anyone knows the answer.

I'm no physicist but ....

I would have thought it is cheaper to use the kettle, as the element is relatively small, and in the water. If heating on a gas ring, surely, you are heating up the pan first, before the heat starts to transfer to the water, plus, loads of heat seems to escape around the edges of the pan.

I do wonder if heating a cup of water in the microwave might be less expensive than heating an element in a kettle ?

Cardew

zozitufnell wrote: »

Or am I making a fuss about a very little amount either way? I'd be curious to know if anyone knows the answer.

A kettle does indeed use high power - 3kW. so approx 30 pence an hour.

However how long is your kettle switched on in a day?

The cost of boiling enough water for one mug of tea(0.5 lt) is less than 0.5pence - so for 10 cups a day the cost is 5p.

Your question has been asked many times on MSE and there is no definitive answer about gas - I suspect for the reasons given above that electricity is cheaper. However in winter the 'wasted' heat from gas warms up the house.

Either way - the savings won't pay off the national debt;)

cybergibbons

I don't really understand why you need to borrow an energy meter to measure the power of a kettle, hairdryer, or hoover. It says how much power they use on the nameplate.

Pincher

If you really must know, the cheapest way is to boil with gas,
then pour the whole lot into a Thermos with a dispenser button,
so you don't have to open the lid and lose heat. Throughout the day, dispense from the Thermos, then boost to boil by microwave.

Alternatively, erect a magnifying glass focused into a container of water, so you have spent nothing at all on sunny days.

Common sense of course dictates that you think about the cost to heat the house, bath water, etc. but what do you do when you already have double the normal insulation, got the highest rating condensing boiler, and married an Eskimo?

Some people have forgotten they are on a Money Saving website.:money:

System

Pincher wrote: »

If you really must know, the cheapest way is to boil with gas,
then pour the whole lot into a Thermos with a dispenser button,
so you don't have to open the lid and lose heat. Throughout the day, dispense from the Thermos, then boost to boil by microwave.

Some people have forgotten they are on a Money Saving website.:money:

i bought one of these flasks from argos and its the besy device ive ever had i just boil my kettle once a day [full] and this flask keeps it hot all day.

JasX

zozitufnell wrote: »

I've always assumed electricity is cheaper than gas,

For the record Electricity prices are typically FOUR TIMES more expensive than Gas per kWH.

Beyond that it comes down to how much of the cheaper gas heat you lose (inefficient burner, hob kettle/saucepan design) so can work out closer to electricity overall, however you get the bonus of waste heat heating your kitchen in most cases.

Personally I suspect gas heating the water the more economical but use an electric kettle for convieience for small amounts.

...tho actually I mainly drink tea at work where the teabags are free and water boiled by my employer's tea urn, I find that by far the most economical way of doing it

jessilu1

Pincher wrote: »

If you really must know, the cheapest way is to boil with gas,
then pour the whole lot into a Thermos with a dispenser button,
so you don't have to open the lid and lose heat. Throughout the day, dispense from the Thermos, then boost to boil by microwave.



Some people have forgotten they are on a Money Saving website.:money:

That's what I've done for the best part of 10 years.:D I drink copious amounts of tea so the kettle would never be off. This way the kettle gets boiled only about twice a day :T

DVardysShadow

zozitufnell wrote: »

I recently used an electricity meter-register device I borrowed from the library to see what electricity everything in the house used, after a shockingly large bill this winter. To my surprise the thing that used the most electricity was the electric kettle, way more than anything else including the hoover and hairdryer.

I assume the device is measuring power - which is basically the speed at which energy arrives - but is is energy you pay for. As cybergibbons says, you might as well read the nameplate rating on the appliance.

Now I assume, does everyone else, that you have a 3kW kettle. You could get yourself a 750W kettle [25% of the power] and you might be thinking it is much better, because it uses the same amount of power as the vacuum cleaner. So the energy is arriving at a quarter of the speed. BUT it will take 4 times longer to boil the same amount of water, so the energy used will be the same.

tcb1973

We opted for gas on the hob because we were forever putting the electric kettle on, leaving the room and forgetting all about - ergo needing to boil it again, and again, and again

With the gas - whistle blows and deafens the whole house - only gets boiled once.

zozitufnell

Wow, thanks everyone for your comments, though I'm not sure what to do now! I think using a Thermos is a good idea, though the one I already have doesn't hold that much and it seems buying a new one would rather defeat the object in terms of cost saving. And I don't drink enough using hot water to make it worth it - my main consumption is for cooking for my family.

I think I may try an experiment and see how long it takes to boil the same amount of water in a kettle and then by gas and see if that tells me anything.

I'm not technical enough to answer the comments about why bother with an energy reading device. But what I did showed me exactly what energy each device round the house was using, and the variation in electricity from different lightbulbs was amazing. So I'm replacing the high energy ones, and it has made me much more conscious of using electrical devices now.