which is more economical?2kw or 3kw kettle

mandy_moo_1

hope i've got this on the right board but i need some advice before i go shopping for a new kettle cos my old one broke last night and i need a cuppa!!

i've looked in argos, and you can get a rapid boil 2kw or rapid boil 3kw.....whats the difference between the wattages.....does one use more electric, cos i'm trying to keep my fuel bills down

any advice on which to go for?

thanx in advance

squeaky

That's actually a difficult one to work out, I think.

The three kilowatt kettle uses more power than a two kilowatt one.

But.

The three kilowatt one will boil faster than the two kilowatt one.


I have absolutely no idea which will work out cheapest, as in:-

high power quicker vs low power slower.


I'll take a look at the In My home board, and also on the Utilities board to see if I can spot anything that might help.

k66

They should both consume the same amount of electricity to boil an equal amount of water. The greatest saving is to put in the minimum amount of water, but don't go below the minimum level of the kettle. I went for the 3kw as it's much faster.
Happy hunting.

squeaky

k66 wrote:

They should both consume the same amount of electricity to boil an equal amount of water.

Yep. Should. You're quite right there. It takes the same amount of energy to heat a given amount of water to a given temperature.

My reluctance to give a definitive answer was because kettle designs and, more importantly, efficiency, are different. These would affect the costs of using a particular kettle. I can't believe that there would be much difference tbh, but there will be one.

HappyIdiotTalk

Scientifically speaking, if the 2w kettle takes longer to boil there is more time for heat thats building up inside to radiate away. Therefore the 3w one should be cheaper as there will be less time for this to happen. Although I very much doubt the savings would add up to much over the life of the kettle.

mandy_moo_1

oh thanx peeps

i've gone for the 3kw one....and even better, it was on offer for a tenner in argos...............now where did i put those teabags.................

Stompa

Whilst the 3kW one will be faster, it'll also probably be noisier.

elona

You could also put any boiling water you do not use right away into a thermos flask and use for hot drinks later rather than always boiling kettle as DH seems to do lol;)

mikey-mike_2

HappyIdiotTalk wrote:

Scientifically speaking, if the 2w kettle takes longer to boil there is more time for heat thats building up inside to radiate away. Therefore the 3w one should be cheaper as there will be less time for this to happen. Although I very much doubt the savings would add up to much over the life of the kettle.

spot on...

most important thing is not to put in more water than you need, unlike my lot in work who insist on filling the kettle even if only one cup is needed...anyone know of a small fast boil kettle?

beer2006

Right I'm jumpng in here, just to point out that I suggested some sort of insulated kettle to stop this radiated heat being lost on the green thread and I was laughed at, sniff :rolleyes2
see I should have posted it here all along...

So any ideas of what to make a kettle cosy out of? Would a knitted one burn?

mandy_moo_1

beer2006 wrote:

So any ideas of what to make a kettle cosy out of? Would a knitted one burn?

sorry i know i shouldn't but i just can't help it :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

i've never heard of one of those before

awwww i'm only teasing i couldn't help myself!