Cheapest way to boil water

Irn-Bru-Kid

When making pasta, I haven't the patience for the water to boil in the pan, so I always boil a kettle (or two!) for the water to cook the pasta.

Can someone tell me if it is cheaper to boil the water from cold using gas, or use a kettle to boil?

Many thanks

Cardew

Question has been asked many times and there is no definitive answer.

Gas is obviously cheaper energy, but there will be far more heat loss in boiling pans of water. (which in winter will warm the house)

Whichever is the cheapest, you are only talking about fractions of a penny either way.

Irn-Bru-Kid

Thanks Cardew

antenna

After boiling the kettle and using the hot water, refil the kettle from the tap and the cold water will absorb the heat in the kettle so as to boil quicker next time,this could save you up to £1 a year (at least)!

Cardew

antenna wrote: »

After boiling the kettle and using the hot water, refil the kettle from the tap and the cold water will absorb the heat in the kettle so as to boil quicker next time,this could save you up to £1 a year (at least)!

Don't agree! IMO there will be no saving.

You are bringing into the house a cold substance(water in this case) that will absorb some heat that is in the house. To bring that water up to room temperature will take exactly the same amount of energy(heat) regardless of the source - i.e. from the warm kettle casing or from air in the house.

victor2

Having nothing better to do, and having both an electric kettle and one to use on the gas hob, I performed a test back in January
I boiled 1 litre of cold tap water in each kettle and measured how much electricity and gas they used to bring it to the boil.
The electric kettle used 0.108kWh and took 3 min 20 secs.
The kettle on the gas ring used 0.297kWh and took 6 min 4 secs.
Cost then worked out at 0.96p electricity and 0.98p gas.

So the electric kettle was infinitesimally cheaper and much faster.
Didn't get the OH to ditch her treasured gas driven kettle until she left it on the stove while talking to a friend on the phone, boiled it dry and destroyed it. Can't do that with the electric one!

Cardew

victor2 wrote: »

Didn't get the OH to ditch her treasured gas driven kettle until she left it on the stove while talking to a friend on the phone, boiled it dry and destroyed it. Can't do that with the electric one!

A friend told me that at University many years ago an exchange student, having never seen an electric kettle, actually put the electric kettle on the gas hob to boil. These were the days of the old all metal 'Swan' electric kettles and it survived the experience.

sabretoothtigger

People usually boil too much. Heat a mug of water in the microwave is pretty quick? Keep excess in a thermos


Sunlight and solar heating is cheapest but not many know how to build a way to focus sunlight that well or have the space and good weather to do it

antenna

Cardew wrote: »

Don't agree! IMO there will be no saving.

You are bringing into the house a cold substance(water in this case) that will absorb some heat that is in the house. To bring that water up to room temperature will take exactly the same amount of energy(heat) regardless of the source - i.e. from the warm kettle casing or from air in the house.

If you fill the kettle with cold water from the tap and then turn the kettle on,the water has had no time to absorb the ambient temperature from it's enviroment,QED i must be right !
Although i agree with the statement "To bring the water up to room temperature will take exacly the same amount of energy/heat",some heat/energy is already stored in the hot empty kettle and available for free.
Of course after time this benefit is reduced,see my therum H2o v E v T ov H

macman

Save even more money by just sucking on the uncooked pasta?

Cardew

antenna wrote: »

If you fill the kettle with cold water from the tap and then turn the kettle on,the water has had no time to absorb the ambient temperature from it's enviroment,QED i must be right !
Although i agree with the statement "To bring the water up to room temperature will take exacly the same amount of energy/heat",some heat/energy is already stored in the hot empty kettle and available for free.
Of course after time this benefit is reduced,see my therum H2o v E v T ov H

It was this statement I dispute:

this could save you up to £1 a year (at least)!

The empty(hot) kettle, when refilled, will indeed raise the water temperature by a small amount. However this will mean that the heat from the empty kettle will not be imparted to the room.

You don't get owt for nowt!