it's quicker, but is it cheaper?

trailingspouse

I currently have a gas hob, which I find very slow for bringing water to the boil (for example for cooking pasta). So I've taken to boiling the kettle, then pouring the water into the pan and bringing it back to the boil on the hob. It saves time, obviously - but is it cheaper to heat the water using gas, or using the kettle?

HappyMJ

Costs about the same really there is a difference but it is very small...but....the waste heat from the gas heats the kitchen saving you money on the heating bill and becomes cheaper when you take that into account but if you were to overboil the water by just a few minutes then the electric kettle becomes cheaper as it turns off when it reaches boiling point. I'd just use the gas and wait the extra few minutes for it to boil the water. Are you covering the pan with a lid?

Cardew

This question comes up time and again, normally the relative costs of boiling a kettle with gas or electricity; however there was the same question about exactly the same issue - with pasta.

There is no definitive answer - someone even tried a trial. Gas is about a third of the cost of electricity, but gas loses a lot more heat to the hob and pan as it takes longer.

However we are really talking just small fractions of a penny either way.

henrylarry6

I think there is very small difference between both but I always think boiling in electric kettle is more beneficial than Gas hob as it is automatic system and saves our time too.

becksfaz

I'm no expert but think the difference would be minimal. I, like yourself, boil the kettle 1st purely for convenience/quickness reasons. I'd only boil up the water you need though, unless you use the remaining water for something (I use it for my daughter's bottles or might make a cuppa at the same time) otherwise you are using more electrical energy than you need to.

macman

Really obsessive moneysavers decant the leftover boiling water from the kettle into a thermos flask for use later...

rogerblack

macman wrote: »

Really obsessive moneysavers decant the leftover boiling water from the kettle into a thermos flask for use later...

Really, really obsessed people build their own kettle from a thermos flask.
(Ok, it's only partially completed)

trailingspouse

OMG my x-in-laws did that!!! (Using a thermos flask, not building a kettle...) I'm not that obsessive, but will continue to use the kettle because it's quicker - I do indeed only boil as much as I need, and put the lid on the pan.

My underlying problem is that I basically don't like gas hobs - there's no residual heat for keeping things warm after you've finished cooking, the sides of the pan burn, the lowest heat isn't low enough, the highest heat isn't high enough, and you're in constant danger of accidentally wafting a t-towel, scarf, sleeve or grandchild too close to the flames.

But it's comforting to know that a) I'm not the only one to wonder and b) there's not a lot in it.