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Kettle on Gas vs Electric Kettle
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Spies said:The half hour reading on my Gas smart meter has updated so we have results.
500ml of cold water, enough for 2 cups of tea took 5 minutes to boil on the gas stove, that was using a small milk pan with a lid over the top, this used 0.17kWh of gas, costing 0.68p
The same test using an electric kettle, which ran at ~2800w for 1 minute 24 seconds, used 0.0715kWh of electricity at a cost of 1.43p
Around half price. When I ran mine (5 years ago) I was saving around a penny a boil.
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We must boil the kettle around 12 times a day I would guess, that's (almost) 10p saving per day if I was to get a stovetop kettle.
It would pay for itself in 100 days4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria.1 -
Spies said:We must boil the kettle around 12 times a day I would guess, that's (almost) 10p saving per day if I was to get a stovetop kettle.
It would pay for itself in 100 days
Yes, when I worked out the savings - I bought a stove kettle. I still have my electric kettle, which is used when boiling water for cooking - otherwise, stove kettle is used. I love the whistle.
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We already had a stove top kettle for camping, so it was no extra expense. However we also have solar panels which can contribute to the electric kettle boiling. It turns choosing which kettle to boil into a complex exercise.
One significant factor is that, in winter, the wasted gas provides useful heat, which coincides nicely with the lack of sunshine. In practice we tend to only run the electric kettle when at least 66% of the energy comes from solar.
We're soon having a battery installed which will allow us to boil the electric kettle at the overnight rate of 5p per kWh (plus round trip losses). With the expected gas price rise in April I suspect we'll switch to using the electric kettle all the time.1 -
Spies said:The half hour reading on my Gas smart meter has updated so we have results.
These workings are based on unit prices of 20p/kWh for Electricity and 4p/kWh for Gas.
500ml of cold water, enough for 2 cups of tea took 5 minutes to boil on the gas stove, that was using a small milk pan with a lid over the top, this used 0.17kWh of gas, costing 0.68p
The same test using an electric kettle, which ran at ~2800w for 1 minute 24 seconds, used 0.0715kWh of electricity at a cost of 1.43pThanks for doing this test. It suggests ~40% efficiency for gas as some posters estimated.I wondered, though, how people light their gas hobs. If you have electric ignition, the cost will be negligible, but if you use matches, it probably wipes out the cost saving.0 -
jrawle said:Spies said:The half hour reading on my Gas smart meter has updated so we have results.
These workings are based on unit prices of 20p/kWh for Electricity and 4p/kWh for Gas.
500ml of cold water, enough for 2 cups of tea took 5 minutes to boil on the gas stove, that was using a small milk pan with a lid over the top, this used 0.17kWh of gas, costing 0.68p
The same test using an electric kettle, which ran at ~2800w for 1 minute 24 seconds, used 0.0715kWh of electricity at a cost of 1.43pThanks for doing this test. It suggests ~40% efficiency for gas as some posters estimated.I wondered, though, how people light their gas hobs. If you have electric ignition, the cost will be negligible, but if you use matches, it probably wipes out the cost saving.4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria.0 -
jrawle said:Spies said:The half hour reading on my Gas smart meter has updated so we have results.
These workings are based on unit prices of 20p/kWh for Electricity and 4p/kWh for Gas.
500ml of cold water, enough for 2 cups of tea took 5 minutes to boil on the gas stove, that was using a small milk pan with a lid over the top, this used 0.17kWh of gas, costing 0.68p
The same test using an electric kettle, which ran at ~2800w for 1 minute 24 seconds, used 0.0715kWh of electricity at a cost of 1.43pThanks for doing this test. It suggests ~40% efficiency for gas as some posters estimated.I wondered, though, how people light their gas hobs. If you have electric ignition, the cost will be negligible, but if you use matches, it probably wipes out the cost saving.0 -
Both fuels are likely to go up the same amount, 50%, making unit prices 30p and 6p respectively, so it should still be the same ratio.4.29kWp Solar system, 45/55 South/West split in cloudy rainy Cumbria.2
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My new fix is 5.48p and 22.36p
ALthough I ran my test many years ago, using the figures from Spies.
.009316p for gas. So around a penny.
0.39182 for elec. So around 4p. 3p saving.
I note that Spies boiled water for 2. I boil water for 1, so around 1.5p saving, which it approximately what I got back in 2017.
I work from home for most of the time. Kettle is on around 15 times a day. So about 22p a day saving, which equates to £80 a year saving.
I have switched supplier to save less than £80.
When I installed by combi shower, I again noticed a saving.
I used on average 1 kWh with my electric shower. Today's cost 22.36p
With my combi, I use on average 2.3 kWh of gas. Today's cost 12.604p Saving 9.756p. Annual saving £35.61
Total annual savings £115 switching from electricity to gas.
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Spies said:The half hour reading on my Gas smart meter has updated so we have results.
These workings are based on unit prices of 20p/kWh for Electricity and 4p/kWh for Gas.
500ml of cold water, enough for 2 cups of tea took 5 minutes to boil on the gas stove, that was using a small milk pan with a lid over the top, this used 0.17kWh of gas, costing 0.68p
The same test using an electric kettle, which ran at ~2800w for 1 minute 24 seconds, used 0.0715kWh of electricity at a cost of 1.43pLooking at the figures again, if the electricity usage is accurate, that suggests the electric kettle is only 75% efficient.The theoretical value for a 100% efficient kettle:Energy used = 0.5 x 4200 x 90 = 189 kJ = 0.0525 kWh(mass of water = 0.5 kg, specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J/kg/K, temperature difference 90K assuming water starts at 10°C, makes little difference if you use 100)That means the hob is only 30% efficient. Of course, this makes no difference to this discussion as the relative efficiencies are the same. I'm just commenting for interest's sake as many people, including myself, often claim that electric water heating is nearly 100% efficient.
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