Re-boil the kettle - or use a flask?

elsien

Water for tea has to be freshly boiled.
No other option. 

And in the general scheme of things there are probably other cost saving alternatives likely to be more effective. 

macman

I have no idea what the answer is, but am pretty certain that the energy used to post 24 replies on the subject is greater than the potential savings...
If people want to cut bills and consumption then they need to focus on heating, hot water, and insulation.

[Deleted User]

elsien said:

Water for tea has to be freshly boiled.
No other option. 

And in the general scheme of things there are probably other cost saving alternatives likely to be more effective. 

It depends on the water area, in hard water areas re-boiling can concentrate the amount of calcium/particles making the tea taste unpleasant. In soft water areas or if you use a filter for the water, re-boiling doesn't make any difference. 

There are a couple of long standing myths about oxygen in the water for example, but boiling water cannot hold any oxygen molecules - when you boil a kettle it removes all the oxygen - so re-boiling doesn't affect that

Sea_Shell

In hard water areas, it also depends how how much "crunch" you want in your tea?!? 🤮

Regular de-scaling will add cost.

TheBanker

On a related question - I have a gas cooker. I also have a small 'whistle' kettle that I use on the camping stove when I'm away.

Is it more cost effective to boil my electric kettle, or boil the camping kettle on the gas cooker?

Astria

TheBanker said:

On a related question - I have a gas cooker. I also have a small 'whistle' kettle that I use on the camping stove when I'm away.

Is it more cost effective to boil my electric kettle, or boil the camping kettle on the gas cooker?

Considering the amount of gas/heat that will be wasted and not actually heating the water, you may find they are very similar or that the electric kettle is actually more economical.

Why not try it though? Take a reading of your gas and electric before and after boiling the kettle.

wild666

TheGardener said:

My Mum has 4 cups of tea between getting up at about 7am and her lunch at 1pm. Our question is which is the more energy efficient: should she fill and boil the kettle with enough water to make 4 cups of tea and put it in a flask or should she just boil enough for 1 cup of tea, 4 times

Mum's kettle says 1.4 to 1.8kw on the base and her cup holds 200ml - the kettle capacity is 1.5L

I use a flask and put two teabags in the flask and it makes around 4 cups of tea, sometimes 5. I'm not bothered about taste just that it's a liquid that will quench my thirst. If saving money is important then the flask is the option over four separate boils which could cost 12p per day, from October, if not more, or nearly £44 per year if a full kettle is boiled, it will be less, not by much, if less water is in the kettle. I timed my kettle with 1.7 litres of water and it took 4 minutes 32 seconds to boil. 
The ultimate question would be does your mother like freshly brewed beverages over beverages stood in a flask for hours? If she isn't bothered then the flask is the option to take as it saves money.

wittynamegoeshere

wild666 said:

TheGardener said:

My Mum has 4 cups of tea between getting up at about 7am and her lunch at 1pm. Our question is which is the more energy efficient: should she fill and boil the kettle with enough water to make 4 cups of tea and put it in a flask or should she just boil enough for 1 cup of tea, 4 times

Mum's kettle says 1.4 to 1.8kw on the base and her cup holds 200ml - the kettle capacity is 1.5L

  If saving money is important then the flask is the option over four separate boils which could cost 12p per day, from October, if not more, or nearly £44 per year if a full kettle is boiled, it will be less, not by much, if less water is in the kettle. I timed my kettle with 1.7 litres of water and it took 4 minutes 32 seconds to boil

Have you tested to find out the difference between making 4x 1 cups and 1x 4 cups?  It will cost more, but I doubt it's very much different.

Personally I take a middle ground, I have fewer big cuppas.  Mine is a 500ml mug, which is a marked line on the kettle so I never waste any.  Although it may be very slightly less per litre when boiling more, I doubt it's more than a few pence here and there.  Not worth drinking stale tea for.

QrizB

TheBanker said:

On a related question - I have a gas cooker. I also have a small 'whistle' kettle that I use on the camping stove when I'm away.

Is it more cost effective to boil my electric kettle, or boil the camping kettle on the gas cooker?

The electric kettle will use less energy. Which one costs less will depend on your tariff, noting that during the heating season wasted heat isn't really lost, it reduces your central heating demand.

This video is quite educational:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c

wittynamegoeshere

Just as that wasted heat warms the house, reducing the load on the heating sytstem, does a warm cuppa also reduce the load on the human body's heat generation?

Will I get fat from drinking cups of tea?