(Rough) Cost Comparison of boiling the kettle, electric vs Gas.

missile · 13 October 2012 at 5:01AM

I recently had installed a http://www.iconappliances.co.uk/index.php?target=manufacturers&manufacturer_id=61

No idea how efficient it is, but it is convenient.

bikerchris · 13 October 2012 at 1:50PM

rogerblack - thank you for pointing out my mis-measurement - must have been the painkillers

Have corrected though. Thanks for the wiggly info too

Cardew - Glad someone is sadder than me! You are right, in my situation though, I seldom use a whole unit of gas, so it's kinda more applicable in my situation to someone that uses gas to heat and goes over the tier threshold. Does that sound fair?

The gas measurement was taken from a gas meter that seems to indicate a decimal after 4 units. So I just figured that I was measuring to 2 decimal points, which was 3. You'll see I was wrong about the 'lecky and have corrected it.

May be I should double check the gas meter though

Fred bear - you win hands down

I shall hunt down your findings in future, if I need to know anything! Thanks for the detail, very interesting indeed and a worthy thank you

It seems there was some heated discussion as a result of my admitedly crap 'test'. But I'm grateful to all for not doing what sometimes happens on forums - kicking a person down when they're wrong. Thanks to everyone for not just having the correct information, but for letting me know in a friendly way, really kind of you.

Time for a cup of tea I think, it's now more pleasurable because I'm no longer p**sing into a bag :j

hypnosisderby · 5 January 2013 at 7:54PM

So, despite some people saying you didnt test this scientifically well enough ! is it still right that electricity is the cheapest way to heat a small amount of water? Even if you didnt test to this or that standard, you cant have been that far out on the results??

thanks

Cardew · 5 January 2013 at 9:05PM

hypnosisderby wrote: »

So, despite some people saying you didnt test this scientifically well enough ! is it still right that electricity is the cheapest way to heat a small amount of water? Even if you didnt test to this or that standard, you cant have been that far out on the results??

thanks

The problem in any comparison is that the longer it takes to heat the water - the more heat is lost.

A 3kW kettle heats quickly, and is well insulated at the base.

Gas takes longer and more heat is lost, but gas is about one third of the price of electricity.

I suspect that there are only fractions of a penny difference for most people.

bikerchris · 6 January 2013 at 7:35PM

I'm agreeing with anyone that sounds cleverer than me (easily done!).

Incidentally, I think I may have incorrectly measured the gas usage, kind of assumed how the units work on the imperial type gas meter. It records like this:

1234.56 - then what I thought was a dial indicating 1/10ths of a 1/100's amount. Originally I think I recorded 0.003. But I've seen the dial make a complete revolution and this doesn't seem to change 1234.56 to 1234.57. It seems to take 10 complete revolutions to change 1234.56 to 1234.57 (hope I'm making sense!).

So in theory (with my poor maths knowledge), I actually used 0.0003 perhaps?

HappyMJ · 6 January 2013 at 7:41PM

bikerchris wrote: »

I'm agreeing with anyone that sounds cleverer than me (easily done!).

Incidentally, I think I may have incorrectly measured the gas usage, kind of assumed how the units work on the imperial type gas meter. It records like this:

1234.56 - then what I thought was a dial indicating 1/10ths of a 1/100's amount. Originally I think I recorded 0.003. But I've seen the dial make a complete revolution and this doesn't seem to change 1234.56 to 1234.57. It seems to take 10 complete revolutions to change 1234.56 to 1234.57 (hope I'm making sense!).

So in theory (with my poor maths knowledge), I actually used 0.0003 perhaps?

So...0.8 pence compared to 0.76 pence. A difference of 0.04 pence. 8 times a day 365 days a year makes a difference of about £1. Not much is it.

psic88 · 30 November 2014 at 2:24AM

Hi, MSE Geeks

Recently I have had to resort to a combination of kettle [1kw], and saucepan [large not huge] on a gas cooker, to heat water for washing up, because my combi boiler has broken down.
To fill the washing-up bowl I need several kettles and saucepans, each of which is about 1.5l to fill the 9l bowl.
I fell to wondering, as I refilled and heated the various vessels, which is cheaper?
I know gas is cheaper, per kW, but also incurs greater losses.
Is there any significant difference in the overall cost? You can assume that, after the 1st load, the energy used in heating the vessel is not lost.

(Rough) Cost Comparison of boiling the kettle, electric vs Gas.

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