Yes, an electric kettle consumes a lot of energy. The minimum energy consumed by an electric kettle is around 1200 W, while most kettles have a maximum power rating of 3000 W. For instance, when an electric kettle works on 1200 W, it will take roughly 125 sec to boil the water.
Any form of electrical heating – cooktop and oven, hot water, bar and fan heaters, hair dryers, kettles, heat lamps, in-floor heating, coffee machines, etc – use a lot of power, often as much as a standard Australian wall socket will allow, which is 2400W.
Power usage – Kettles
The average kettle is between 2 and 3 kilowatts (kw). The electricity that you use in your home is measures in kilowatt hours (kWh) which is the number of kilowatts used per hour. Most people will be charged per unit of electricity so you might be charged 12p per kwh used.
'Naturally, it is more expensive to boil a full kettle than a half-full kettle, as there is less water that needs to be heated, meaning less energy is used. This is why it is so important not to overfill your kettle and only fill it with the amount of water you need.
Which is more energy efficient - boiling water using an electric kettle, a kettle on a gas hob or a microwave oven? IT TAKES the same amount of energy to heat one litre of water no matter which method of heating used. The only difference in the methods is the amount of time each takes.
Kettle Boiling 1.5L of water from temperature of 20°C to 100°C with a 2.2kW electric kettle would require 0.14 kWh or 3.9 cents per boil cycle (www. canstarblue.com.au/electricity/ boiling-kettle-costs-think). This equates to 25 boil cycles or about 150 cups of tea (assuming 250ml of water per cup of tea).
Usually natural gas is the cheapest way to heat water, followed by electricity, with propane being the most expensive.
Experts at Uswitch.com have explained how the cheapest way to boil a cup of tea is by using a covered pan on a gas hob, instead of depending on your usual kettle.
The largest electricity consumer in the average household is your heating and cooling appliance. By a long shot. Central air conditioners and heaters use tons of energy in order to keep your home set to the right temperature.
Save Money
An electric kettle is much more energy efficient than a microwave or an electric burner, depending on your habits and the gadgets you use. The electric kettle has been demonstrated to be approximately 80% efficient in tests, compared to 70% and 50% efficiency for the cooktop and microwave, respectively.
A microwave is about 50 percent efficient. Most of the energy is lost in the process of converting electricity to microwaves (which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum). An electric stovetop is about 70 percent efficient, although that varies widely depending on the type of pot or kettle you use.
According to Tom Williams, researcher at the National Renewable Energy Lab, kettles are generally more efficient than microwave appliances. Speaking to Inside Energy, Mr Williams revealed that an electric kettle is about 80 percent efficient for two key reasons: Most electric kettles are very well insulated.
Heating and cooling combined use the largest amount of energy in the average Australian home. They account for around 40% of household energy use according to YourHome.gov.au.
The minimum energy consumed by an electric kettle is around 1200 W, while most kettles have a maximum power rating of 3000 W. For instance, when an electric kettle works on 1200 W, it will take roughly 125 sec to boil the water. Hence, the average power consumption is 0.04 kWh.
The majority of kettles have a 3kW element. An example 3kW kettle boils one cup of water (235ml) in approx 45 seconds. This means it uses 1.7p every minute (£1.02 per hour), so 1.3p to boil a single cup over 45 seconds.
He said that although kettles use less energy overall, the differing prices of electricity and gas meant the hob worked out cheaper. "If you're looking for an energy saving, go for the electric kettle," he said. "If you're looking for a cost saving, go for the hob."
Answer: The electric kettle won hands down. The real advantage with the kettle is on the first cup. It boils in half the time as the first cup boiled in either the microwave or the stove. Since (at 1450 Watts) it uses about the same amount of power as the others, halving the time halves the energy.
One way you might be able to save money is in the kitchen. Experts at Uswitch have explained how the cheapest way to boil a cup of tea is by using a covered pan on a gas hob. This is because it is cheaper to use gas compared to electricity - even if it does take longer than the kettle.
Coffee makers. Television sets. Washing machines. Practically every appliance and electronic device you have plugged in at home is using some electricity — and adding to your utility bill — even when it isn't in use or even turned on.
If you leave your computer or laptop plugged in to charge overnight, you could be wasting a significant chunk of electricity. Even when it's off, that power cord will continue to draw energy. Phones. Similarly, leaving your phone plugged in to charge overnight is a bad idea.
On average, hair dryers use about 1,500 to 2,000 watts of electricity. Using a hair dryer for 10 minutes per day will use about 9.13 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month and 109.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. A hair dryer costs an average of $1.30 to use for a month and $15.54 to use for a year.
"It costs as much to heat water in a kettle as it does on an electric hob – both use about the same amount of electricity to heat the water. If you heat the water on a gas hob it will be cheaper as the cost of a unit of gas is cheaper than a unit of electricity."
Electric hot water systems are the cheapest to buy but the most expensive to run. If you have an existing electric hot water system, you should consider taking advantage of the government incentives available to upgrade to efficient heat-pump options.
While gas is definitely cheaper per kWh, electric appliances can work faster, reducing the amount of time you're using energy.