Kettles are pretty simple devices. They boil water for you and keep it warm. But how much energy does a kettle use? Adjusting something like how often you boil your kettle or how full it is when boiling can reduce your consumption and save on your electricity bill.
Let’s take a look at what makes up the cost of running an electric kettle so that we can better understand how we can reduce our energy usage in this small but important way.
How Much Electricity Does a Kettle Use?
Electric kettles can use about 60 watts, but how much energy does it use? Kilowatt hours (kWh) are units of energy, and one kWh represents 1,000 watts of power expended over one hour.
To boil a litre of water to 100°C in an electric kettle would require approximately 0.06 kWh.
The cost of energy in your home varies slightly based on where you live – read more to learn how you can conserve energy in your home and drive it down.
How much energy you use depends on how often you boil your kettle and how full you boil it each time. Boiling a full kettle uses more than twice as much energy as boiling just enough water for your needs – so don’t overfill your kettle.
3 Energy-saving Tips
Adjusting small things like how often you boil your kettle and how full it is can save on your electricity bill. Here are simple ways you can reduce your energy consumption.
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Do Not Fill the Kettle when you only want One Cup
How much energy you use depends on how often you boil your kettle and how full you boil it each time. Boiling a litre of water when you only need 300ml is a sure-fire way to waste electricity and raise your utility bill.
If you boil your kettle more than once a day, which many households do, that can add up to a significant amount of energy over time. Why not consider keeping water warm in a flask instead of boiling it over and over again? It also helps if you’re aware of some simple ways to make sure that your kettles are as efficient as possible.
To conserve energy, avoid filling your kettle with more water than you need. It takes less electricity for our kettle to heat smaller amounts of water.
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Kettles Need To Be Descaled Regularly in Hard Water Areas
The inside of your kettle will gradually become covered in limescale as time goes on. This can affect the performance of your kettle and make it difficult to clean. To ensure you get the most from your model, you should descale it regularly, ideally once every six months.
The process takes less than an hour and most people find that they can do it themselves using products readily available at their local hardware store or purchased online.
This could help improve your kettle’s efficiency and will also make your hot drinks taste more pleasant!
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Unplug Your Kettle
Even while a kettle isn’t the biggest energy consumer, it will still increase your bill unnecessarily, therefore it’s preferable to turn it off at the mains when not in use.
Even if you aren’t boiling your kettle right now, it still uses energy. Numerous appliances in your home, like your printer, laptop charger, and electric stove, draw energy while they are still plugged in.
That implies that they keep using electricity, which raises their monthly energy bill unnecessarily. However, there is a simple fix: simply disconnect your kettle and unused appliances while not in use.
By unplugging them, you’ll prevent energy from stealthily evaporating and driving up your costs, ultimately saving both electricity and cash.
Final Thoughts
Since the kettle is one of the most popular household items, it’s not surprising that many people have questions about its energy use. The good news is that there are lots of ways you can save on your electricity bill with a little bit of planning!
Now that you know how much energy your kettle uses, try using less than half full when boiling water to cut down on the cost of running it each day. Knowing the electricity rates by zip code helps individuals, estimate the cost of electricity consumption. This information is crucial for budgeting purposes.
You may also be interested in reading our related blogs on running a sustainable home:
How to live a more sustainable life
How to make your home more sustainable home
Create a clutter-free, organised, sustainable home