When looking to save energy at home, it’s important to know
how much electricity our household appliances are using. One of the most used
kitchen appliances is the kettle, so how much electricity does boiling a kettle
use? Does the alternative option of a hot water dispenser use more or less
energy? Which kitchen appliance uses the most electricity? In this article,
we’ll give you the answers to all of these questions and more.
95%
of families in Britain boil their kettle at least once a day, and 40% of families
use it
more than five times a day. So how much energy are we using every time we boil the kettle? Boiling an
average half a kettle of water uses
0.113 kilowatts per hour (kWh).
How does this compare to the alternative solution of a hot water dispenser? The
Virgin Pure Home Water System II uses 0.07 kWh per use. That’s 38% less energy
than a kettle.
According to the
Energy Saving Trust 75% of people admit to using too much water every time they boil a kettle.
Anyone boiling a whole kettle of water will use 0.225 kWh. Switching to the
Home Water System II means using nearly 70% less energy.
Setting aside quibbles about how much water we’re
boiling when using a kettle, let’s compare the longer term energy consumption
of a kettle with our hot water dispenser. Taking the benchmark that 40% of
British families boil their kettle more than five times a day, we took a look
at how much energy the Home Water System II used in comparison over a 24 hour
period. During the course of a day, we dispensed ten mugs of boiling water (as
well as ten cups of cold water) in an attempt to reflect an average family’s
everyday usage. So where a family might boil their kettle five times a day, we
dispensed two mugs of boiling water at a time, five times during the day. Read
on to find out how much energy we used.
Does a hot water dispenser use more or
less energy than a kettle?
In our test, we set the Home Water System II to energy-saving mode. This used
just 0.46 kWh of electricity over 24 hours. Boiling half a kettle of water five
times a day uses 0.565 kWh. Our system used around
19% less energy than a kettle. If you were in the habit of boiling a whole
kettle, you’d use around 60% less energy if you switched to the Home Water
System II.
Even with the Virgin Pure system switched on 24 hours a
day, in energy-saving mode, it’s still more efficient than a kettle being
switched on five times a day. The added bonus is that the Home Water System
also provides triple-filtered chilled water on demand as well as hot or boiling
water. So you also benefit from the convenience of not having to refrigerate
bottled water or filter jugs - and you’ll still be using less electricity than
you would boiling a kettle every time you want a cuppa.
If you’re partial to a decent cup of coffee, it’s
likely that you’ll be using even more electricity every time you brew up. A
single serve coffee maker, or coffee pod machine, uses even more energy than boiling
a kettle. Where an average coffee machine consumes 0.3 kWh of electricity per use,
the Home Water System II uses 77% less energy.
Which kitchen
appliance uses the most energy?
While the kettle and the coffee machine are two of the most used kitchen
appliances, they are also among those that use the most energy once they’re
switched on. Below is a list of the kitchen appliances that use the most
electricity over the course of the year.
Coffee
machine = 548 kWh per year***
Fridge freezer = 408 kWh
per year*
Tumble dryer = 370 kWh per
year*
Electric hob = 301 kWh per
year*
Electric oven = 211 kWh
per year*
Kettle = 206 kWh per year**
Dishwasher
= 194 kWh per year*
When switched to energy saving mode and used at around
the same frequency as the kettle and coffee machine, the Home Water System II
uses 167.9 kWh per year.
Naturally we’re biased, so you won’t be surprised to
hear us say it’s about time you ditched your inefficient old kettle. Hopefully
now we’ve done the maths, you’ll agree that switching to the Home Water System
II means that you’ll be using less energy every time you want a nice
cuppa.
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add the Smart Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a Package to your basket, and progress to the last stage of the checkout process, we will then add in your discount. So don't worry if you don't see it before then (such as in the cart).
Once you add a new subscription package to your basket, we will apply the first month free discount, which will be visible in your cart. So don’t worry if you don’t see it right away.
