Save Electricity When Brewing Tea

Label the Correct Level on Your Tea Kettle to Save Money and Power

Apr 12, 2008

Mark the correct level and boil only the amount of water you need for your tea or coffee - the time and cost savings add up over a year.

Like most people, I fill the kettle until I feel sure I have enough to make the tea. I invariably end up with some left over. There is a scale on the water level indicator but it does not correspond with any mugs I have ever used. Doing a little experiment to check out how much this was costing me surprised me.

Quantifying the difference

I’ve heard it recommended several times that you should heat just the right amount of water, but sometimes these exhortations are simply for the act of "saving the planet", even if the saving is minimal. What I wanted to know was how much does making the right amount save compared to what I usually did. I borrowed a gadget that showed how much energy the kettle used in kilowatt-hours. I measured out two mugs of water into the kettle and noted where the fill indicator was. To make the correct amount took about 0.06 kWh, whereas making the amount I usually filled the kettle was a lot more, at 0.11 kWh

To find out the cost the power company told me how much each kilowatt-hour was on the bill. In the UK is is around 10p a kWh, US consumers pay an average of 10 cents per kWh, though there appears to be a strange market distortion in that the more populous regions of the United States on the eastern seaboard seem to pay more, about 12-15 cents/kWh.

The difference was about a twentieth of a kilowatt-hour. Not much, but assuming I did this on average three times a day, over a year I am looking at nearly 55 kilowatt-hours saved, which equates to about £5 a year (US customers would save around $5 a year). However, I also save just over a minute in waiting for my coffee each time, and in the morning that is well worth having. Indeed, for me it is the 18 hours saved over the year that really brings this home to me. The saving in carbon emissions is about 29Kg a year, which is roughly the same amount as if I drive 90 miles in my car.

Label the right water level

It doesn’t have to cost you anything at all to do this right. Put a label on the water indicator corresponding to two mugs of water, or whatever amount you most commonly make. You will save time, money, electricity and carbon emissions with no inconvenience. Doing this won’t save the planet or even enough money for a meal out, but is well worth the investment of a label and half-an-hour of your time.

References

The copyright of the article Save Electricity When Brewing Tea in Saving Energy is owned by Richard Mudhar. Permission to republish Save Electricity When Brewing Tea in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.