Electricity Savings

How much energy does a kettle use?

We are often asked: Is one of our boilers more expensive to run than a kettle?

The answer is no. In fact it becomes cheaper the more people that use it.

Here’s how we know:

Units of electricity are measured in kilowatt hours (kWh) at current rates, one unit of electricity costs about 12p.

To work out how much an electrical item costs to run, you multiply the items power by the amount of time that it is on.

Power (kW) x time (h) = electric used (kWh)

How many kWh to boil a kettle?

An average kettle is 3kW and takes 4 minutes (0.07 hours) to boil.

So 3kW x 0.07h = 0.21kWh

0.21 x 12p = 2.5p

So it costs about 2.5p to boil a kettle of water

If all the water in that kettle is used it will produce 5 decent mugs of hot water.

If you have 10 staff that have 4 mugs a day each, that’s 40 mugs so, the kettle will be boiled a minimum of 8 times (probably more as no-one ever empties it entirely!)

So 10 staff, 40 mugs, 8 boils 8 x 2.5p = 20p per day

Or 20 staff, 80 mugs, 16 boils 16 x 2.5p = 40p per day

And so on…….. 30 staff 60p a day, 40 staff 80p per day………

The electrical consumption of the 100C (which also has a 3kW heating element) while on standby is 0.07kWh, which means that it will use one unit of electricity (12p) in 14 hours which is 0.86p per hour, or 20.6p per day.

As the 100C is designed so that it only boils the water that is used each time. It will run for 30 seconds for each mug of water that is taken out… 1 minute for 2 mugs..2 minutes for 4 mugs..

So for 10 staff, 40 mugs it will be on for 20 minutes (0.3 hours) throughout the day

So 3kW x 0.3h = 0.9kWh 0.9 x 12p = 10.8p

Add this to the standby amount of 20.6p per day gives a total of

For 10 staff, 40 mugs 31.4p per day

For 20 staff, 80 mugs 42.2p per day

For 30 staff, 120 mugs 53p per day

Are you looking to save money on a water boiler, and keep your employees hydrated?

At Cooler Sense, we have a range of drinking water boilers available to rent or buy. With service plans available too, we can make sure that you are maintaining a high output, hydrated atmosphere in your workplace, whilst saving money and the planet!

View our drinking water boiler product range today, or get in touch with us if you’re unsure which would be the best fit for your office.