Which cost more?

[bilko]

Boiling a pint of water using gas or boiling a pint of water using electricity using general prices?
Just wondered as i've been using a stove top kettle since my electric one broke.

[LHDisbest]

I really should have paid attention in Physics at school.

[pacey_sot]

I'd have to guess at electric being cheaper as the element is within the water and the kettle probably insulates it from the outside air quite a bit, whereas with a gas flame you have the convection from around the kettle wasting energy, as well as relying on the metal of the kettle to conduct, this would also radiate a bit of heat.

But i'm no physicist

[bitwrx]

In terms of the energy coming into the house, i.e. energy usefully heating the water/energy measured at the meter, the electric will be more efficient. If you measure the energy as it leaves the powerstation/gas works it may well be a different matter. I seem to remember powerlines are pretty inefficient.

In terms of the monetary cost, I have no idea.

So, to answer your question, I don't know.

HTH

[jeff m]

Gas is generally considered a cheaper form of energy.

I'm sure some poor bu66er with electric central heating will be along to confirm this

[kambites]

Gas is considerably cheaper per unit energy but electricity is more efficient at heating water because you can submerge the element. In other words, I have no idea.

[steve.c]

Electric hob or gas hob for the water heating?

[Tuna]

Gas - much cheaper per kwH than 'leccy, but not as cheap as a wood fire. Doesn't really matter about the element, as any heat loss with gas will keep your house warm right now.

[V6]

From (scientifically) watching the meter go round using both the kettle and the hob, I can confirm that gas is cheaper. Considerably cheaper.

I haven't tried putting the saucepan in the oven (thereby surrounding the water with heat, more like a kettle) although i'm not sure it would be cheaper.

[anonymous-user]

An electric induction hob would be cheapest i reckon-boiling water in 30-40 seconds.

[Tuna]

Dave_ST220 said:

An electric induction hob would be cheapest i reckon-boiling water in 30-40 seconds.

Doesn't work like that - the induction hob uses loads more electricity in a shorter time, so it evens out more or less. You still need X kWH of energy to raise a volume of water by Y degress, however fast it's delivered. Gas costs much less per kWH than electricity, so even if it takes an age, it's still cheaper.

[bilko]

Thanks guys
I think the general consensus of opinion is that gas is cheaper. Thinking on, if i were to boil a camp kettle with a little camping stove it would probably be cheaper than heating a home made filament using duracell batteries. I reckon on using about 20pence worth of the screw on camping bottle gas to probably £4 worth of batteries.

This sort of thing really goes to show me that electricity is an expensive form of energy and that seeing as i have gas heating and stove, solar power could fulfill my electricity needs if i were more frugal with my consumption.

Hmm, don't know if i were to ever get back my inital outlay costs though during the life of the solar power equipment.

[Tuna]

bilko said:

Thanks guys
I think the general consensus of opinion is that gas is cheaper. Thinking on, if i were to boil a camp kettle with a little camping stove it would probably be cheaper than heating a home made filament using duracell batteries. I reckon on using about 20pence worth of the screw on camping bottle gas to probably £4 worth of batteries.

This sort of thing really goes to show me that electricity is an expensive form of energy and that seeing as i have gas heating and stove, solar power could fulfill my electricity needs if i were more frugal with my consumption.

Hmm, don't know if i were to ever get back my inital outlay costs though during the life of the solar power equipment.

You're only giving us half the information here. What are you trying to achieve?

If you're trying to reduce your home fuel bills across the board (so, heating, lighting, cooking, washing and entertainment), then there's quite a few steps to take that work together to save energy. If you're trying to get a cup of tea on the cheap, then you have a whole different set of options.

[anonymous-user]

Tuna said:

Dave_ST220 said:

An electric induction hob would be cheapest i reckon-boiling water in 30-40 seconds.

Doesn't work like that - the induction hob uses loads more electricity in a shorter time, so it evens out more or less. You still need X kWH of energy to raise a volume of water by Y degress, however fast it's delivered. Gas costs much less per kWH than electricity, so even if it takes an age, it's still cheaper.

I haven't looked into the technicalities but seeing as all induction hobs seem to be A rated.......

[toasty]

Drink squash instead.

[james_tigerwoods]

Ok - so is it cheaper to boil hot water (from the boiler) than cold water straight from the tap?

[bilko]

Tuna said:

bilko said:

Thanks guys
I think the general consensus of opinion is that gas is cheaper. Thinking on, if i were to boil a camp kettle with a little camping stove it would probably be cheaper than heating a home made filament using duracell batteries. I reckon on using about 20pence worth of the screw on camping bottle gas to probably £4 worth of batteries.

This sort of thing really goes to show me that electricity is an expensive form of energy and that seeing as i have gas heating and stove, solar power could fulfill my electricity needs if i were more frugal with my consumption.

Hmm, don't know if i were to ever get back my inital outlay costs though during the life of the solar power equipment.

You're only giving us half the information here. What are you trying to achieve?

If you're trying to reduce your home fuel bills across the board (so, heating, lighting, cooking, washing and entertainment), then there's quite a few steps to take that work together to save energy. If you're trying to get a cup of tea on the cheap, then you have a whole different set of options.

Initially i was just wondering if i could get a cup of tea cheaper by using the gas hob as opposed to an electric kettle. Then i got to thinking about switching my electricity demands to solar powered deep cycle batteries and using gas for cooking, heating and hot water. Of course, i'll never do this as i can't be bothered.

[SpunkyMonkey]

I remember reading about this in a b3ta newsletter a few months back - some guy did the calculations and it turns out that gas is cheaper.
http://srimech.blogspot.com/2008/08/tea-making-wit...

[bigdods]

Dave_ST220 said:

An electric induction hob would be cheapest i reckon-boiling water in 30-40 seconds.

Fastest yes, but cheapest ?

My induction hob can bring a pan of tap water to the boil in <60 seconds (and a cup full in <20 seconds) thats a lot quicker than even my super duper gadget type kettle - but it needs a 20 AMP spur to deliver this kind of trick. So while its undoubtedly quicker than anything else at heating things up I suspect that its not the cheapest as it uses a st load of amps to do it.

More power for less time (hob) has got to at least equal less power for longer (kettle), then its down the efficiency (or not) of power used.

Just stop being a cheapskate and buy a new kettle .

[anonymous-user]

20A spur to cover 4 rings i'd guess? Like i say not looked into but noticed they all seem to be A rated. But yes, just buy a new kettle and boil just over a cup of water.