British Gas has a warning for anyone with a kitchen kettle
It’s an appliance you likely reach for every day from dawn to dusk, considering the typical Brit gets through 2.7 cups of tea daily.
What you might not know is that your kettle, being a rapid-heating device, ranks among the priciest appliances in your entire home to operate – it’s just that it typically runs for mere minutes at a stretch. However, your kettle’s impact on your energy costs doesn’t cease once you’ve made your brew, and actually a standard UK kettle will continue running up your meter even during downtime.
This occurs because, as energy specialists at British Gas explain, a kettle keeps drawing electricity even when it’s not actively boiling.
Since a conventional kettle lacks an ‘off switch’, it persists in consuming power whilst plugged into your kitchen socket, unless you’ve got a wall switch to flick off or you disconnect it entirely. Without doing this daily, your kettle has been inflating your electricity costs all along, for absolutely no benefit, reports the Express.
A spokesman for British Gas said: “Small changes to how you use electricity can add up. Unplugging appliances like kettles and other appliances instead of leaving them on standby are good habits to get into and every little counts towards lower energy bills.”
Charlie Pugsley, London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner, advises disconnecting all your appliances when not needed or when heading away, both to cut costs and minimise fire hazards. He advised Saga: “You should turn off and unplug all unnecessary electrical appliances to save money and reduce the risk of an electrical fire.
“In your kitchen, for example, do this with kettles, toasters, and microwaves.”
Now is an opportune moment to slash energy costs as Ofgem has just increased the price cap in October, with another modest rise scheduled for January. The typical household currently faces bills of £1,755 for gas and electricity, though this represents an average – meaning higher usage results in even steeper costs.