Cost to boil a kettle
What an electric kettle costs
At 17 cents a kilowatt hour, an electric kettle costs 25.5 cents an hour while it is drawing power. 0.25 hours a day with 100 percent average draw is 0.38 kWh a day, $1.91 a month and $23.27 a year. Change any of those three numbers in the calculator and the answer moves with them, because there is nothing else in the sum.
The label figure is 1500 watts. That is what the device draws while it is working, not what it draws around the clock.
| Hours of use a day | Energy a day | Cost a month | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | 1.50 kWh | $7.65 | $93.08 |
| 2 h | 3.00 kWh | $15.30 | $186.15 |
| 4 h | 6.00 kWh | $30.60 | $372.30 |
| 8 h | 12.00 kWh | $61.20 | $744.60 |
What changes the number
- Two cups take about two minutes and roughly 0.06 kWh. A full kettle takes four to five minutes and about 0.12 kWh, so the habit of filling it costs double.
- Kettles are close to 100 percent efficient at putting heat into water. There is no cheaper way to boil water with electricity, whatever the marketing says.
- Scale on the element slows the boil slightly. Descaling once a month matters more in a hard-water area than the wattage rating does.
Find your own wattage
On the base or under the kettle. Most are 1,500 to 3,000 W; a higher wattage boils faster and uses the same energy for the same amount of water.
What this does not include
It does not count standing losses from reboiling. Reboiling a kettle that went cold is a second full boil, not a top-up.
Check it against your own numbers
The [running cost calculator](../index.html?device=electric-kettle) opens with this device already selected and its wattage filled in. Replace the wattage with your own reading, set the hours you actually use, and the monthly and yearly figures update in place.
Related: [A 1,500 W space heater](../space-heater/index.html), [An electric blanket](../electric-blanket/index.html), [A dehumidifier](../dehumidifier/index.html).