Which uses the most energy, boiling water in a kettle or the same amount of water in a pan on the gas?

Question

Normal electric kettle powered by the mains and gas hob. It's a tough one, as u say the kettle uses more energy but gets the job done quicker than the pan, even with a lid on. Which will cost less?

Answer 1

The energy consumption is comparable, but the cost isn't: a number of BTU's worth of electricity will cost around three times as much as the equivalent amount of gas.

Answer 2

What sort of kettle? Is the pan covered?

Let's compare an electric kettle & a covered pan. For the same amount of water an electric kettle will use less energy. For a pan on the gas a lot of the heat will be dissipated into the air & wasted. For the kettle the heater is immersed and so all goes toward heating the water itself.

That's energy comparison not cost comparison. As gas is cheaper than electricity it could be that the electric kettle is more expensive.

Answer 3

In ecological terms the kettle will cost more as the electricity has been produced by burning fossil fuel of some kind with significant energy losses in the transfer to your home via the mains. Gas is a direct fossil fuel and therefore uses less in terms of resources.

Answer 4

Is it a kettle that you put on a gas hob?  Is it an electric kettle that runs off batteries charged by solar power?  Have you captured your own methane to power the gas flame??  If you only boil what you need it will save power in any form.

Answer 5

not sure, but u can save energy with the pan - by having a lid on top... to keep the heat on, and then it depends on the amount of water in the pan and size.... and which size element it is sitting on.