In March 2021 average electricity price in South Scotland was 17 pence per 1 kWh, so if you were to boil a whole kettle (2,5 kW, 1,5 l) it would take you 4 minutes. It would cost you 2.8 pence, but if you were to boil just enough water for 2 mugs (0.5 l) it would take you 1 minute for 0.72 pence thus saving you 26% (both in time and money). It may not seem to be a lot, but considering that an average Scot drinks 5 cups of tea per day, you can save 10.4 pence a day (£38 a year) just by following this simple rule. You will also reduce your annual CO2 emission from 40 kg to 10 kg.
According to Energy Saving Trust if everyone boiled only the water they needed every time they used the kettle, we could save enough electricity in a year to power the UK’s street lights for nearly seven months.
For more simple energy saving tips come back next week and if you’ve got any comments or similar tips, please email them to kasha@sustainableselkirk.org.uk.