As the cost of living soars many will be looking for thrifty ways to save money on their energy bills.
The Ofgem price cap is expected to rise to an annual bill of £3,582 later this year, with another predicted jump up to £4,266 in January 2023, according to analysis from Cornwall Insight. Ofgem itself hasn't said how much the energy bills are expected to increase by yet, However this announcement is expected to be made on August 26.
With an expected huge rise in bills many will want to plan ahead, finding ways to shave down on consumption. Some may not realise that this can be done without having to sacrifice day-to-day luxuries like a cuppa.
While it may not save you thousands, changing up your tea-making routine can shave down your bills little-by-little. For many, finding a way to save on the morning cuppa is much better than cutting it out altogether in order to make ends meet, reports the Mirror.
The energy experts at Uswitch.com have looked into this and have found that it's much cheaper to boil hot water for tea using a covered pan on a gas hob. They also found that using a microwave is cheaper than using a kettle as well.
This is because it is cheaper to use gas compared to electricity - even if it does take longer than the kettle. For a kettle with a power rating of 3kW, uSwitch estimates that it takes roughly 52 seconds to boil 300ml of water.
This would use 0.043kWh of power, with the cost of electricity being 0.28p. It estimates that for 100 cups of tea, you’d end up spending around £1.21. If you boil the water with a covered pan on a gas hob, it would take around 217 seconds and use roughly 0.118kWh of power.
Even though it takes longer to boil on the hob, the cost of gas is cheaper at 0.0737p. This means for 100 cups of teas, the price would be around 87p. It is important the pan is covered so it doesn’t lose any heat unnecessarily - otherwise it’ll take you longer to boil the water and cost you more.
For an uncovered pan, the price would be 98p for 100 cups of tea.
If you use the microwave to heat up a cup of tea, it would take roughly 180 seconds. As a microwave uses less power than a kettle - Uswitch uses an example of a microwave with a power rating of 0.8kW - the cost for 100 teas would be £1.12.
An energy expert at Uswitch.com said: “Boiling water in a covered pan on a gas hob is the cheapest way to make a cup of tea, thanks to the lower price of gas compared to electricity. Making 100 cups of tea this way would save you 34 pence compared to doing it in a kettle, and 25 pence against using the microwave.
“Make sure to cover pans when you are cooking on the stove, as uncovered saucepans will lose heat and waste energy.”
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