How many of us boil more water that we need to make a cuppa? You only want one cup but you absent-mindedly stick the kettle under the tap and let it fill.
Bord Gáis Energy estimates you could save €73 a year by boiling only what you need. That’s one new year’s resolution that could save you money and help save the planet.
Which appliances use the most electricity? A good rule of thumb is: if it makes things hot, then it uses a lot of electricity, says the Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland (SEAI). After your electric shower, tumble dryer and cooker, your kettle is the most energy intensive user of electricity – so the shorter it runs, the better.
Boil a full kettle of water five times a day and it will cost you 30 cents each day, according to estimates from Bord Gáis Energy. Do that every day during 2025 and that’s about €109.50.
It’s not quite not enough to get you a ticket to the Oasis Reunion gig at Croke Park, but there are plenty of other things you could do with that much money.
Boiling more than you need takes longer too. It takes three minutes to boil a full kettle. If you’re taking a break for a cuppa, you may well relish these extra few minutes of downtime – but it adds up to 15 minutes a day. Boil one cup instead and you have enough time to step outside and get some daylight in the two minutes you’ve spared watching the kettle boil.
Boiling only enough for one cup five times a day costs just 10 cents a day, or €36.50 a year, according to Bord Gáis. That’s a third less.
So don’t boil full kettles for one cup of tea. Do make sure you have enough water to cover the element however, says the SEAI.
When buying your next kettle, check its energy efficiency too. Buy the highest A-rating possible and your kettle will be cheaper to run over its lifetime, says the SEAI.
A kettle with an indicator on the side showing the fill mark for one cup will be helpful too.
Those who are particularly dogged about energy saving take things a step further. The popular “Life on a budget in Ireland” Facebook group, a 63,000-strong community, has plenty of novel energy- and money-saving hacks.
One poster saves even more by boiling a full kettle of water before 8am, when her unit electricity rate is almost half the usual day rate. She uses that to fill a Thermos.
“The Thermos keeps the water hot and I pour from there whenever I am in need of a cuppa during the day,” says the poster.
Doing it this way, she cuts out four other kettle boiling events during the day.
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“I’m not suggesting everybody starts doing this, by the way, I just want you to become more aware of how you can make savings by making small habitual changes without sacrificing anything.”
An extra €20 or €30 annual electricity saving by changing the way you boil the kettle may not seem like a lot but if you apply the same approach to other things, they will soon add up, she says. Hear, hear.
Filling your kettle and boiling more water than you need is costing you a few extra cents every day. It’s not a lot, but changing a habit of overfilling a kettle isn’t the hardest new year’s resolution.