. . . back to part 1 . . .

How much is inside hot water? - part 2

Experiment 2

Now it was the turn of the kettle method. This experiment requires measurement of both electricity and gas. I put a cheap meter on the kettle's socket, and switched it on. It turns out that this wimpy plastic kettle consumes only 2.2 kW. It took three minutes to boil the water, and the amount of electrical energy used was 0.11 kWh. But remember, we're not there yet. We're imagining making pasta, and we must now transfer the water to the pan and bring it back to the boil. This required the gas to be on for 49 seconds, and the amount of gas used was 0.19 cubic feet. That corresponds to an additional energy of 0.06 kWh of chemical energy.

Continue reading part 3 of How much is inside hot water...

FillKettle
Kettle Power Kettle Energy used

Transferring water
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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This page is a tribute to cockeyed.com


To find out more energy numbers, you might like to read my book Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air.


David MacKay
Last modified: Tue Jun 24 00:56:10 2008