Energy experts have explained the cheapest way to brew a cup of tea, with bills set to skyrocket again this winter.
Analysts at Cornwall Insight expect the Ofgem power price cap to rise to £3,582 in October, before rising to £4,266 after the start of the year.
However, Auxilone has issued a much bleaker forecast for billpayers – expecting the price cap to potentially hit £3,628 in October, £4,538 in January and £5,277 in April.
Read more: The five most expensive appliances in homes that add hundreds to energy bills
The Mirror reports that the price cap currently stands at £1,971 for an average user paying for their energy by direct debit, meaning a potential total increase of £1,611 in winter. Ofgem has also not confirmed the bill rise figure at this time, with an official announcement due on August 26.
The potentially substantial increase in energy bills means that families are constantly looking for ways to cut costs, no matter how small or large. And one way to save your hard-earned cash is to rethink your kitchen routines.
Uswitch.com experts explained that the cheapest way to boil a cup of tea is to use a covered pot on a gas stove, instead of depending on your usual kettle. Indeed, gas is currently cheaper to use than electricity, even if it takes longer to heat this water.
A kettle rated at 3kW takes about 52 seconds to boil 300ml of water, according to uSwitch. This equates to 0.043kWh of power, the cost of electricity being 0.28p. For 100 cups of tea, that would mean £1.21 would be spent.
However, if you choose to boil water the more traditional way on a gas hob, it would take around 217 seconds and use around 0.118 kWh of energy. Even though it takes much longer to boil on the hob, the gas cost is cheaper at 0.0737p. So for 100 cups of tea the price would end up being around 87p.
It is also important that the pan is covered so that it does not lose heat unnecessarily. This means it will take longer to boil and you will lose more money. In hindsight an uncovered pot would cost 98p for 100 cups of tea.
Finally, the humble microwave is also a slightly cheaper option compared to the kettle – even if it takes longer. It would take about 190 seconds to heat a cup of tea, but the microwave uses less energy than a kettle. Uswitch uses an example 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 pot on a gas stove 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 versus using a kettle and 25 pence versus using the microwave.
“Be sure to cover pans when cooking on the stovetop, as uncovered pans will lose heat and waste energy.”
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