There are two kettle-type products aimed at Green Kitchenistas: the Tefal Quick Cup and the Eco Kettle. So are they any good?
Quick Cup is a counter-top device that Tefal claims can heat a cupful of water to 90C in three seconds and use up to 65 per cent less electricity than a conventional kettle. The one I tested took more than 20 seconds to produce half a coffee mug of water at 66C. My own kettle took more than 30 seconds to boil the same amount. OK, my kettle used 50 per cent more electricity, but having read similar Quick Cup complaints, I am not convinced. Especially at a retail price of £50-£60.
Eco Kettle (about £29-£35) is a conventional kettle with a difference: it has a large reservoir for cold water and a separate “boiling chamber”. Press a button to transfer water from the reservoir to the chamber and the kettle boils only the amount you need. Eco Kettle is endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust, but my friends there say this is based on the ease with which people can limit the amount they boil, a virtuous habit most are unwilling to acquire (only 37 per cent of people claim never to over-fill, according to Defra).
How to join the virtuous 37 per cent? Use your drinking cup to measure out the water you need. Unless your kettle is so far from your sink that you need to take a taxi to get there, filling each time you use it should not be too painful.
One other hardware tip: do not buy a kettle that uses power when not in use. If you already have one, leave it unplugged.
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You will not single-handedly melt the polar ice cap through profligate kettle use, but consider this: 97 per cent of UK households have a kettle, and as the number of households rises, electricity consumption by kettles will rise, too. This particular appliance can’t get much more energy efficient, but consumers – you and me – can. It’s up to us.