I have had an ‘Owl’ dumb electricity meter for over a decade now. I have always been conscious of energy usage and this little gadget I find very useful. Very recently, I have discovered it also has a function I never knew.

There is a default setting where if it exceeds £2 current use, it has a built in alarm that beeps loudly! It has gone off a few times now, when I have the oven on, kettle & microwave.

I now call it my Putin alarm, and on hearing it, I now salute my Owl by chanting loudly, “F*ck you Putin” 3 times in succession. I have few pleasures in life LOL

Suggestion - Apparently it is cheaper to use a gas kettle than an electric one......

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

by chanting loudly, “F*ck you Putin” 3 times in succession.

You need to be careful he doesn't hear you or he might just accidentally send a missile or two your way 🤣

10 hours ago, Paulkp said:

Suggestion - Apparently it is cheaper to use a gas kettle than an electric one......

mmm... now all I have to do is ditch my oil fired central heating, get gas installed, then buy a 'gas' kettle. Yep, that sure could work out much cheaper LOL

As an aside, Great Britain has about 4% households using oil for heating, in NI it's over 70%. During 'the troubles' there was absolutely no expenditure on infrastructure here, so most are still reliant on oil. This time last year it was 41p/liter, now, it's often over £1/liter with my own tank holding 1400 liters!

Yep, as I said, f*ck you Putin LOL

I have often wondered if it’s cheaper to boil water on my gas hob instead electric kettle. Prior to the energy troubles where I live electricity cost 5 times as much as gas per kWh. Now electric is 3.5 times the price of gas.  An electric kettle is probably quite efficient as most of the energy seems to do directly to heating the water without much waste, but on a gas hob there would be a lot of waste from heat going sideways and upwards and not directly into the water. But I suspect it might still be cheaper on the gas hob if you don’t mind waiting as I estimate the waste would be less than 70% . We need a scientific study. 

3 minutes ago, isetta said:

...We need a scientific study. 

The government would likely give you a grant! 

5 minutes ago, isetta said:

I estimate the waste would be less than 70% . We need a scientific study. 

well if you have a spare 25 minutes here is a fun little video that explores which method of boiling water is the most efficient.

 

14 minutes ago, unofix said:

well if you have a spare 25 minutes here is a fun little video that explores which method of boiling water is the most efficient.

Don't you just love the label on the kettle stating, 'caution - hot!', Americans are so stupid LOL

I’ve just watched most of the the video.  To save others watching it I can tell you that it concludes that an electric kettle is about 84% efficient and that using a kettle on a gas hob uses about three and a half times the amount of energy than an electric kettle. So at current prices where I live it costs about the same but electric kettle is generally quicker which I am sure we all knew. prior to the price rises doing it on the gas hob would have been cheaper. 

23 hours ago, Paulkp said:

Apparently it is cheaper to use a gas kettle than an electric one......

This is from my elder brother - in his seventies. He has solar panels, smart metering, a heat pump and an electric vehicle. Brain the size of a small planet, so he is probably right.

Not watched the video, but I would think it misses the most important point - his wife detests using the gas kettle ! (And probably uses the eectric when he is not at home !)