High Energy Costs

[flotsam]

I'm guessing the high costs are, partly at least, to encourage the masses to spend their own money on solar panels and wind-turbines.

Anyway, the propaganda has been pushing induction hobs, so I did some reading. Apparently, my ceramic hob would take 0.203kWhs to boil a pan of water, whilst an induction hob would only take 0.117kWhs. I was more sceptical about induction kettles being more efficient than an electric kettle with a claim that the electric element is 80% efficient and the induction kettle (sitting on an induction hob) is 85~90% efficient. But now I might believe it.

I bought an induction hob off eBay for £26 and after switching on, put my hand above the pan. My reaction was the same as Leonardo diCaprio's in The Quick and the Dead after he got shot. LIKE INSTANTANEOUS! How is that even possible? My ceramic hob with the large ring having the same power about 2.2kW takes about half a minute.

[flotsam]

I estimated it would pay for itself in 90 days, but having tried it out, perhaps even sooner.

[Malc1]

and the Quooker concept . seems to boil water too coming outta the tap  BUT  cost to install I'm told about £2k  .  yep you heard it  £2k .....  and you have to be very very very careful using the boiling water facility .  it's easy to splash and burn you know ....  so take great care if you have one installed 

I still use my electric kettle for tea etc ....  capital cost about £15      2 years back

Malc

[flotsam]

Yeah, I'd prefer a gas hob. But I've got a ceramic hob which is slow to heat up and slow to cool down. Ceramics are not a good heat conductor.

The time saved using the Induction hob alone makes it worth it.

[Malc1]

14 minutes ago, flotsam said:

the Induction hob alone makes it worth it.

can you tell us the capital cost of supply and installation of this new hob .......  to determine somehow ?? the true cost of electricity / gas cost savings maybe 

Malc

[flotsam]

 

On 1/28/2023 at 11:38 AM, Malc1 said:

can you tell us the capital cost of supply and installation of this new hob .......  to determine somehow ?? the true cost of electricity / gas cost savings maybe 

Malc

As I first posted, £26. It's a portable single-ring hob weighing less than a bag of sugar.

[flotsam]

It's already paid for itself in the time I save.

It's got a timer, unlike my ceramic halogen hob, so I don't have to watch the pan.

Plus, it's so quick the food gets properly cooked because I don't lose patience. I even have to turn the power down to it's lowest setting of 200W whilst the food is cooking. It's great!!! It makes all other electric hobs obsolete.

Next, I'm eyeing a Battery power station for my PC, using LiFePo4 batteries as they don't suffer from thermal-runaway and last longer than Li-ion. But it would take a lot longer to justify the cost. There's one I've found which also acts as a UPS, switching from mains to Battery in 30ms. Other than the fridge-freezer and lighting, there's not much else I use.

[ALAW]

I have a single portable induction hob it is very quick to bring a pan of water to the boil. I will definitely get a new induction hob to replace my gas hob when renewing the kitchen. You must make sure your pans are ferritic with the base the flatter and smoother the better. Happy cooking.

[Malc1]

so an induction hob and ferrous / iron based pans are the way to go  ??

The convenience of an electric kettle to boil for tea is now off the menu ?    maybe a kettle is easier to move around and takes up less storage space and this convenience has a price worth paying ?

I don't know !

Malc

[flotsam]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:14 PM, ALAW said:

I have a single portable induction hob it is very quick to bring a pan of water to the boil. I will definitely get a new induction hob to replace my gas hob when renewing the kitchen. You must make sure your pans are ferritic with the base the flatter and smoother the better. Happy cooking.

Yep, as I said it makes other electric hobs obsolete. I'm guessing the others are cheaper. Pans have to have a flat base and stick to a magnet. Otherwise, you can buy a steel disc to put inside non-ferrous pans.

[flotsam]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:22 AM, Malc1 said:

so an induction hob and ferrous / iron based pans are the way to go  ??

The convenience of an electric kettle to boil for tea is now off the menu ?    maybe a kettle is easier to move around and takes up less storage space and this convenience has a price worth paying ?

I don't know !

Malc

No, I still use my electric kettle as it's more convenient than a pan for boiling water and it's only slightly less efficient.

[VFR]

We bought this item ……………. https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-hob-2-zones-white-90497166/

The place we moved into has an old electric hob type thing that is useless that I would pull out and throw into the nearest skip if I could. 

This hob is quick and you can move it to any place you wish, plus it from Ikea and they sell good kit (IMO)

Same applied to the oven as one look and we went out and bought a Tower Air Fryer, what a neat thing this is as well. Again you can put it where you want, at the height you want and real easy to clean / use. 

The only downside is that any old pots & pans will not work on an induction hob as they need to be made for induction use. 

[Las Palmas]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:49 AM, flotsam said:

It's already paid for itself in the time I save.

Time is worth more than money.

 

On 2/1/2023 at 11:14 PM, ALAW said:

I have a single portable induction hob it is very quick to bring a pan of water to the boil. I will definitely get a new induction hob to replace my gas hob when renewing the kitchen. You must make sure your pans are ferritic with the base the flatter and smoother the better. Happy cooking.

Do not believe any heating source is faster than a flame from gas.

 

8 hours ago, flotsam said:

No, I still use my electric kettle as it's more convenient than a pan for boiling water and it's only slightly less efficient.

But takes up space that can be used to other things.

[Herbie]

45 minutes ago, VFR said:

Same applied to the oven as one look and we went out and bought a Tower Air Fryer,

 

[Mr Vlad]

Ceramic hobs are basically s#it. They take an age to warm up. It's Ceramic bricks in storage heaters. Induction hobs are instant heat just like a halogen oven. 

For a hob Gas is best but Induction is as good Except you need pots and pans specific for Induction. From memory the base of these pots etc are thicker to stop warpage. 

For oven Electric is best. Fan type.

I worked for Hotpoint years ago and have delivered 10's of thousands of appliances and saw how tech changed and when Induction came out. It was ruddy expensive then. But 29 quid now for one sheeeess.

[flotsam]

On 2/4/2023 at 3:21 PM, Las Palmas said:

Do not believe any heating source is faster than a flame from gas.

Actually electric furnances in the steel industry are supposed to be quicker to heat up. Induction heats the pan directly and I'd say was quicker than gas.

[flotsam]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:49 PM, Mr Vlad said:

From memory the base of these pots etc are thicker to stop warpage. 

Yes, you can buy an induction heat diffuser. Some are place under the pan. Others are placed inside the pan but they warn that you have to cover them with liquids, presumably because if you try to heat them up without, they will warp.

[flotsam]

The Daily Telegraph offered a list of energy savings devices: "11 of the best energy-saving products that every home needs this winter". 

But it's the usual bad advice. All the products were ridiculously expensive, because the Telegraph makes money from advertising. But there was no mention of an induction hob despite the HUGE savings in electricity.

[Bluemarlin]

4 hours ago, flotsam said:

But it's the usual bad advice. All the products were ridiculously expensive, because the Telegraph makes money from advertising. But there was no mention of an induction hob despite the HUGE savings in electricity.

GIven the price of electricity, the energy companies should provide the appliances free, on say a two year contract, like mobile phone companies do 🙂

[First_Lexus]

My last new build house came with a built in induction hob. I had to change my saucepans as has been noted, but…

…I hated it! It was a NEFF and it did heat up instantly, but it was very difficult to control. It seemed to be either ‘on’ and really hot or not hot enough to keep things simmering.

Accepting I was used to a gas hob - and having moved again I have gas again now - but induction wasn’t for me I’m afraid. I lived with it for five years and never found it very user friendly. Perhaps they’ve improved, but the (very expensive) one I had wasn’t great.

 

[Malc1]

someone saying that a gas cooker / stove is best for cooking and expense of running ??

I've been looking for a 1960's one for a few years now to replace my old electric cooker 

BUT  we now also have an NEFF  AirFryer and WOW it ain't arf effective and quick and produces excellent ( economic ? ?) results ...  Cheese on toast from the AirFryer is just BRILL !

How the overall running costs compare I have no idea  ....  but I would still buy a 1960's gas stove with an eye level grill if i could find a sensible one local'ish ( Sheppey anyone ? ) 

Mine is now ..........electric kettle for tea, coffee machine for her specialist style coffees  .....  I'm ok with instant of some sort and for my porridge every morning a short heat up in a stainless pan on the electric hob to produce an excellent and tasty outcome  ......  set me up for the morning ..  and to get me going for a morning swim 

Capital Costs to replace ok usable gadgets can wait a while methinks

Malc

[First_Lexus]

46 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

BUT  we now also have an NEFF  AirFryer and WOW it ain't arf effective and quick and produces excellent ( economic ? ?) results ...  Cheese on toast from the AirFryer is just BRILL !

I keep being tempted to buy an air fryer…you’re not helping Malc!

[Mr Vlad]

Blimey Malc a 60's type grill over cooker. They were Great.

I'm a halogen oven user. It's made my single built-in gas oven redundant. Electric kettle fast boil for tea and coffee, i switch it off just as it starts to boil. Only put just over a cup full in. Nespresso machine for fancy coffee. Gas hob for Full control of the frying pan. Oh and a 4 slice toaster.

[flotsam]

The Guardian reports: "Energy prices to soar again as Jeremy Hunt rejects pleas to halt rise"

[First_Lexus]

1 hour ago, flotsam said:

The Guardian reports: "Energy prices to soar again as Jeremy Hunt rejects pleas to halt rise"

I think that’s referring to the government not renewing the energy bills support scheme once it ends (the scheme that Liz Truss implemented that gives us all £66 per month or thereabouts). As I understand it only ‘the most vulnerable’ will continue to receive support. I heard a piece on radio yesterday noting that the actual cost of energy should start to fall, but only to c£2200 annually against a cap of £3000 currently.

It’s politically and ethically tricky for a government to be doing that in the face of BP and Shell record profit announcements…as the politicians say, “…the optics aren’t great.” You can say that again!

I’ve been lucky up to now, as I had a long term fixed rate with Eon. That ends in March. I’ve already had the message from them that my energy cost, which was c£700 for the last twelve months will rise to c£2700 for the next twelve!

Yikes!