At the Ofgem cap rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026, an electric kettle rated 3000W costs about 3.9p a use and £72.05 a year when 3 minutes a time, 5 times a day.
| Per hour of running | 79.0p |
|---|---|
| Per use | 3.9p |
| Per day | 19.7p |
| Per year | £72.05 (274 kWh) |
Calculated at 26.32p per kWh, the capped electricity unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026 on a standard variable tariff paid by direct debit. Electricity carries no VAT in that period, so this is the full unit price. The 54.83p daily standing charge is not included, because you pay that whether or not anything is switched on.
Two things worth knowing about that figure. The cap limits the unit rate, not your bill, so using more still costs more. And it is a Great Britain average: the actual capped rate is set per region, so your own rate could move these numbers either way. It is on your bill.
Kettle has no thermostat cycling it on and off, so the running cost is simply the rated power multiplied by the time it is switched on. Short bursts of high wattage cost less than people expect.
Figures for kettle run from about 2200W to 3000W. Nearly all UK kettles are 2.2kW to 3kW, because a 13A plug caps the draw at about 3kW. A 3kW kettle is not more expensive to run than a 2.2kW one for the same amount of water: it draws more power but for less time, so the energy used is close to identical. What changes the cost is how much water you boil.
Boil only what you need. Filling a 1.7 litre kettle to make one mug wastes roughly two thirds of the energy. Descaling matters in hard water areas because limescale insulates the element, so it runs longer for the same result.
Assuming a higher wattage kettle costs more to run. It heats the same water with the same energy, just faster.
Annual running cost against the appliances closest to it, on the same assumptions. The ordering surprises people: short bursts of very high wattage usually cost less than something modest left on for hours.
| Appliance | Per year |
|---|---|
| Fridge freezer | £103.75 |
| Washing machine | £98.85 |
| Kettle | £72.05 |
| Electric oven | £67.25 |
| Laptop | £46.11 |
Across a year, an electric kettle on these assumptions is about 10.9% of a typical annual electricity bill of £658.00 at these rates.
The figures here use the capped rate. If you are on a fixed tariff, or you want to add several appliances together, put your own unit rate into the energy cost calculator on the homepage.