3 ms·

> I never had a load of more than 3.5kW Different issues over the pond, my kettle can draw 3kW :) Since so many of my countryfolk have something similar, this

by IanCal 12y ago

> I never had a load of more than 3.5kW Different issues over the pond, my kettle can draw 3kW :) Since so many of my countryfolk have something similar, this actually causes our energy production quite severe issues when popular TV shows finish. Often a 200-400 MW spike but at the end of the 1990 world cup semi final penalty shootout against Germany, there was a spike of 2.8GW. An interesting example of some of the problems that could be solved at least to a large degree by local batteries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_pickup I wonder if this will move more from ones in the home to ones placed by the national grid. While every house on my road might have one, and it's not enough to cover the load from a kettle, one for the whole street could cover it just fine as long as we don't boil them at an identical time (the worst case there is basically equivalent to the normal case for individual batteries).

roel_v 12y ago
"Different issues over the pond" Well depending on which pond you're talking about, we're actually on the same side :) " my kettle can draw 3kW :)" True, you have some special circumstances in your country. You'd still be better off with a boiling water tap, the cost of which (even when amortized over only a few years) is the same as using a kettle (when accounting for all costs - lost energy, water, installation costs etc). So for somebody implementing this in the UK, they'd have to budget for an additional 1500 pound up front cost - which has the potential to turn into a cost saver after 5-10 years (probably closer to 5, depending on how fast energy costs will rise - which I think is fair to expect will be at a higher-than-linear rate).
Florin_Andrei 12y ago
> my kettle can draw 3kW Pretty awesome for when you want that coffee ready in like 30 seconds flat, huh?
- IanCal 12y ago
  A 2 or 3 kW kettle is pretty common in the UK. We enjoy a good queue, but not to have to wait for a cuppa.

by IanCal 12y ago

roel_v 12y ago

"Different issues over the pond" Well depending on which pond you're talking about, we're actually on the same side :) " my kettle can draw 3kW :)" True, you have some special circumstances in your country. You'd still be better off with a boiling water tap, the cost of which (even when amortized over only a few years) is the same as using a kettle (when accounting for all costs - lost energy, water, installation costs etc). So for somebody implementing this in the UK, they'd have to budget for an additional 1500 pound up front cost - which has the potential to turn into a cost saver after 5-10 years (probably closer to 5, depending on how fast energy costs will rise - which I think is fair to expect will be at a higher-than-linear rate).

Florin_Andrei 12y ago

> my kettle can draw 3kW Pretty awesome for when you want that coffee ready in like 30 seconds flat, huh?

IanCal 12y ago
A 2 or 3 kW kettle is pretty common in the UK. We enjoy a good queue, but not to have to wait for a cuppa.