That's probably right. Well Designed transformer could beat 90%, class C oscillator 80%; but a consumer microwave is heavily Cost Constrained, also it must face a load from zero to a whole turkey and can't be optimally tuned for all loads.
The advantage of the microwave is you don't have to put fire or hot rocks directly against food, and it is not so limited by food thermal conduction. However water won't be burned or charred and convection gives effective thermal mixing. As said, a dumb electric heater (waterproof) will be 95+% efficient (some loss out leads and through cup) and also a ton cheaper (a 100W coil used to be under $1, though they are notorious for shorting-out with possible side-damage). Small kettle is a thing.
But it is hard to justify it from electric bill savings. Aside from the global cost of mining and refining another 300 grams of polystyrene and nichrome.
Did the test. 350ml water. Start temp unknown, whatever the tap spits out. Kettle nominally 2400W but I may be slightly high on voltage here. 57 seconds from button down to click, although water was boiling a few seconds before that as takes time for steam to reach the bimetallic element. So 136800J . Your calculation for heat required to just raise the water temp is 116400J making my kettle 82% efficient. However error margin on when the water actually boiled gives a max efficiency of high 80s.
In the good old days we could get 3kW elements then we were 'aligned' with rest of europe (aka one less SKU).
In the good old days we could get 3kW elements then we were 'aligned' with rest of europe (aka one less SKU).
That makes me VERY bad for the planet
Just make sure they all get advanced degrees, the academic-induced celibacy will at least stretch out the generations and reduce the number of grandkids you have.
I find water boiled in a kettle makes much better tea than hot water heated to boiling in the microwave, it also looks and behaves significantly differently - I believe there is a significant difference in the amount of trapped gasses in the water which might account for this. (Tea made with microwaved water is frothy and tastes subtly different) It's not a big deal, but it is why I boil a small kettle on my gas stove every morning rather than microwave it.
Everything DPH says makes perfect sense, and it makes no sense from the perspective of saving energy even on Hawaii, but... it might make sense from the perspective of the subjective enjoyment of your morning coffee.
Everything DPH says makes perfect sense, and it makes no sense from the perspective of saving energy even on Hawaii, but... it might make sense from the perspective of the subjective enjoyment of your morning coffee.
To be fair, I won't argue the intangibles of the enjoyment at all, and presented the analysis purely on energy efficiency/resource use.
Personally, I jumpstart my moka pot by microwaving the water in the mug I will then drink out of. It means I measure out my water at night so less to think about, and radiant heaters don't work well on stainless moka pots, which have a large dimple in the bottom surface, so preheating is a speed-up. (Yes, I think it's a ridiculous routine, too)
Personally, I jumpstart my moka pot by microwaving the water in the mug I will then drink out of. It means I measure out my water at night so less to think about, and radiant heaters don't work well on stainless moka pots, which have a large dimple in the bottom surface, so preheating is a speed-up. (Yes, I think it's a ridiculous routine, too)
The key is you enjoy the end result.
Much bigger wins can be had by turning the AC a degree warmer, and buying a more fuel efficient automobile when the current one disintegrates from old age and long use.
About 80% of the lamps in our house that are in regular use are now LED which I view as offsetting some of the energy consumption of my fleet of class A vacuum tube amps - which to be fair also heat the basement during the 8 months of New England winter. (It's still winter here )
Much bigger wins can be had by turning the AC a degree warmer, and buying a more fuel efficient automobile when the current one disintegrates from old age and long use.
About 80% of the lamps in our house that are in regular use are now LED which I view as offsetting some of the energy consumption of my fleet of class A vacuum tube amps - which to be fair also heat the basement during the 8 months of New England winter. (It's still winter here
)
The greenest thing you can do is not reproduce......just saying
Oh well, there is no point crying over spilt milk.
I received an AICOK for Chirstmas and am quite happy with it in conjunction with my 1L SS French Press.
Amazon.com: Electric Kettle Fast Boiling Glass Tea Kettle with LED Light Indicator, 1.7L 1500W Cordless Water Kettle with Auto Shut-Off and Boil-Dry Protection, BPA-Free By Aicok: Home & Kitchen
Amazon.com: Electric Kettle Fast Boiling Glass Tea Kettle with LED Light Indicator, 1.7L 1500W Cordless Water Kettle with Auto Shut-Off and Boil-Dry Protection, BPA-Free By Aicok: Home & Kitchen
Weird frothy consistency and strange taste. (That's with putting the bag in after microwaving)
I picked up tea drinking from my British grandparents at the age of 7 and haven't stopped.. lol
Electric kettle changed my life, I used to use a teapot on the stove, and even used a ceramic teapot (with candle for heat!) But after changing to our current living arrangements had to go to using the microwave for heating water, and it was definitely an odd hard-to-explain effect on the flavor. Picked up an electric kettle on Amazon and find that for most black tea it works perfectly if you let it come to boil, switch it off to sit for about twenty seconds to cool (metal construction) and pour. Highly recommended if you drink a lot of tea (I'm a two cups a night type of guy, on average) or hot beverages in general.
I need to pick up a French press for coffee soon. I rarely drink coffee, so it's worth the effort.
I need to pick up a French press for coffee soon. I rarely drink coffee, so it's worth the effort.
Hmmm... what kind of wire does your microwave use and is it a grounded plug or just two prong?
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.