Once upon a time there was a Water Boiler called Winston and a Kettle called Karl …

by Fern Shaw | Apr 24, 2013 | Water Boilers

Then the book keeper received the electricity bill and almost blew a gasket. He asked the office manager to conduct some research, specifically to do with using a water boiler (entrance stage right: Winston) vs. using a kettle (Karl already on stage).

The office manager faffed a bit, then did a bit of internet research and came across Winston’s claim to fame on the AquAid website.

Here’s what he discovered:

Q: How can an AquAid Water Boiler save you money?

A: You no longer have to waste time waiting for a kettle to boil.

An average 3kW kettle takes 4 minutes to boil and if all the water in each kettle is actually used, it will produce 5 mugs of hot water.

Scenario: If you have 20 staff that each have 4 hot drinks per day (80 mugs), the kettle will be boiled a minimum of 16 times. It will probably be boiled more often as no-one ever empties it entirely each time they use it. So assuming they do actually use all the water every time, the kettle is boiled 16 times a day

… 16 x 4 minutes = 64 minutes (or let’s say an hour).

If the person, or the people who make the hot drinks are on a salary of £20,000pa and they work a 40-hour week, their hourly wage is £9.62/hour.  You are paying £9.62 per day whilst the person waits for the kettle to boil.

£9.62 x 5 days = £48.10 per week
£48.10 x 52 weeks = £2501.20 per year
30 staff, 120 mugs a day = £3751.80 per year
40 staff, 160 mugs a day = £5002.40 per year
And so on …

Energy Consumption:

In terms of actual energy consumption, there is very little difference between a kettle and an AquAid water boiler. In fact, the boiler becomes cheaper to run the more people use it; Unit of Electricity in kW/h = 12 pence (approximately)

Karl the Kettle:

An average kettle is 3kW and takes 4 minutes (0.07 hours) to boil.

So 3kW x 0.07h = 0.21 kWh, 0.21 x 12p = 2.5p

So it costs 2.5p to boil a kettle of water. If all the water in the kettle is used it will produce 5 mugs of hot water.

Taking the same scenario; if you have 20 staff that have 4 mugs a day each, that’s 80 mugs so the kettle is boiled a minimum of 16 times.

So 20 staff, 80 mugs, 16 boils 16 x 2.5p = 40p per day
30 staff, 120 mugs, 24 boils 24 x 2.5p = 60p per day
40 staff, 160 mugs, 32 boils 32 x 2.5p = 80p per day

and so on … 

Winston the Water Boiler:

Standby (Idle mode): The electrical consumption of the AquAid 2.1 (5 – Litre) 3kW boiler, whilst on standby is 0.07kW/h, which means it will use one unit of electricity (12p) in 14 hours (0.86p per hour), or 20.6p per day.

Energy usage (when in use): The AquAid 2.1 is designed so that it only boils the water that is used each time. It will run for approximately 30 seconds for each mug of water drawn-off … 1 minute for 2 mugs, 2 minutes for 4 mugs …

So for 20 staff, requiring 80 mugs it will be on for 40 minutes (0.66 hours) throughout the day;

So 3kW x 0.66h = 1.98kWh 1.98 x 12p = 23.7p

Add this to the standby amount of 20.6p per day gives a total of;

For 20 staff, 80 mugs; 44.3p per day
For 30 staff, 120 mugs; 56.6p per day
For 40 staff, 160 mugs; 68.5p per day

So, the story ended with Winston finding a new workspace in Oughtibridge where he kept a staff contingent of 22 very happy with piping hot (but regulated by law temperature wise) water on demand and …

We hear Karl retired to Kilgetty where he snoozes the evenings away and only flips his lid very occasionally during the day when he’s required to boil water for a cuppa ….

And they all lived happily ever after.

Water Boiler – History of the Water Boiler / Heater

by Fern Shaw | Feb 22, 2013 | Water Boilers

298 AD – 306 AD There has been evidence of Romans built large baths with heated water and although these were not individual water heaters, this was a first step towards water heating.

At the height of its power the Roman Empire had conquered most of Europe, including about 1,600 square miles of Britain, its farthest outpost. And in the ruins of Aquae Sulis, the famed spas of Bath, lay the vestige of the rise and fall, and redevelopment of plumbing technique.

By the time the Romans reached Britain in 43 A.D., the curative powers of the hot baths were already part of English legend. Back in 863 B.C., the waters had supposedly healed the leprosy of its Celtic discoverer, Prince Bladud (the father of King Lear, who was to be immortalized by Shakespeare).  Bladud founded the city of Bath, and dedicated the springs to the goddess Minerva. The Roman name of Aquae Sulis means “Waters of Minerva.”

Aquae Sulis was at a strategic crossroads for the Roman troops, and the natural hot springs made it a logical setting for the baths of the Emperor Claudius. In addition, the springs produced a constant supply of soothing mineral waters, heated by nature to a temperature of 46.5 C. Important too was that available sources of building stone and lead were close by.

Following Roman custom, Claudius developed Aquae Sulis in the image of the great baths back home, but scaled in size to its smaller location. At that, the complex must have comprised approximately 23 acres.

Fast forward many centuries to London, England, where, in 1868,  a painter named Benjamin Waddy Maughan, invented the first instantaneous domestic water heater that didn’t use solid fuel.

Named the ‘geyser’ after an Icelandic gushing hot spring, Maughan’s invention made cold water at the top flow through wires that were heated by hot gases from a burner at the bottom. Hot water then flowed into a sink or tub. The invention was somewhat dangerous because there was no flue to remove heated gases from the bathroom.

Not much more is known about Maughn’s invention; however, his invention influenced the work of a Norwegian mechanical engineer named Edwin Ruud, who, in 1889 was the inventor of the automatic storage water heater.

Ruud emigrated to Pittsburgh where he pioneered the early development of both residential and commercial water heaters.

He founded the Ruud Manufacturing Company which is still in existence today.

 1890 to present – Many different designs of water heaters and boilers were invented around the turn of the century, including electric and solar water heaters.

The next blog will introduce us to the modern day water boiler and the differences in terminology, usage and available options..