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[Ricardo]

There are a couple of things I do when heating water.

If I'm making pasta, I'll start with hot water from the tap, assuming it would take more energy for the stove to heat it to that temperature than it did for the hot water tank to get it to that point.

And if I'm making one cup of tea or instant coffee, I'll just put about that much in the kettle. As long as I'm the last one to use it, there won't be much in it because I'm careful not to boil a whole pot for one or two cups.

Are there any thoughts on these strategies, or other ones to save energy heating water for cooking?

[bubble]

I do the same thing when boiling the kettle.

I saw a television program a while back showing some ways to save money. One lady boiled her kettle just once in the morning and saved the rest of the hot water in a thermos flask.

Never tried it myself though!

[bammer]

we do it by having a kettle-full duringthe morning and store the remaining boiled water in a big thermos for the whole day's use. I would advice having a thermos just the size right for the remaining unused boiled water. That way, the temperature would be ensured to be maintained the whole day.

[antkmom]

I have a hot shot.  You put just the amount of water you need in it and it takes about 15 seconds to heat to boiling.  Never waisting any water.

[Lissy]

I do similar things, when I need to boil water for cooking pasta or soup, I'll use hot water from the tap. With tea kettle, I am usually the only one drinking tea, so I'll just have enough water for a cup.

[knight]

Well we use the boiled water we get from the solar panels installed on our roofs. Water in a container there automatically heats the water with sun light hence we rarely boil water in our house.

[KrisNY]

I boil water in the microwave instead of on the stove. It takes 2 minutes tops (for tea, coffee, or cocoa).
I also use hot water to boil a pot of water. I also use hot water when cooking potatoes - doesn't take as long to heat on the stove.

[DianaR]

I use the microwave for boiling water.  It's bubbling in less than a minute, meaning I save 2 minutes bringing it to boil on the gas range.

Since we live at a higher altitude, it takes little longer for water to boil!  It's cheaper to use the microwave than it is to use the gas from the stove.

[Lissy]

I boil water in the microwave instead of on the stove. It takes 2 minutes tops (for tea, coffee, or cocoa).

You know, I have tried that, and I can never get the right temperature. The water tends to get too hot, if I'm not careful, and when I do try to be careful, it is not warm enough.   

[jandi]

When I need hot water for my cofee or ready-to-eat noodles, I just boil water in the microwave. It only takes 1 minute to get the temperature that I want. It probably more cost effective than boiling water on the stove or kettle.

[dwana]

Wow that is a great idea. I would assume the flask would work, but I never thought about it really. Great tip.

[lobster]

really?thanks for the information.I really admired this idea like boiling water in the microwave it's more effective in times we need hot water right now.

[1wahmom]

We also save money by boiling our drinking water and storing it in the fridge. We used to buy two 24 pack cases of water every week and it was starting to really add up. The electric it takes to boil the water is most likely less than we were paying for all those cases of water.

[Ricardo]

That's an interesting point about boiling water in the microwave.

Have you heard of any negative health effects from using microwaves? Once I was in a coffee shop that had a notice on the wall about specifically not using them, due to health concerns. I don't think I've ever heard about that anywhere else.

[KrisNY]

I don't boil water in the microwave.. OK I do heat up my water for hot cocoa in the microwave. I can't imagine using the stove and a tea pot for 1 cup of cocoa.  I have not heard of many dangers of boiling water in the mocrowave. Care to share?