The Quickest Way to Tea!

Well, let’s get this right out of the way: the quickest way to tea—regardless of your fuel source—does not involve a 10-year-old or a dog. It definitely does not include both.  Everyone was all excited to help with filming until they realized it was watching water boil!  So, if you remove the external chaos factors, an induction cooktop gets you to your teatime a smidge faster than gas.

Both trials involved a ¾ full tea pot, with room temperature water, in a cool pot. With gas we set the temperature to med-high, otherwise the flames came out from around the pot, and for the induction cooker we set the temperature to ‘boil’.  Then we waited. The gas brought the water to boil in six minutes and eight seconds while the induction clocked in 20 seconds quicker at five minutes and 48 seconds. Is 20 seconds that big a difference?  Well, when you work from home and have a rambunctious 4th grader on holiday break and a doodle at your feet all day…yes, Yes it is.

The real question is does 20 seconds justify the cost of an induction cooktop if your home is already fitted for natural gas?  No, probably not. And that’s the rub: my home is run largely on natural gas.  My cooktop and oven, my water waters (yup, two of them), my heater, fireplace, and dryer were all piped for natural gas when I bought this home five years ago.  My situation is a bit unique in that I purchased from an avid, albeit inept, DIY-er which left the electrical wiring in a state of total madness.  To update my home to be fully electric, or really just even partially electric, would mean thousands of dollars in electrical repairs.  Of course, I understand the cost benefit savings of moving to electric units from a monthly bill perspective, but the ROI doesn’t pencil out.  For me.  Part of the cost offsets, today, depends largely on the ability to add solar and storage.  Neither are options here, well at least not affordably. You see, the thick shake roof of my house isn’t solar compatible, nor are the 50-year-old elm trees that surround my property.  Integrating solar and storage (the dream of those of us in the industry) would mean at least $15,000 for a new roof and removing the very trees that sold me on this being my dream home.  For this house, for me, total electrification isn’t an answer.  For others it is, and you can read about their experience here, here, and here.  In all three scenarios there’s cost involved—those you go in expecting and others you may not.

Naturally, there’s more to the conversation than 20 seconds faster to teatime. The indoor air quality benefits of moving to electric cooking are well documented.  The personal desire to move away from fossil fuels is real and valid.  But that goes both ways.  The choice to not transition is also real and valid.  For many that choice comes down to cost.  In my role some may rightly question me for not jumping on the early adoption train to electrification.   I advocate, loudly, to the benefits of electrification and decarbonization.  The SJVCEO is supporting the state’s goals through our programs and platform.  But I can’t justify the cost for my own home.  And that’s my right.  And that’s really the right of every customer in California.  Even as a working professional the cost to transition is beyond my resources.

So, what are those of us who believe in moving towards more electrification but not able to afford the transition to do?  Well, in terms of boiling water, plug-in induction cooktops are readily and affordably available.  The cooktop I borrowed through PG&E’s loaner program is available for under $150. And while it isn’t the silver bullet to my whole house issue, nothing is.  But it is a start. And 20 seconds is still 20 seconds closer to hot tea and a good book!