Kettles: How we test kettles
Boiling times and energy use
We fill each kettle with 1 litre of water at a temperature of 15 degrees celsius, and place a temperature probe into the centre of the water.
We then boil the kettles, recording the temperature reached at the time the kettle automatically switched itself off and how long it took. We test each kettle three times to find an average boiling time and temperature.
We then calculate the average amount of energy used by each kettle.
Overboil
We boil a litre of water in each kettle and once it reaches its average boiling temperature, we time how long the kettle continues to boil before switching itself off.
We monitored how long each kettle took to boil
We can then work out how much extra energy the kettle uses when it continues to boil before automatically switching off.
Noise
We measure noise levels whilst each kettle is boiling, and also get a listening panel to rate how intrusive the noise is.
Ease of use
Our expert panel pour cup after cup, filling each of the kettles to a number of levels including their maximum and minimum in order to assess how easy they are to lift, fill, carry, and pour.
Ease of cleaning
Not all kettles stay shiny for long - some attract fingerprints.
We check whether the body of the kettles shows finger marks easily, and how easy these are to remove.
Extra features
We also note any features which might make life easier, such as long cords, cool-touch bodies and wide-opening lids.
