Even the common kettle can become more efficient

Shane Hickey provides an interesting article in The Guardian on the redesigned kettle. Two designers are convinced their new kettle will revolutionise the way we heat food and drastically reduce energy consumption.

Boiling point: redesigning the kettle for the 21st century

When Nils Chudy came up with the idea of redesigning the domestic kettle just over a year ago he was struck by how little this vital organ of all kitchens had altered over the years. “Five thousand images, all of the same kettle. Bit of a different shape or bit of a different colour or bit of a different material, but somehow they are all the same,” he said.

Along with wanting to change the look of the appliance, Chudy, 24, a designer from Germany, had also become frustrated with the energy waste involved with boiling a kettle when only some of the water is used. The outcome was the Miito, a “kettle” on which you place a cup, mug or jug and heat the liquid inside via a rod immersed in the water (or soup or baby food).

When Chudy was wondering how he could overhaul the design, he took apart a popcorn machine and coffee machine, but found inspiration instead from the induction cooker at his parents’ home.

He said: “There is the induction base on the bottom. It sends out this electromagnetic field, a field of energy that only heats ferrous materials – meaning only things that contain iron, for example steel. It sends out this electromagnetic field and the rod is the only part that gets heated up because it is iron based.

“Any glass that you would put on it is not heated [neither is] stone or porcelain – ceramics in general. With the induction base you put the glass or vessel on it and put the stick inside and the only thing that gets heated is the bottom disk of the stick.”

Over the last year Chudy and design partner Jasmina Grase have developed a prototype of the two-part kettle. The kettle’s rod is cool when it rests on the 18cm-diameter base but when picked up and placed into a cup or jug of water or soup, which is then placed on the base, the device starts heating the rod. As the fluid reaches the right temperature, the rod is taken out and placed back on the base and the unit switches itself off. The upper third of the rod is insulated so that it can be handled easily.

The designers think conventional kettles are poorly designed. While the average amount of water needed for a cup of tea is about 250ml, the minimum‑fill line of most kettles is 500ml, meaning half the hot water gets wasted.

Chudy was inspired by Leyla Acaroglu, a sustainability campaigner who says that two-thirds of people in the UK who drink tea overfill their kettles. One day of this excess energy use is enough to power the streetlights in London for a night, she says.

Chudy said: “It is less about wasting water because – especially in the middle European area – there is a lot of water. But it is absolutely more about wasting electricity because electric kettles need so much electricity, so much power.”

The design’s capability of heating soup and food for babies as well as a coffee in a cup means the invention has left the kettle far behind, said Grase, 26.

“It is actually not a kettle any more. It is a different way of heating liquids. It is not this giant hunk of plastic which sits on the worktop in the kitchen.”

A prototype has been made, but the device is still a long way off reaching the shelves. The expected price tag would be about £80.

At present the rod is made of iron but the designers intend to make one from stainless steel or iron coated in a material that is safe for food. “We know that it can work. Saucepans work. There is also an iron core in them that is food safe,” said Chudy.

At present, to use the Miito you need to pick up the heating rod once the liquid has reached the preferred temperature. But Chudy and Grase are examining how they can regulate the temperature so that it switches off reacting to various fluids; turning off at, for instance, 40C with baby food, or at 70C with green tea.

That ability to heat water to a specific level for green tea – after which the brew becomes bitter – is one unexpected use, which has prompted interest in the product. Hotels have also inquired about it because of it being a discreet appliance for rooms. And, added Grase, parents have said that, compared with the inconsistency of microwaves, the device could work well for children’s food.

“It is the silent help in your kitchen which will be there every day. That is why the design is minimal but hopefully fully efficient, and that is also where people will fall in love with it because it is so simple,” said Chudy.

In an ideal scenario their invention would be in the shops by the end of summer 2016 – depending on their progress towards the final product and how they navigate the regulatory obstacles in the meantime. So far, they have been financed by friends and family but a crowdfunding campaign is expected for the next stages.