As we’re all putting increased efforts into living a more sustainable life, energy-efficient alternatives have been popping up for pretty much all our household essentials, from oven alternatives to cheaper heating options. And kettles are no exception either.
A kettle requires between 1200W and 3000W to boil, and all those cups of tea and coffee can add up to have an impact on your energy usage over time. If you’re looking to reduce your energy consumption and your carbon footprint, consider replacing your current model with an eco kettle.
How we tested eco kettles
Our testing was based on boiling 500ml water – enough to fill two average-sized mugs – to 100ºC, and we awarded each model up to 15 points for the following criteria:
Energy efficiency;
Including whether the kettle offers a rapid boil function, different temperature settings and a keep warm feature (3 points)
Features;
Points awarded for water level window, boil-dry protection, auto shut-off, cordless design, 360º base, built-in filter, hidden element and ease of pouring (8 points)
Value for money;
Does it offer plenty of features, and does it come with a warranty? (2 points)
Good looks;
Is the kettle stylish, and does it come in any different finishes? (2 points)
FEATURES:
1.5 Litres
Voice activated
Auto shut-off
Temperature range from 40-100
Cordless design
360 base
Hidden element
Power-on indicator
Two year warranty
Marketed as the world’s first smart kettle, the obvious pro with this model is that you can control it using your voice or via the Alexa app. Although this does come with some quirks folks, which I’m prepared to admit might be down to my proficiency using Alexa: I found she wasn’t willing to turn on the kettle if I asked her ‘to make me a cup of tea’ as advertised… but she was happy to respond if I asked her to simply ‘turn on the kettle’ or ‘boil the kettle’. Having reread the manual, it turns out you can teach Alexa to activate using favourite phrases, so I will try this and report back.
In addition to this, you can set schedules for when the kettle will automatically boil – for those over 40, think modern TeasMade that will sync with your phone alarm. It all boils down (excuse the pun) if you embrace all other smart home tech or not. Though it was fun to talk to the kettle (up to a point), as you must take the kettle to the tap to fill it up with water, it really wasn’t too arduous to press the switch in the old-fashioned way. However, if you love doing thing via an app from your phone, then it’s the kettle for you.
You can also check water levels, but if you don’t do this via the app, there’s no way of seeing how full the kettle is by simply looking at it – you would have to open the lid and look in, which means you’re at the kettle and you may as well turn it on!
In terms of ‘setting up’, in theory, it’s easy enough – use the QR code to find the kettle and follow the steps – but it took several attempts for me to get Alexa to recognise the kettle, and I resorted to downloading the app a few times and turning off the phone to see if that helped. I did get there in the end.
How energy efficient is the Swan Kettle (2 out of 3)
It ticks two of the three boxes from an energy efficient point of view, as there is a wide choice of temperatures, so you can boil the kettle to the temperature you need as opposed to the max temperature. It also will automatically keep water warm for two hours, and it will shut down after 10 minutes of inactivity. However, with 1.5-1.8 KW power, it’s much slower to boil than other kettles on test, (many of the more eco models featuring 3KW power).
Is the Swan Alexa kettle good value for money?
Obviously given the smart tech, this is the more expensive kettle we tested, but it comes with a two-year warranty – as many kettles on test did – and has plenty of features to make it good value. However, if you’re not a tech-head and won’t make the most of the Alexa compatibility, it’s not worth the heftier price tag.
How does the Swan Alexa kettle look?
Sadly, this kettle won’t win any awards on the style front. The glossy black finish is a magnet for fingerprints, and overall the design and finish looks quite cheap, which is surprsing for Swan as they have plenty of well-designed kettles in their range. However, this is about the smart technology, though in an ideal world, that wouldn’t mean that it had to compromise on style.
Should I buy it?
Yes, if everything else in your house is operated via your home and you’re keen on the eco credentials, but if you’re after something stylish then probably give it a miss.
