Buying guides

How to choose a kettle or toaster, what the specifications actually mean, and which features are worth paying for.

Image of A matt black electric kettle on a worktop in dim early morning light with a single mug beside it and the rest of the house dark and still behind
Quiet kettles: why kettles are loud, and what actually makes one quieter

A kettle is loudest just before it boils, not when it boils. That is the key to the whole subject,...

Image of A stainless steel electric kettle on a worktop beside a single white mug, filled only to the minimum line in its water window, with coins and an energy bill out of focus behind
Energy efficient kettles: what actually saves money, and what does not

Almost every electric kettle turns 80 to 90 per cent of the electricity it draws into heat in the water,...