3 Kilowatt hours

I was thinking about the energy cost of making beer today, probably because I had to switch out a propane tank mid boil. I should track how often I have to switch out the tank, to determine how much is spent on propane for each batch.

It's easy to figure out how much electricity I use to heat my strike water. It's a 1000 watt heater, and it takes 3 hours to heat the water from tap temperature to strike temperature. 3 kilowatt hours. Our rates are about 11 cents a kilowatt hour, so it costs me 33¢ to heat my mash water. Not to bad, it's got to be cheaper than heating it via natural gas on the stove or on the propane burner outside, because it's a lot more efficient. I'm heating the water directly, not the pot, and there's a lot less waste heat.

I should probably buy a cover for my boil kettle, to keep heat in until I get up to boiling temperatures. Insulation for the kettle and HLT are probably a good investment too.