With temperatures at a record low, many households are using their electrical kettle to get on the road this week.
However, the Irish Mirror reports that motorists are spending 20 cents every morning by using a boiled kettle to remove ice.
The news outlet claims that the "cost of boiling a kettle is 6.7 cents per five-minute boil" and researchers estimate that many motorists use three kettle loads to clear their windscreens.
Moreover, the national power supply network, Eirgrid, has reported a surge in energy use during this cold spell.
A spokesperson for Eirgrid told the Irish Mirror that they experienced a new all-time record for electricity demand on Monday of this week. "During what was a very cold day, demand soared to 5504 megawatts at 5.30pm, he said. He explained that demand for electricity peaks between 5 pm and 7 pm as "people return from work, school 3etc and turn on appliances"
While the average cost of boiling a kettle is not as high as other appliances (circa 0.07 cents per boil), motorists are advised not to use boiling hot water on their car windscreens, as this may cause the glass to crack. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast Briefing, Paddy Comyn of the AA said "our AA patrols are often called out to people because they have put a fresh kettle of boiling water across their windscreen, and it cracks windscreens quite a lot."
Rather than using boiling water, motorists should use "warm water or some anti-freeze spray if you have it"
