[thedoc (OP)]

Aaron David Fuller asked the Naked Scientists:
   HI, I have a suggestion for a kitchen science experiment - basically it's to work out the 'power consumption' of a human in watts, using a kitchen kettle and some arithmetic.  I'd be happy to send you the details, if you think it would be useful.
What do you think?

[alancalverd]

Pray tell us more!

[RD]

... to work out the 'power consumption' of a human in watts, using a kitchen kettle and some arithmetic.

The energy-consumption of a person is the calorific value of their diet , ( assuming they do not lose or gain weight ). 

Maybe you're using an electric kettle as a bomb calorimeter to measure the calories in some foods ?

Pray tell us more!

+1

[alancalverd]

It's about 120 - 150 watts. Interestingly, almost all warmblooded animals run at about 2 watts per kilogram of body weight. And unsurprisingly, 10% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide comes from humans breathing.