If you are a coffee lover, I am sure that you need a cup of strong coffee to wake you up every morning. If you have a coffee maker at home, I'm sure you would use it every day, right?
Coffee makers don't use a lot of electricity in the process, but if you need to use it every day at a high frequency, for example, if you own a coffee shop, or if you like to leave your coffee on the heating plate all day, you'll be surprised at how much your energy bill can be!
But, we're not going to give up making coffee just because of this point, so maybe there are ways to slow down the crazy growth of energy bills. As the weather gets colder and a warm cup of coffee is just too blissful, let me share a few ways to save money.
What is coffee maker wattage?
Currently, we can see that there are many different functions of coffee machines, including professional espresso machines, the largest, of course, the electricity consumption is also very objective. There are also smaller ones or coffee machines that only need to use coffee capsules to make a cup of espresso. Want to know exactly what the wattage of the coffee machine is? The most accurate way is to check the manual of the coffee machine.
For example, an espresso machine requires about 1000 to 1500 watts, and it takes 45 seconds to make a cup of espresso, so we need about 0.0156 kilowatts of energy for one cup of espresso.
If you have a small espresso machine, it takes 500 to 1200 watts of energy. Whereas, an automatic espresso machine requires 1000 to 1500 watts.
Or, if you have a small drip coffee machine, it usually requires 550 to 900 watts, and a larger model (about 8 people) requires 750 to 1200 watts of energy.
You may be thinking that it doesn't use much power either. Yes, as I said at the beginning, the use of the process does not generate a lot of power, but the real power consumption is not here, but, any coffee machine that has a function to keep the water warm, power consumption of 60 watts per hour! Mind you, this is a process that we don't need to use, but in the end, we have to pay for it. Do you still think that the power consumption is very little? How should we reduce the unnecessary costs, then keep reading?
Coffee Maker kWh Calculation Method
According to Energy Star, we get some data "estimates of annual household energy use", let's look at the data on the annual energy use of different coffee machines (it must be understood that this data is not the most accurate data but can be used as reference data, after all, there are many product lines on the market, and the use habits of each family are different)
Estimated Household Annual Energy Use & Savings Opportunity
|
Product Type |
Estimated Household Annual Energy Use (kWh) |
Estimated Savings Potential |
|
Drip Filter Coffee Maker (Full 10/12 cup) 100-150 20% |
100-150 |
20% |
|
Single-Serve Coffee Maker 45-65 40% |
45-65 |
40% |
|
Espresso Machine (Pump & Fully Automatic) 30-50 25% |
30-50 |
25% |
|
Espresso Machine (Steam) 10-30 35% |
10-30 |
35% |
From the data, drip coffee machines use the highest amount of energy, reaching 100~150kwh. According to the U.S. energy costs, if the cost per kWh is 13.19 cents, it means an annual cost of $13~20. It doesn't look like much, but compared to other household appliances, it's an amount that can't be ignored and does add to the cost of your bill.
Of course, it should be added that the above table shows the energy consumption generated when brewing coffee, it does not cover the cost of heating time and idle periods. In reality, the cost would be higher.
To get a more realistic feel for these "small costs", I have listed a few common household products for your reference.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh |
| Espresso Machine | 1000-1500 | 0.0156 per shot |
| Window AC Unit | 1400 | 11.36 per day (8hrs use) |
| Dehumidifier | 247 | 3 per day (12hrs use) |
Thankfully, it's only when the espresso machine is brewing that it produces such high wattage.
Why Espresso Machine uses so much Electricity?
Production Principle
The principle of an espresso machine is to use a mixture of high-pressure steam and water to quickly pass through the coffee layer and extract coffee instantly so that the coffee is very hot, low in impurities, and rich in taste. This is a great point of difference from other coffee machines. Can make about 30 seconds to make a cup of espresso, definitely need more energy to make it. (To learn more about how other coffee is made, click on the link to learn more)
Heated Water
As you can understand from the picture, espresso machines need to keep the water warm at all times so that they can make a quick cup of espresso. According to the Department of Energy, 95% of the energy is used to maintain the temperature of the water. As I mentioned above, any coffee machine that can maintain the temperature of coffee requires more energy to do so. And an espresso machine will need more energy for its efficient operation.
Can I brew espresso more efficiently?
Keep the machine clean
I've shared why it's important to keep your coffee maker clean in a previous blog (click for past posts). We all know that when minerals settle, it causes the heat transfer to become less effective and the coffee machine needs more energy to keep functioning properly. That is why it is important to keep the coffee maker clean.
Use only when necessary
If possible, try to turn on the power only when you need to drink coffee. The coffee maker also uses energy to maintain the machine in standby mode, and if it contains more features, such as hot water/coffee keeping warm, there will be a "surprise" when it comes time to check the annual bill!
Use smart plugs
Do not want to unplug so much trouble? Try to understand the smart plug. It can turn off/start automatically and the coffee maker can start at the specified time as long as you set the time. This way you can enjoy fresh coffee for the first time in the most environmentally friendly way!
Can you make coffee without using any electricity?
Of course, it does! Try learning about cold brew coffee.
As the name implies, cold brew coffee does not require heat, so it is a way to heat it without energy at all. It is a coffee that takes extra time to make. Steeped in ice or drip, it releases another flavor of the coffee. More information on how to make it can be found by clicking here to learn more.
Conclusion
So, how much wattage will your coffee machine use? The easiest and most direct way is to check the parameters of your coffee maker!
With the data above, we can tell that what really consumes power is more of a function that keeps the coffee maker warm. Use your coffee maker wisely and you'll definitely save energy!
