How many Watts does a coffee maker use?

Is coffee the only brew that wakes you up in the morning?

Personally, I can’t do without it; it’s great to have a cup of coffee before work, through the day and even early evening.

But how many watts does a coffee maker use to make a carafe of coffee? Does it greatly impact your electricity bill? It’s good to know about these things, keeping in mind that electricity costs are going through the roof and everyone’s talking about inflation.

Let’s chat about your coffee maker’s electricity consumption.

Here’s how many watts a typical coffee maker use

First, let’s look at a maths equation. I know nobody likes them (including me), but it’s a necessary evil to help put things in perspective. Here’s the equation: 

Volt x Amber= Watt

It doesn’t make much sense at first glance, but stick with me. The truth is, there’s a bunch of reasons that affect how much energy it needs to make a pot of coffee. But the good news is that we can estimate it by just considering a few things. Firstly, an average coffee machine needs to heat water up to 200 °C degrees which means they have to use approximately 1000 watts in around 4 to 7 minutes. 

Because nobody likes doing maths, I’ve done it for you. On average, for a seven-minute boil a typical machine uses 0.082 KW.

The next thing is to find your last electricity bill; it indicates the price you pay per KWh. For example, I pay 0.5 dollars and on average I make two post of coffee a day which equals:

0.5*0.082*2=0.082 

As you can see I spend 0.082 dollars on electricity making coffee every day. So while you might think that coffee made at home costs nothing, you can see it soon mounts up.

What does wattage mean?

Watts are units of measurement for electrical power. When we say “watt,” we’re referring to the pace at which energy is transferred. Simply put, a watt is a unit of power, and power is the rate at which a thing produces or consumes energy.

If we consider watts to be a unit of measurement for electrical flow, each gadget or appliance may be thought of as requiring either a large or small electrical flow.

What’s the most popular brand wattage?

Let’s compare a coffee maker’s electricity consumption with other devices and gadgets to get a better picture about which devices significantly impact your electricity bill.  Here’s a table that shows an estimate of electricity consumption of common gadgets and devices we often use at home:

Gadget or Device	Consumption in Watts
Coffee Maker	600-1200
Microwave (600-1000 Watt)	1000-2000
Toaster	800-1500
Vacuum Cleaner	300-1500
Small Fan	50-120
Laptop	20-80

As you can see a coffee maker isn’t the device that consumes the most electricity compared to other devices and gadgets.

Various coffee-making types

Did you know that different methods of making coffee consume different amounts of energy? What’s the most expensive method and what’s the least? Read on to find out.

Drip coffee pot 

Auto drip coffee makers are probably the most popular coffee machines; using ground coffee, you fill the carafe with water while coffee drips in the carafe.

Many of us have them at home; they’re easy to use, affordable and the coffee tastes pretty good too. On average, they consume 700 to 1200 watts per single coffee cup making it one of the most economical in cost terms.

Obviously, if you don’t turn the machine off to keep the coffee in the carafe warm for longer, they consume more energy.

Single-serve machines 

These are very popular for a reason.

You can have your coffee the way you like it, hot or cold with sugar or milk and brew different amounts to your liking. But since you can customise your brew, be ready to consume more energy – good coffee comes at a price.

These machines heat the water in the tank which means they consume about 190 to 420 watts per cup.

Espresso coffee makers

For those of you that can’t drink anything but the best coffee and have invested in a luxury coffee machine, it’ll set you back a few more bucks.

You want to treat yourself, mates or family and in-laws to top coffee quality, but keep in mind that the machine you’ve been flaunting consumes about 900 to 1600 watts to make a single espresso – so be ready to pay more on your next electricity bill.

Can you brew coffee without electricity?

Don’t worry if you don’t have any of the brewers mentioned above – you can still make coffee. Simply combine ground coffee with hot water using a portable camping gas stove and set aside for a few minutes – it’s called ‘cowboy coffee’.

It leaves a lot of grounds in your coffee and has a very strong flavour, but it’s better than nothing and provides you with a decent caffeine boost.

Tips and tricks on how to save energy when making coffee

Here are some useful tips and tricks you should use if you really want to keep your electricity bill as low as possible.

Keep your brewer clean

Keeping your brewer clean not only does add to your coffee taste but it saves you energy.

Who doesn’t want to drink a cup of coffee with no residue on the bottom of their cup? Give your coffee machine a good scrub now and again because the residue makes the coffee maker heat the water a bit longer over time, and this adds to your electricity bill.

Plus, keeping your machine clean is going to increase its lifespan.

Go for a cold coffee

Simply make cold coffee in the summer which means you won’t need to warm up any water so you’ll spend less on electricity. It’s that simple.

Check the energy consumption before purchasing your machine

Yeah this is gonna save you energy in the long term. Let’s be honest, who checks those things when buying a coffee maker or coffee machine? Most of us check the features; whether it makes hot and cold coffee or how large the jug is or how long it takes to make coffee.

But if you really want to keep your electricity bill to the minimum, it’s worth glancing at its energy consumption before buying your next brewer.

Switch your machine off when you’re done

Why keep the machine working when you’re done with the coffee? And who remembers that every time? Put a sticky note saying: TURN IT OFF MATE. It works.

Use smart plugs

With many energy-saving options available, and the ability to manage such plugs from your phone, why not try it out? These useful things send you data on energy consumption, and you can program the smart plug to switch on and off at your convenience.

What size inverter do I need to run a Nespresso coffee machine?

As you probably know Nespresso has many different coffee machines for all kinds of needs. The watts consumption depends on how many cups of coffee you aim to brew and the type of Nespresso. For example, Essenza MIni that’s sold in the North American market consumes 1200-1310 watts while Creatista Plus consumes 1600. 
To calculate the inverter you need roughly the same amount of power to run your model as a coffee maker, plus an extra 20% to run the watt inverter.

Let’s Wrap it Up

Coffee makers are a staple in many homes, but it turns out that coffee makers can draw quite a bit of wattage. It’s wise to know about your coffee maker’s electricity consumption, especially these days when the bills have gone through the roof, but don’t lose sleep.

FAQ

Let’s talk about questions about the wattage a coffee maker consumes. 

Watts most popular coffee makes consume

Let’s go over some popular makes and their electricity consumption per coffee cup.

How many watts does a Keurig machine consume?

A Keurig machine consumes about 190-400 watts. The good thing with Keurig is you can use ground coffee for brewing.

How many watts does a Mr. Coffee consume?

• It consumers more than a Keurig (620-1200 watts)
• How much does a small coffee brewer consume? 
• It uses less than the ones above (140-300 watts)

Do you know how to clean a Mr. Coffee espresso machine?

How to calculate the power consumption?

We’ve touched on this topic earlier on and done all the maths for you, so you don’t have to. But it’s good to know about the numbers and can roughly estimate how much you’re going to pay for electricity.