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Coffee makers consume moderate levels of electricity compared to other household appliances. But how many amps does a coffee maker use, exactly?
The exact amount of power input varies according to particular features and brands. For instance, a 120-volt coffee maker requires 5 to 13 amperes of electricity to achieve ideal performance.
A smaller type, say a 2-cup coffee maker, needs between 2.5 to 5 amps for maximum output. Likewise, an 8- to 10-cup type consumes between 8.3 and 12.5 amps to produce your desired quality and quantity of coffee.
To understand coffee makers and electricity usage, you should first know how the underlying factors influence the gadgets’ overall power intake.
Note: Amps = Watts/Volts
So, the higher the wattage, the higher the amperes if the volts are kept constant. Watts and amperes are used in this article interchangeably.
Does Coffee Maker’s Brand Influences Power Consumption?
Yes. Different types or brands of coffee makers vary in their power consumption ability. For instance, a 12-cup Keurig brewer uses between 200 and 400 watts of electricity, approximately 1.33 to 3.33 amps.
This differs from the Mr. Coffee brand, which uses about 900 watts (approximately 6.5 amperes) to brew the same amount of coffee.
How Many Amps Does a Coffee Maker Use?
Let’s look at the power consumption of individual coffee maker brands: Keurig, Ninja Series, and Bunn.
How Many Amps Does A Keurig Coffee Maker Use?
A single-cup Keurig brewer requires 1470 watts, which is 12.5 amps of electricity, to operate.
Are you wondering why the single-cup type uses too much power than the 5-cup or 12-cup? This is because the single-cup coffee maker has several inbuilt features, which require an additional amount of electricity to run.
Otherwise, 900 watts or 6.5 amperes of electricity are sufficient to power an ordinary 12-cup Keurig brewer. This is a moderate amount of energy compared to high-end brands like Nespresso, VertuoNext, and CitiZ, which use 1000, 1260, and 1710 watts of electricity, respectively, to prepare the same amount of coffee.
How Many Amps Does a Ninja Coffee Maker Use?
A single-serve Ninja coffee maker consumes around 11.7 amps or 1400 watts of electricity to prepare your morning jolt. This extreme power usage is due to the additional features that come with all single-serve brewers.
Even so, standard size brewers, say a 10-cup Ninja Coffee bar CF091, use 12.1 amps or 1450 watts of electricity to serve up to 10 people.
This varies with the 10-cup Ninja Coffee Brewer CE251, which uses 9.2 amps or 1100 watts power to attain maximum brewing potential.
How Many Amperes Does a Bunn Coffee Maker Consume?
A standard-size Bunn coffee maker uses at least 1000 watts or 6.8 to 7.0 amps each day. This high rate is due to the need to maintain a continuous plug-in for these types of brewers. A constant plug-in is necessary to keep the water hot at all times.
Nonetheless, the Bunn brewer can be used with a timer, which automatically turns it on and off to minimize unnecessary power consumption.
How Many Amps Does a 5-Cup Coffee Maker Use?
A 5-cup coffee maker uses approximately 5 to 8 amps of electricity. This translates to 550 to 900 watts. It is good that the manufacturer clearly indicates amperes and all power consumption variables. Normally, the 5-cup brewer is powered by a voltage rating between 110 and 120 volts.
If the brewer is fitted with internal heating tanks, you incur an additional 60 watts per hour to maintain the water temperature unless it is turned off.
How Many Amps Does a 12-Cup Coffee Maker Use?
A standard 12-cup coffee maker uses at least 750 watts of electricity, which is 5.5 to 6.0 amperes of current. This figure varies with the brand of the coffee maker.
Do note that these estimates represent the modest brands in the market, such as Mr. Coffee.
A Keurig coffee maker uses up to 900 watts, which translates to nearly 6.5 amperes of current to produce the same amount of coffee.
By contrast, a 12-cup capacity espresso brewer requires over 1000 watts of electricity to power the additional inbuilt features. This is equivalent to 6.8 to 7.2 amperes of electric current.
Comparison With Other Household Appliances
Coffee makers consume a relatively high power compared to other household appliances. For every 5 to 8 amps consumed by a standard size coffee maker, the compact disk (CD) player uses only 1 amp. The laptop uses 2 to 3 amps under the same circumstances.
Even so, 5 to 8 amps rating is insignificant compared to the value you get from your hot coffee.
Other Factors Affecting Coffee Maker’s Electricity Usage
Apart from the brand, coffee maker’s electricity usage depends on the following factors:
Heating plate: Coffee makers that come with a thermal carafe can save up to 23% of power compared to those fitted with the typical heating plate. So, always go for the thermal carafe type if you can afford it as it is more cost-effective in the long run.
Dual coffee makers: Dual coffee makers have inbuilt grinders; hence, they consume more power than those that utilize manual hand grinders. The manual hand grinder is both cost-effective and convenient for DIYers.
Continuous heating: Depending on your coffee preparation patterns, the presence of internal heating tanks affects your brewer’s power consumption abilities. So, if you own this type of coffee maker, you should unplug it when not in use to prevent unnecessary heating in the internal water tank.
Large versus small coffee maker: A large coffee maker tends to use minimal electricity on average than the small ones. As the production capacity increases, the power usage comes down. So, you should avoid smaller makes if you have a medium or large family.
Takeaway
Coffee makers use relatively low levels of energy. The rate is affordable to all income groups. Nevertheless, some brands like the Bunn coffee makers require a continuous plug-in to achieve maximum performance. In this case, you might spend an extra $5 per month for that additional 1000 watts of power per day.
Overall, coffee makers do not consume an unreasonable amount of power. So, you shouldn’t be overly concerned about it. It’s a reprieve that you don’t have to budget for those exorbitant charges incurred by appliances such as microwaves, refrigerators, and dishwashers, etc.
