Coffee machine Electricity Cost & Wattage

What a coffee machine costs to run: typical 1300 W, about $24 a year. Adjust the figures to your own usage and electricity price.

Typical wattage

A coffee machine's electricity use is dominated by one thing: heating water. Whether it is a filter machine, a pod machine or a pump espresso maker, most of the power goes into bringing water up to brewing temperature, which is why the wattage sits around 800 to 1,500 watts. The actual brewing takes only a minute or two, so the energy per cup is small — the cost creeps up mainly through habits around the machine rather than the brewing itself.

The classic waste is the keep-warm hotplate on filter machines, which can sit on for hours reheating a jug of coffee nobody is drinking, and the always-on standby of pod and espresso machines that keep the boiler warm for instant use. Individually these are modest, but left on all day they can quietly use more than the actual coffee-making. Enter a realistic daily total and your price above to see where your machine lands, and check the tips below for the settings that matter.

If you make several cups through the day, the cheapest setup is often a machine that heats on demand plus a thermos flask, rather than one that keeps a boiler or hotplate warm for hours. The brewing barely registers on the bill; it is the waiting-around warmth between cups that quietly costs money, and that part is entirely within your control.

Of the three common types, a pod or capsule machine typically holds the smallest standby boiler and draws the least while idle; a pump espresso machine with a larger boiler kept at temperature for instant shots draws more; and a filter machine's hotplate, left on to keep a full jug warm, is usually the single biggest silent drain of the three if it stays switched on after brewing rather than being turned off once the coffee is poured.

How to cut coffee machine running costs

• Turn off the keep-warm hotplate — pour coffee into a thermos flask instead.
• Switch off pod and espresso machines at the wall when not in use to cut standby.
• Use the auto-off feature if your machine has one, and set it to the shortest delay.
• Only heat the water you need on machines that let you choose a cup size.
• Descale regularly so the heating element works efficiently.

Frequently asked questions