How Many Watts Does A Toaster Oven Use

Saving energy and money is always easier when you know how much you're using. But because many of the convenient smaller appliances we use seem to draw small amounts of power, we all too often discount how their use really does impact our electricity bills. It's worth your while to analyze your appliances' consumption to help make decisions on how to save energy when you cook. Learn how many watts does a toaster oven use in this article.

How Much Power Does a Toaster Use?

The federal Energy Star program does not currently provide a label for toasters or toaster ovens, although the agency did produce a scouting report in 2011, which offers an in-depth look at various factors which affect the efficiency of the devices, including insulation, temperature control, door seals and cooking sensors. For guidance on specific models, you have to conduct a bit more research to determine how much power a toaster uses and which options provide the most efficiency. The key to your calculation is to look on your toaster label to see how many watts it consumes – the lower the number, the less electricity it will use. So, how many watts does a toaster oven use?

What is the Wattage of a Toaster?

Bread toasters come in a range of wattages, generally between 800 and 1,500, with most running around 1,200 watts. These devices are great at what they do, but their limited range of use means that you might be pleasantly surprised at the answer to the question of how many watts does a toaster oven use. If a couple of people make a toast every morning, running a 1,200-watt toaster for 12 minutes a day, that means you're using .24 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per day:

1,200 watts X 0.2 hours = 240 watt-hours / 1,000 = 2.4 kWh

Multiply that number by the price you pay for electricity to find the true cost of your morning toast – if your rate is $.10 per kWh that means you spend just over $.02 per day, $.73 per month, and $8.76 per year running the toaster. Unless you have a craving for toasted bread throughout the day, you probably don't break the bank to run a standard bread toaster.

Toaster Oven vs. Regular Oven Wattage Comparison

Compared to a regular oven, a toaster oven consumes 1/3 the amount of power. When you took an average cooking range oven and compared that to the average toaster oven, you will find that the toaster oven is far more energy-efficient for small to medium-sized meals. Most range ovens use from 2,000 – 5,000 watts of power, with the average value hovering at around 3,000 watts. Toaster ovens range from 1100-1875 Watt. Therefore, even the smallest, weakest, and most vanilla range ovens are more power-hungry than the toaster ovens' best.

Therefore, as far as energy efficiency goes, microwave ovens are the winners. They use at least 25% less energy when operating. On top of that, it takes less time to reheat or cook food in a microwave oven. For example, cooking a potato in a microwave oven would take 4 times as less time than that in a toaster oven. Hence, as far as energy consumption goes, microwave ovens have the crown.

While microwave ovens are energy efficient, they are not as versatile cookers. You cannot bake, broil or toast in these. Furthermore, air fryer, rotisserie, and dehydrator functions are something that a microwave oven cannot equip. Hence for a vaster culinary horizon, you will have to settle for the high-power demanding toaster ovens.

Here we talked comprehensively about how many watts does a toaster oven use. A toaster oven consumes anywhere between 1100-1875 Watts of power, with the average ranging at about 1400-1500 Watts. The higher the power rating, the hotter the toaster oven runs, which in turn translates to quicker cooking and heating. As far as energy efficiency goes, toaster ovens are more energy-efficient as compared to regular ovens for small and medium-sized meals but are less efficient than microwave ovens. Compare to a regular slot toaster, an oven toaster is more efficient than a 4-slice slot toaster or above. Find out more about power usage.

Conclusion

Oven toasters are primarily used for toasting and baking and less frequently for defrosting, warming, or broiling food. Choosing the right energy-efficient cooking appliance for the right task is one easy way to save energy and potentially lower your energy costs at home. It is important to know how many watts does a toaster oven use so you don’t get bill surprises and at the same time help save energy for the environment.

Related Articles