How much power does your coffee maker need?

July 13, 1:13 PMGadgets ExaminerDan Appleman

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Size counts more than power when it comes to coffee makers

When shopping for a new coffee maker, you may be tempted to get a lower power model to conserve energy. But as it turns out, it’s not the power of the coffee maker that counts as much as the size.

Consider three most popular machines on Amazon – the Cuisinart DCC-1200 12-cup coffeemaker, the Zojirushi EC-BD15 coffee maker and the Black & Decker DCM18S Personal Coffeemaker.

The Zojirushi machine boasts 1025 watts. The Cuisinart and Black & Decker don’t even list their power use. Should you care? Probably not.

The power rating for a coffee maker says nothing about its energy efficience – it only determines how long it will take to heat up the water. A lower power machine might take a bit longer, but will ultimately end up using the same amount of energy to heat up a given amount of water to the desired temperature.

There are two ways to conserve energy when it comes to coffee makers, and neither have to do with the power of the unit:

• Don’t make more coffee than you’re going to use. If you need a machine just to make an occasional cup or two, get a small coffee maker such as the Black & Decker.
• Don’t leave coffee on the warmer for long periods. The built-in warmer might not use as much power as the brewing process, but leaving it on for long periods burns power just as effectively. Unless you’re in a situation where you really need coffee to be available constantly throughout the day (such as an office or restauraunt) it is much more energy efficient to make smaller amounts as needed than to make a larger amount and keep it hot..