Table of Contents
Small toaster ovens use between 1,200 Watts to 1,800 Watts to cook small meals. But toaster ovens have various cooking functions such as toast, bake, broil, and keep warm.
And each of these cooking programs requires a specific temperature setting. That means your toaster oven will use different wattages, depending on the selected cooking function.
The broil or slow bake cooking programs draw less Watts, while bake, toast, and keep warm cooking programs draw more Watts.
If you select to toast 6 slices of bread, for example, your small toaster oven consumes up to 1,400 Watts. Of course, your toaster oven could use less Watts if you select a lower toasting time.
To be very precise, toasting your slices of bread could draw 900W – 1,400W from your electricity supply. On the other hand, slow baking your food or broiling requires only 600 Watts of electric power.
Therefore, the wattage consumption depends on the cooking program you’ve selected and the cooking time. Be sure to read on for more information!
How Does a Small Toaster Oven Add to Your Electricity Cost?
Toaster ovens use electricity to function. But they impact your monthly electricity bills in various ways since they have different wattage ratings.
Also, they affect your monthly energy bills depending on the cooking time. If you cook for an extended period, you will be sure to pay more in electricity bills.
Only two factors affect the running cost of a toaster oven: the cooking temperature and cooking time. Of course, each cooking function has its ideal temperature setting and cooking time.
That means selecting a given cooking function will also impact the running cost differently from another cooking function.
But generally, toaster ovens consume electricity depending on their wattage rating and cooking time.
For example, a 1,500-Watt toaster oven will consume more electricity because of its higher wattage rating than a 1,200-Watt toaster oven over the same cooking time.
Finding the amount to pay at the month’s end in electricity bills is easy. First, you multiply the wattage rating by the cooking time.
For a 1,500-Watt toaster oven with a 2-hour cooking time, that would be 1500W × 2 hours. But first, convert the wattage rating into kW by dividing it by 1000.
And if the cooking time is in minutes, convert it into hours by dividing it by 60.
That means you have 1.5kW × 2 hours, which equals to 3kWh. Now, this is the electricity amount your 1,500-Watt toaster oven has consumed in 2 hours.
To find the exact amount you will pay in electricity bills, multiply the electricity unit by the electricity payment rate in your state. If you pay 10 cents per kilowatt hours kWh unit, you will pay 3kWh × 10 cents, which equals 30 cents or $0.30.
Therefore, your toaster oven will increase the monthly energy bills by $0.30 after a 2-hour cooking time.
Is A Toaster Oven More Energy Efficient Than a Microwave?
Toaster ovens are versatile since they cook various foods. Usually, toaster ovens use less electric power than any full-sized sized oven or electric oven.
According to the energy star rating, a toaster oven uses 1/3 to ½ less energy than a regular oven while cooking the same amount of food over the same period.
But how do these small kitchen appliances compare with microwave ovens? Microwave ovens use less electricity than any toaster oven and conventional oven
Microwaves generally use 925 Watts to cook food, while toaster ovens use between 1,200 Watts to 1,800 Watts. As such, they’re more energy efficient, saving energy and money in the long run.
But microwaves are not as versatile as toaster ovens. For example, they cannot perform the cooking function of bread toasters. So, if you love toasted bread slices, you might want to invest in a small toaster oven.
What Is the Difference Between Convection and Conventional Toaster Ovens?
Your toaster oven might be convection, but some specific models might be conventional. These two toaster oven types look similar, and it’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between them by merely looking at them.
Usually, they differ in how they cook food.
Convection toaster ovens have a fan to circulate the super-heated air. And the result? A uniformly crisp chicken wing or any other food. But conventional electric ovens don’t have any built-in fans.
Heat rises from the heating elements naturally to cook the food. As a result, they don’t outperform convection toaster ovens. Also, they will require you to turn your food midway to have a uniform crisp.
So, if you want a better cooking result, a convection oven will be your best kitchen appliance.
Which Is More Energy-Efficient: Convection or Conventional Toaster Ovens?
Convection toaster ovens cook 25% faster than conventional models. And this makes them consume less amounts of power to cook the same food as their conventional counterparts.
When a conventional toaster oven cooks for an hour, a convection unit cooks the same food size in less than 50 minutes, probably 45 minutes. Therefore, convection toaster ovens are more energy efficient.
Conclusion
The wattage amount a toaster oven uses to cook food depends on various factors. These factors include your set cooking temperature, cooking function, and cooking time.
Selecting specific cooking functions requires a higher wattage which results in more electricity consumption.
For example, toasting consumes more electricity than broiling food. Also, the cooking time affects the wattage of a toaster oven.
If you cook for an extended period, your toaster oven will use more wattage, thus increasing electricity consumption. Therefore, consider investing in energy-efficient toaster ovens for reduced monthly energy bills.
Hopefully, we have answered your question if you wondered how much your toaster oven consumes in wattage.
Also, we have gone through how to calculate the electricity cost for running a toaster oven. As such, finding how much you will pay after using your toaster oven should be easier than before.
Be sure to let us know your thoughts and share your experience in the comment section below.
