How Many Watts Does a Toaster Use: A Detailed Guide 2

Besides irons, there are more toasters in homes around the world than any other appliances: and for a good reason. Before I got one for myself, I would either leave my home with an empty stomach or got to school or work late because my breakfast took long to prepare. But after acquiring one of the fastest toasters, it never became an issue again since they can deliver perfectly toasted slices in less than two minutes.

Other advantages of the toaster worth mentioning include ease of use and ease of cleaning. Even if you have never used one of these masterpieces before, there won’t be a huge learning curve. You will be able to prepare some of the most delicious toasties right away you take the appliance out of its box.

In regard to cleaning, the best modern toasters also retail with removable crumb trays. For those who are not accustomed to this part, it’s the tool that will collect all the dirt and debris that fall off your toasted slices.

When you need to clean the toaster, all you need to do is take out the crumb tray, wipe it off using a clean, damp cloth, then put it back into the appliance. If the toaster model is more state of the art, then the crumb tray might also be dishwasher safe, which makes it even easier to clean.

That said, since toasters work by converting electricity into heat using their high impedance wires that turn red hot when electricity flows through them, lots of people around the world have questioned how many watts these appliances actually use.

As a general rule of thumb, if you want to know the wattage of your appliance or the model you are about to acquire, it’s listed underneath the toaster itself or written on the package it retails with.

But in this post, we will be looking at how much wattage you should expect to affect your financial status and how to pick an appliance that will best save on energy.

Without further delay, let us skip to the main section of the post.

Comparatively speaking, the amount of energy a toaster will consume in a household over the course of one year is pretty miniscule. In fact, it may not even be the same amount of energy it took the manufacturer to design the toaster plus the energy it takes to transport a similar model to the landfill.

For instance, if you own a 900 watt four-slice toaster that toasts four slices every day for an entire year, then it will consume approximately 25 kilowatt hours the entire year. This implies that even the most serious energy conservatisms can toast their bagel and artisan bread slices with a clear conscience and instead shift their focus to other energy saving activities.

If you’re still hell-bent on acquiring the best energy efficient toaster, then I recommend you find a toaster with the least bells and whistles. If you never use the reheat setting, then feel free to choose a toaster without this function.

And if unlike me, you’re a keen individual and are never worried about burning your bread slices, then you won’t need a regular toaster with a notification bell that will go off every time your toasties are ready for consumption.

Better yet, if you have bad toaster luck, as my mom has (she currently has three broken toasters that she acquired over the last one year), then finding a toaster that uses the least energy should be last of your worries. Instead, you should be scouring the internet for the best reliable toaster.

As a matter of fact, according to me, acquiring a new toaster every three months will probably require more energy in the long run (in transportation costs, disposal of the broken down toaster, and manufacturing a new one) compared to what a durable toaster will use to make toasties over its useful life.

With that in mind, the easiest way to find a dependable and durable toaster is to pick one with a long warranty period or one that has the highest customer reviews from verified purchases. If you are a fan of Cuisinart Toasters, for instance, then you know most of their models tend to retail with one year manufacturer’s warranties.

1. Toasters with long and extra wide slots

If you are not a fan of toasting English muffins, home baked, country style, or artisan bread slices, then stay away from toasters with extra wide and long slots because they waste energy. The entire lengths of the slots are fitted with heating elements and if you are using standard commercial loaf sized bread in a huge toaster, then most of the elements will be heating nothing, which translates to energy misuse.

2. Go for a four-slice toaster with dual controls

If you have been following my content for a while, then you know that the best four-slice toaster I include in my reviews has to boast the dual controls setting. For those who are not accustomed to this setting, it implies that you can use the first two slots on a four slice toaster to prepare a meal (say bagels) using the bagel setting while at the same time using the other two slots to prepare an entirely different meal (say bread slices) using the regular toasting setting.

A four-slice toaster without that setting will definitely waste a lot of energy, except everyone in your family loves their breakfast prepared the same way, which is quite rare.

3. Do you really need LED indicators?

LED indicator lights use extremely minimal electricity. But if you leave them on constantly, then you can rest assured that their usage will add up. For instance, an LED indicator of 1 watt left on throughout the year will use approximately 8 kilowatt hours. If you remember what we discussed at the beginning of the post, that is almost half the amount a typical toaster will use to toast bread slices throughout a year.

So bottom line, avoid toasters that retail with LED indicators if you do not think you will need them.

4. Does the toaster you are thinking of boast a cool to the touch exterior surface?

For those who do not know what this means, it refers to toasters that will remain cool regardless of how long they operate. So, if you pick a toaster with cool to the touch exterior, then no heat will escape, which saves you energy in the long run.

In addition to that, this feature protects all the kids in your household because they are more likely to accidentally come into contact with the appliance while it’s operating.

To take this energy saving tactic a step further;

5. Pick a toaster with a covered top

During operation, hot air inside the toaster will rise. So, if the toaster model you have in your kitchen corner is covered at the top, then less heat will escape and less electricity will be required to deliver the same toasting power.

There you have it. Everything you need to know about how many watts a toaster uses and how to pick the most energy efficient one. All you need to do now is check out the list on best modern toasters and pick the one that best meets your toasting needs and requirements.

And if you would like to learn more about toasters and what they can do, I have several posts that would interest you. History of toasters and Toasters vs Toaster Ovens.