It’s safe to say that we’re all grateful for the technology of electricity. It allows us to live our everyday lives conveniently and without being in the dark. And we can’t forget that it will enable us to brew our perfect cup of coffee at home to start the day.
Each appliance in your kitchen, including your coffee maker, uses amps and volts to function. If you’re curious about how many amps a coffee maker uses, you’re not alone.
The number of amps that your coffee maker uses will vary depending on the type of coffee maker you use, but generally, a 120-volt coffee maker will use anywhere from five to 13 amps of electricity.
What Are Amps?
Amps, also called amperes, are units of electrical currents. If you think amps are the same as volts or watts, they’re not. The difference is that a volt is a unit for electric potential difference, while an amp measures the electrical current that’s produced. Watts are the power of the electrical current.
Another thing to consider when looking into how many amps your coffee maker uses is how long you’re running it.
The longer the coffee maker is on, the more amps and electricity you’re using. So, while all of these are averages and general numbers, they can be more or less depending on how long it stays on.
How Are Amps Measured?
People use a multimeter to measure amps. A multimeter will allow you to measure different electrical circuits accurately.
You’ll plug your device into the multimeter via connectors and then estimate how many amps it would be. People always overestimate not to overload the meter.
For the most part, 12 volts is equivalent to 7.917 amps. This translates to 95 watts.
If you want to measure your coffee maker’s amps on your own, you can. You’ll need to know your coffee maker’s volt rating. Most kitchen appliances have a voltage rating of 110 to 120, but you can check this on the box of your coffee maker or by Googling your product.
You’ll also need to know the watts rating of your coffee maker. This should be listed on your coffee maker’s box or on the manufacturer’s website. Let’s say that the watts for your coffee maker are 600 and the voltage is 120.
You’ll divide the 600 watts by the 120 volts and get five amperes. You can do this with any watts or voltage to find out how many amps your current coffee maker is using.
How Do Amps Correlate to Electricity Consumption?
Essentially, amps are the amount of electricity used by an item and, in this case, your coffee maker. When you multiply the amps by the volts, you’ll get the total wattage. You can’t have amps without the other factors, and this is how your coffee maker works.
Amps Used By Different Sized Coffee Makers
We’ve already mentioned that a traditional 120-volt coffee maker will use between five to 13 amps of electricity when brewing coffee, but what about the others? Not all coffee makers are 120 volts, so their amps aren’t always going to be the same across the board.
If you have a coffee maker that makes two cups at a time, often called a 2-cup coffee maker, that typically uses only 2.5 to five amps.
For larger coffee makers that make 8.5 to ten cups of coffee at a time, you can expect the coffee maker to use 8.3 to 12.5 amps every time you use it.
How Many Amps Do Specific Brands of Coffee Makers Use?
There are dozens of brands that produce coffee makers out there. Do they all use the same amount of amps? Let’s take a look at popular coffee maker brands’ classic 12-cup coffee makers to see how their amps compare:
- Mr. Coffee Maker 12-Cup Coffee Maker: 7.5 amps
- Cuisinart 12-Cup Coffee Maker: 7.5 amps
- Breville 12-Cup Coffee Maker: 7.5 amps
- Bunn coffee maker; 7.5 amps
Generally speaking, when you use the same size coffee maker across the board from different coffee brands, they’ll all use similar or the same amount of amps to make your coffee. Keep in mind that if your coffee maker’s maximum coffee cup load is lower or higher, then their amps will reflect that.
How Many Amps Do Specific Types of Coffee Makers Use?
While the same size coffee makers mostly have the same number of amps, what about the rest of the coffee makers? People love their Nespresso machines, Keurigs, and espresso machines, so let’s see how many amps they use when you’re making a cup of coffee:
- Nespresso Machines: 6-8 amps depending on the model
- Keurig: 1.6 to 3.3 amps depending on the cup size you choose
- Single-serve espresso machines: 13 amps
- Ninja Single-serve coffee maker: 11.7 amps
Should You Use a Lower Amp Coffee Maker?
Whether you should or shouldn’t use a coffee maker with a lower amp output is up to you. When you have a coffee maker with a lower amp rating, you’re using less electricity than when you use one with a higher rating.
If you don’t mind using more electricity, then it won’t matter to you what your amp rating is. If you’re looking to reduce your electric bill per month, finding one with a better amp rating is helpful. The difference in your electric bill might not be drastic enough for you to take notice of, but if you’re frugal and counting your pennies, then this should matter to you.
On the other hand, your electrical outlets can only handle a certain number of watts and voltage. So, to make sure you’re not frying your outlets, knowing what they can handle and only using a coffee maker that works with your outlets is also important.
Knowing the power requirements for your coffee maker will help you determine which ones you should or shouldn’t be using. Using a coffee maker with a high voltage can blow your outlets and cause you more headaches.
