How many watts does a toaster use?

Of course, depending on which toaster you have, the wattage could be different. There generally isn’t too much of a difference between them, but a toaster which works faster will have a higher wattage.

Find out how to find out the wattage of your toaster and what this actually means with us. It’s not complicated and it might help you make a toaster purchase in the near future.

Table of contents

• What is wattage?
• Why does my toaster use watts?
• Where do I find the wattage of my toaster?
• What is the average wattage of a toaster?
• How does wattage affect the way my toaster works?
• How much does a piece of toast cost to make?
• Conclusion

Wattage is the measurement of watts. Watts are measurements of energy (generally electrical) that we use. You can find the wattage rating on all appliances that are made today as it is an issue of safety, not just numbers.

Living in the U.S., your main power grid will feed your home with 120 volts (V) electricity. This is different in other countries (such as 240V in Great Britain), but you just need to know that your toaster will be fed with 120V. When this electricity (in V) is fed to your toaster, there will be resistance (measured in amps (A)). When the voltage is pushed through the resistance, you can work out your watts (in W).

That’s the science done. All you need to know is that V x A = W.

Your toaster is an electrical appliance. It is also an electrical appliance that converts that electrical energy into heat (and, indirectly, light) energy. When the electricity flows through the toaster’s circuitry, there will be some resistance. This is why your toaster has a watts rating. This is also the way in which we work out how much electricity you use per hour, so it’s very important for the eco-friendly buyer.

If a device has a higher wattage rating, you know that it must use more electricity. There is more resistance which makes it more difficult for the toaster to actually work. If you are conscious about how much power you have to use to get some delicious toast, you should be looking for lower-rated toasters.

There will be two places to find this – on the plug or the toaster itself, usually on the underneath. You will see a number with “W” written next to it or Wh – the latter means watt-hours and tells you how much electricity your device would use if it was turned on for an entire hour. This is your wattage rating for the device.

Toasters have a fairly wide range of wattage ratings. Depending on the device, you might find them as low as 800 Wh and you may find them as high as 1500 Wh. A low wattage rating does not necessarily mean a cheap toaster, but in the same way, a high wattage one does not mean expensive or even good quality. All it tells you is how much power your toaster uses.

On average, you will find toasters have a wattage rating of 1200 W. If you can find one around this mark, you will get a good product which will make excellent toast. Too high and you could be wasting electricity; too low and you could be waiting for longer than you need for a toasted snack.

The higher the wattage, the more power your toaster has. To make it even simpler, the more watts, the hotter your toaster will burn.

High watt toasters are great for people who want toaster to be cooked quickly – you will find that they have short cooking times and can quickly whip you up a batch of toast. On the other hand, toasters with low watt ratings will cook it more slowly. If time isn’t a factor for you, you may want to invest in a low-wattage toaster – they’re cheaper because they use less electricity generally.

A big drawback of high watt toasters is that they can actually burn your toaster more often than cook it to your needs. This is especially true if you have bought a cheap model which has a poor thermal sensor – the toaster will not be able to sense the temperature of the toast quickly enough and it won’t stop cooking until the toast is burnt. Bad times.

A big drawback of low watt toasters is that they cook too slowly and don’t get the toast to a desirable level of crunchiness. This might not be a problem for some people; there are people out there who like their toast soft. But if you want a crunchy piece of toast, you will end up frustrated by the low power levels of a weak wattage toaster.

This is why I suggested getting a mid-range 1200 W toaster – they have a good level of power for cooking your toast to the appropriate crunchiness, but they’re not likely to cause some real damage to the bread. Think about how you like toast and buy the one which is best for you.

Also, remember that lower wattage toasters are also better for the planet – they have less resistance, presumably because they use less power. This means that less electricity is used and wasted, so you can make toast and save the planet at the same time.

This depends on your model. I’ve made a table below that explains what you can expect for an 800 W, 1200 W, and 1500 W toaster on average.

Calculated using the USA Average Electricity rate of 10.5c/kWh. Accurate as of 2018. Look into the energy ratings in your area for a more accurate answer.

As you can see, the 800 W toaster is the cheapest. That’s no surprise. This, however, depends on all toasters having the same cooking time. Depending on your cooking time, this could be higher or lower.

Regardless of how you look at it, toasting with a higher wattage device will cost you more in the long run. These devices are very cheap and they will not set you back much in the long run. If you are worried about the long-term price, an 800 W with a low cooking time will be the best for you.

Watts on a toaster means how quickly your device will cook a piece of toast and how much electricity it will use when turned on. We learn what the wattage of the device is by working out how much energy it takes to use the toaster and finding out how much resistance the toaster puts up to that energy.

In the question of how much electricity does a toaster use, the answer is not much. Even the top of wattage chart ones use only a small amount of energy each time you cook with it. The most important thing to remember is that lower wattage toasters can save on energy usage, but might give you a chewy piece of toast. Higher rated ones can take more energy, but will definitely crisp up your breakfast.