A microwave we can say that it is one of the appliances that consumes the most light. Now, logically it will depend on the use we give it. It is not the same to use it every day to heat or defrost food, than only occasionally and also only to heat a tea. However, we can make an average and determine how much light a microwave consumes after a year. At least we are going to do it taking into account a general consumption.
How much light does a microwave consume?
Not all microwaves have the same power and therefore they do not consume the same. Also, there are different programs that you can put to heat food and some are going to need more resources than others. However, the OCU helps us calculate on average how much we consume depending on what we are going to do.
For example, heating 450 grams of food for 5 minutes will consume an average of 125 Wh, according to the OCU. Cooking a frozen pizza will take about 15 minutes and will require 300 Wh of consumption. On the other hand, defrosting 500 grams of food for 10 minutes will consume 60 Wh. Heating a bottle for 30 seconds uses 12 Wh and this can also be transferred to heating a glass of milk, for example. On the other hand, it also puts the consumption of roasting a chicken and in this case it is 900 Wh and it takes about 45 minutes.
What we have to do is calculate more or less how much are we going to use the microwave. We can put a hypothetical assumption of use for a year:
- Heat a glass of milk or water per day: 4.38 kWh (12 Wh for 365 days and we convert it to kWh)
- One pizza a week: 15 kWh
- Roast a chicken per week: 45 kWh
- Defrost food a couple of times a week: 6 kWh
- Heat 400 grams of mixed food twice a week: 12.5 kWh
In our example, the microwave will consume a total of about 83 kWh. As we say, it is simply an example and having data offered by OCU. There will be users who consume much more and others who will spend less. But those 83 kWh in our example can be transferred to the current consumption on the bill, assuming that the kWh costs €0.20, and it would give us a figure of about €16.60 per year.
More or less with this calculation you will be able to know how much the microwave spends per year. You can calculate it based on the use you give it.
The microwave uses electricity even if it is not used
But beyond what we consume of electricity to heat a glass of water, defrost food or cook a pizza, the microwave also consumes in static. It is what is known as phantom consumption and it is one more money that you have to add to your bill every year. Yes, you can avoid it.
Why does the microwave consume electricity even if we don’t use it? Simply the clock on is going to spend electricity. It is similar to a television on Stand By, for example. Although it is not a huge expense, in the end the sum of many things does mean that an important part of the bill is consumption that we can avoid.
In fact, it is estimated that between 7 and 10% of all annual electricity costs are due to phantom consumption. Therefore, our advice is to turn off the microwave completely when you are not going to use it.
