GoingTrueGreen's Blog Postings

Making Coffee, Saving Energy and Money

8/12/2013

coffee, cup of joe, fresh brew, goingtruegreen, coffee beans, coffee makers, cafe, coffee tea or milk

First cup of coffee in the morning!

For many, waking up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is the best way to start the day.

Can you almost smell it?
Especially when you used Distilled water to make your coffee.

Okay, but how can we save money, energy, and Earth by using our Coffee Maker more efficiently?

- An average Coffee Maker will use 930 watts with a running time of around 15 minutes.  
- The same Coffee Maker can use 900 watts when the warming feature is on to keep your coffee hot.
(This feature will turn on and off and be on for about 1/4 of the time)  

If coffee is made twice a day and the warming feature is on an hour in the morning and two hours in the evening, (Thus the warming feature will have consumed about 225 watts for each hour it is on), the following is the electric cost for people buying electricity from the most expensive utilities in the country:

Coffee Maker

$ 61.27 per year to make coffee 
$ 44.35 per year just to keep the coffee warm. 

A lot of money to pay each year just for one (1) appliance!

Now what if you forget to shut off the Coffee Maker when leaving the house? Well, the electric cost will be higher and very dangerous if your Coffee Maker Does Not have an automatic shut-off feature.

To prevent the risk of fire always look to buy a Coffee Maker with the auto shut-off feature that works after the Coffee Maker has been on for a pre-set amount of hours.

coffee timers, coffee makers, coffee clocks, coffee displays, goingtruegreen

Clock, Timers, Displays

Now what about that Digital Clock or Display?

As everyone knows, that means the total electric cost will be even higher. Today's Coffee Makers are always using electricity even when off and still plugged into the socket.

Ask, "Do we really need another clock to set and tell you the time in your house?"

Ask, "Do we really need to set the Coffee Maker the night before to come on in the morning?"

If the answers are NO to the two questions above then you can save the electric cost to operate another digital clock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by pulling the PLUG out of the Socket when done.

Also if you shut the Coffee Maker off after the coffee is made you will save at least $ 44.35 per year.

After all, the coffee was just made, it is hot and will stay hot for at least 15 minutes.  Isn't that enough time to drink coffee, have breakfast, fill up the travel coffee mug and leave for work?

PLEASE NOTE:
By shutting off the Coffee Maker when done and pulling the plug out will save around $50.00 a year for people paying the highest utility rates.  

FIFTY dollars a year is a tremendous amount of money, especially when you DONATE that amount each year to an organization like FEED THE CHILDREN. 

The power companies DO NOT need another $50.00 from each of us, each year.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
Contribute your comments!

5 Comments

B. M. L.

8/12/2013 11:34:52 am

As a coffee drinker, I appreciate this blog very much. I actually never use the digital clock, but do set up the coffee maker for the morning without plugging it in. Then, when I wake up, I plug it in and turn it on as I'm getting ready. One thing I also do is that once the coffee brews, I transfer it to a thermos so that it stays hot and fresh. (I hate the taste of coffee that has been sitting in the coffeemaker keeping warm...it just tastes burnt after a while.) This also saves since the coffee maker is only on and plugged when it is brewing the coffee.
Thanks for your Blogs! It has great tips and insight.

Bill, GTG link

8/12/2013 11:57:04 am

BML,

Thank you for your comment and additional insight on ways to operate coffee makers more efficiently. Just as a side note: I don't drink much coffee and I really do not want another clock to turn back or forward one hour with Daylight savings time.

Thanks again,
Bill, GTG

Joe

8/31/2013 07:56:43 am

Consumer Reports did a test a few years ago all about this. The most efficient and lowest cost to run electric coffee maker is one with an INSULATED carafe! I don't remember precisely but, I think those models have no keep warm feature at all.
The digital timer uses little power compared to the heating pad. An insulated model with the timer (useful for some) will probably be more efficient than any other kind you might envision.
However, not factored into any of this is materials, manufacturing processes, and shipping. Does a coffee maker with mined petro plastic and earth metal, made in Mexico (assuming that is closest country that makes for U.S.) use less energy in making and shipping than one made in China? or the other way around (ocean shipping is very energy efficient compared to overland trucking).
Alternatively, maybe the most energy efficient and delicious way to make coffee is to use a glass French press made in the U.S.A.! Then, you are just boiling water in the press with coffee, letting it steep, then pressing, pouring, dump grounds into compost, rinse the press, done! If you heat water with electricity (stove or electric kettle) and your power is from wind, solar, or other renewable, you have really been green.

9/3/2013 03:26:26 am

Joe,
Thank you for your feedback. It seems the thermos idea, stated in BML's previous comment and the carafe in your comment, are getting very popular.
Bill, GTG

PAL

9/5/2013 10:40:44 am

All good points, but if you're not drinking organic coffee you are getting a hefty dose of pesticides and chemicals that are just as bad, if not worse, than the BPA/BPS referenced in your can opener blog. We can't save the planet if we don't save ourselves!