To get to know how much electricity does a microwave oven use, first we need to know it’s power rating.

Depending on the model, a microwave oven can use from around 700 to 1000 Watts.

On this page you will find out:

> Microwave oven power consumption

> Microwave electricity cost calculator

> Electricity measurement units: Watt, Kilowatt and Kilowatt hour

> How to lower the electricity bill

> What is energy conservation and how does it benefit you and the environment

Alternatively, you may want to fast forward to the laptop electricity usage and electricity cost calculator.

How much electricity does a microwave oven use

The wattage or power consumption can be can be found on the microwave specifications label.

Alternatively, if you are considering to buy a new microwave oven, the wattage can be found on the internet by browser search. Just browse for the microwave oven model followed by ‘wattage’ or ‘ power consumption’.

Electricity cost calculator

Once you know the power consumption, the calculator below can be used to estimate the power consumption and the electricity cost of a microwave oven over a period of time.

You just need to adjust the values in the PARAMETERS section to your requirements and the calculator will automatically display the RESULTS section.

For example, if your microwave:

> It has a power rating of 1500 Watts

> You use it 30 minutes per day for 320 days per year

> You are paying 0,217 euro (or dollars or pounds) per every kWh you consume

You will be paying around 52 euro (or dollars, or pounds, or…) per year in electricity costs.

Still, if you want to know the exact electricity usage of your microwave oven, your best option is to use a plug in power meter to measure the electricity consumption.

Clicking on the image below it will redirect you to the Amazon page where you can have a look to the specifications of the power meter we use for our measurements.

All of our house appliances and devices like the washing machine, the dishwasher, the TV or the printer are plugged to a wall socket.

So, with a power consumption meter we can determine how much electricity our appliances or devices are using and, more importantly, we can measure the electricity usage over a period of time.

A few other examples from our ‘Electricity usage calculators‘ page that may be of your interest:

Electricity measurement units

Not everybody it is familiar with terms like Watts, Kilowatts or Kilowatt hours so if you would learn more about them, have a look to this YouTube video that we have prepared about this topic.

Or you can have a look to this electricity measurement units calculators to get a better understanding of:

> What is a Watt (W) and how to transform Watts into Kilowatts

> What is a Kilowatt (kW) and how to transform Kilowatts into Kilowatts hour

> What is a Kilowatt hour (kWh) and how to transform Kilowatts hours to other units

> What are Power (P), Voltage (V) and Current (I)

How to lower the electricity bill

If you think that your microwave it is using too much electricity, here there are four simple ways to reduce the power consumption of a microwave:

1.- Do not use containers with corners to heat up the food

If you use square or rectangular containers, the food may not heat up evenly and you may find cold spots.

Then, you will have to put back the food in the microwave and use more electricity to have it heated. This is a waste so, if possible, use circular containers to heat up the food in a microwave.

2.- Clean your microwave regularly

Food and liquid spatters do absorb energy causing burnt spots and even damaging your microwave. A decrease on efficiency may lead to an increase electricity usage and a shorter lifespan.

3.- Do not run your microwave empty

When a microwave runs empty, the energy it is absoved by the microwave’s components. If the components sustain damage, it may lead to an increased electricity usage and a shorter lifespan.

4.- Do not fill up your microwave beyond it’s weight limit

If you load the microwave with food and containers beyond it’s weight capacity, the motor that turns the turntable will use more electricity and eventually it will get damaged.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation can be defined as the decision and the act of using less energy

Energy conservation both benefit you and the environment

The act of saving and conserving electricity does benefit you because you will be paying less on your energy bills.

And it also does benefit the environment because conserving electricity prevents any unnecessary waste of natural resources.

Now, at individual level it may not look worth to try to save a few watts here or there.

Still, every little counts and if hundreds or thousands of us do save a little every time, it will make an important contribution towards conserving our natural resources.

For example, if 9000 households would manage to save as little as 10 Watts per day (0,01 kWh) that would add to 32850 Kilowatt hour (kWh) saved per year.

9000 households x 0,01 kWh per day x 365 days per year

32,850 kWh saved per year

That is a considerable amount of electricity, but let’s add additional perspectives for clarity:

> Assuming an average cost of 0,18 euro (or dollars, or pounds, or any other currency) per kWh, we would collectively be saving nearly 6000 euro per year.

> To produce 32,850 kWh of electricity it is necessary to use around 17 metric tons of coal or 56 barrels of residual fuel oil.

Have a look to this page for more information about the amount of resources needed to produce electricity.

In any case it is clear that small energy savings do really count when looking into the bigger picture.

If you are looking for saving electricity ideas at home, have a look to this video where we provide some useful tips to reduce the electricity usage and decrease the electricity bill.