If you’re like me your day doesn’t start without a good cup of coffee.
Wherever I am in the world, everything is made better with a hot cup o’ joe.
And just because you are off-grid or relying on an alternative power source, doesn’t mean you should miss out on firing up your coffee maker.
Like any appliance that relies on heat, they require a fair bit of AC power.
But don’t worry, because you can easily use an inverter to run a coffee maker.
You just need the right size inverter for your coffee maker.
Trust me, I’ve done it regularly in my RV.
So keep reading to find out the right size inverter and some recommendations on the best inverters you can buy.
Grind them beans so you’re ready to go!
What Size Inverter for Coffee Maker?
A 2000 watt inverter is a good size to run a coffee maker.
There is no one size fits all inverter for coffee makers. This is because all appliances draw a different amount of power.
So it’s important to know how many watts your coffee maker uses to ensure your buy a powerful enough inverter.
To give you an example, a coffee maker can use anywhere between 500 to 1500 watts. Remember, you only use a coffee maker for a short period of time, so this power requirement is needed for a few minutes, not all the time.
In order to work out your inverter size, you should check your coffee maker wattage. This information should be listed on the machine, in the user manual, and on the brand’s website.
If you can’t find the wattage you could also use a wattmeter to get a live power reading.
Once you know the wattage you should then use a power inverter that is at least 20% more powerful than your machine. This is because inverters are not 100% efficient so you need to have a bit of extra capacity.
For example, if your coffee machine is 800 watts you should use an inverter of at least 1000 watts.
For most coffee machines you’ll need more than 1500 watts of power, so a 2000 watt inverter will do a great job without any worries.
Inverter for Coffee Maker Size Guide
To give some examples of different coffee machines and their power requirements here is a handy chart:
| Coffee Maker | Wattage | Inverter Size (Watts) |
| Keurig | 1400 – 1500 | 2000 |
| Nespresso | 1200 – 1500 | 2000 |
| Tassimo | 1300 – 1500 | 2000 |
| Hamilton Beach | 600 | 1000 |
| Ninja | 1500 | 2000 |
| De’Longhi | 1100-1200 | 1500 |
How Much Energy Will a Coffee Maker Use?
Now you have a better understanding of how much power a coffee makers needs, you can quickly work out how much energy it will cost you to use your machine.
The other bit of information is how much you pay for electricity. You should be able to find this on your power bill. On average, this will be about 15 cents per kW.
Let’s take this average and assume we have a 1500 watt coffee maker for an example.
To make a single cup of coffee you’ll only need to use the machine for a maximum of 5 minutes this includes heating up and pouring the coffee. So this means you’ll only be drawing 1500 watts for 5 minutes.
So drawing 1500 watts for 5 minutes will use 125Wh or 0.125kWh. So 15 cents x 0.125kWh = 1.8 cents.
This means the average coffee maker uses less than 2 cents of energy for a cup of coffee.
Battery Size for Inverter and Coffee Machine
For most coffee makers you’ll need a 2000 watt inverter to give you enough power without risking an overload.
Knowing the energy usage of a coffee maker and the size of the inverter we can also decide the best size battery.
You’ll need at least a 50Ah battery for a coffee maker and inverter.
This is because, for each cup of coffee, you’re using 0.125kWh, which is equivalent to 1Ah at 120V. If you’re making multiple cups of coffee throughout the day you’ll need a fair bit of energy. Especially, if you’re running other devices. With a battery smaller than 50Ah your energy levels will quickly start to deplete.
5 Tips for Using Coffee Maker with Inverter
When using a coffee machine with an inverter it’s likely you’ll have a limited amount of energy. In my experience, there is a number of ways to help save energy while making your hot drinks. Below are my top tips!
1. Use eco-mode
Like many modern appliances, coffee machines offer eco modes. These features are designed to help reduce the amount of electricity your equipment uses. Generally, eco modes are best for keeping a coffee maker switched on for a number of hours without drawing a lot of power.
For example, in an office setting, you might have people making coffees throughout the day. Rather than switching the machine on and off each time, you can select eco mode. This would keep the machine warm for a while drawing low power and switching off if it has not been used for a chosen time period. For example, a Keurig coffee maker can draw just 200 watts when idle compared to 1500 watts when heating up.
2. Make all coffees at once
A big tip to dramatically reduce energy consumption is to simply make everybody’s coffee at the same time. Rather than people making individual coffees at different intervals, try to get everyone to have coffee at the same time.
This leads to a massive energy saving, as the machine only needs to be switched on, heated up, and used for a matter of minutes. In my experience, no longer than 15 minutes, even for large groups. After all, the drinks are made you can completely switch off the coffee maker!
3. Keep engine running
If you are running your inverter from your vehicle starter battery then make sure you keep the engine running. Car batteries are not designed to deliver power for long periods of time, and a coffee maker would quickly deplete the battery. This could cause damage and leave you stranded, unable to start the engine. Keeping the engine running keeps your battery charged.
4. Don’t deplete battery more than 50%
When using a regular lead-acid battery with an inverter you shouldn’t deplete it more than 50%. Deep-cycle lead-acid batteries will be damaged if you run them flat so don’t overdo it.
You could always use a lithium battery which offers superior performance and recharging abilities.
5. Switch off when not in use
Don’t forget to switch off your coffee maker and inverter when not in use. Leaving either of these appliances switched on will use energy. Coffee machines will use power to stay hot while switched on. Plus, power inverters still draw power even when it has no load attached.
Final Thoughts on Inverter for Coffee Machine
So there you have it, now you have a much better understanding of the power requirements for coffee makers.
These are high-powered appliances due to the heating elements so you will need an inverter capable of supporting this.
Thanks for reading, and I’m off for a cup o’ joe.
