The invention of the electric rice cooker is a lifesaver for those who cook rice often, as it allows you to measure, fill, press on and walk away! However, the investment of yet another electric appliance may have you questioning whether it’s going to affect your electricity bill or not.
Especially if you use the machine often!
How much electricity does a rice cooker consume? A standard rice cooker draws a relatively low amount of voltage and amperage, consuming anywhere between 620-700 watts of electric power in cook mode. Once the rice is cooked, the appliance then only uses about 30-45 watts on the warm setting.
The amount of energy a rice cooker will consume in your particular home will certainly depend on the model and size of your rice cooker, how frequently you use it, and how long you typically keep the rice on the ‘warm’ setting for (versus simply shutting it off and unplugging it once the rice has cooked).
How does a Rice Cooker Compare to other Electrical Appliances?
Since a rice cooker is a rather small machine that draws a low amount of energy in the form of amperage and voltage, its’ watt usage is going to be sufficiently lower than that of a microwave oven, refrigerator or air conditioner.
Even if you cook with the rice cooker every single day and leave it on for many hours at a time, it still will not consume nearly as much energy as other household appliances.
If you’d like to know where most of your electric consumption is going, see the following percentage breakdown:
- 47% of energy is used on AC/Heat
- 14% of energy is used on water heating
- 13% of energy is used on washer/dryers (if you have one)
- 12% of energy is used on lighting
- 4% of energy is used on your refrigerator running
- 3-4% of energy is used on an electric oven
- 3% of energy is used on the TV/Cable Box
- 2% of energy is used on your dishwasher
- 1% of energy is used on your computer
Since a rice cooker is an appliance that is not typically plugged in at all times and would only be used an hour a day (and even then, not likely every day), it would use less than 1% of your home’s overall energy for the year.
How much Does it Cost per Usage?
Due to the rice cooker’s internal electric heater, thermostat, and timing mechanism the appliance uses anywhere from 620-700 watts during the cooking process. The wattage, of course, may change throughout the cooking process, but it will use the most amount of wattage when the water inside the rice cooker basin boils (reaching 212 degrees Fahrenheit.)
If a rice cooker uses, say 627 watts during cooking, that is 0.627 kilowatts. The operational cost in this instance is 13 hundredths of one cent (per minute) which is $0.0013. The cost per hour is then $0.07 cents. If you leave the rice cooker on warm after the cooking is completed, for no more than an hour, then your cost per day is $0.14.
That would mean it costs you potentially around $4-5 to run per month.
Yearly, that would be around $50 (give or take) to run your rice cooker, IF you use the appliance every day for the exact time mentioned above – which is unlikely.
How do I Calculate the Cost of my Rice Cooker Myself?
If you are really passionate about finding out exactly the amount of electricity your specific rice cooker is using per session, you can purchase a ‘usage monitor,’ which will aid you in figuring out a more exact cost of energy being used as well.
However, you may find you’ll spend more on purchasing a usage monitor than you will by running your rice cooker.
There is also a simple formula you can use, which can be used for any and all appliances in your home to estimate the amount of electricity and energy they consume. Firstly, you need to figure out how long the appliance typically runs for on any given day (i.e., daily run time.)
If you use your rice cooker every day, and it takes 30 minutes to cook the rice, and you typically leave it on warm for 30 minutes, that is a half-hour at full power and a half hour at minimum power.
Secondly, you need to decipher the wattage of your appliance, which is typically listed on a warning sticker somewhere on the appliance itself. When in doubt – look up your specific rice cooker model online.
Lastly, you need to know how much you pay for electricity in your household. This can be found on your energy bill (look at your most recent statement). If you aren’t sure how to tell what you’re spending money on, check how many cents you pay per kilowatt, for example.
Once you have collected all this necessary date, you can calculate the energy cost:
- Calculate the daily energy consumption of your rice cooker (wattage) x (daily run time or hours used). Then divide that answer by 1,000.
- Calculate your yearly usage of your rice cooker (daily run time) x (number of days appliance is used in a year)
- Multiply your answer from number 1 by your answer from number 2. Voila!
Is it Okay to Leave my Rice on the Warm setting for Days on End?
Understandably some households prefer to cook lots of rice at one time, so as not to have to use the rice cooker every single day. If this is the case for you and your family, you may prefer to purchase a larger rice cooker.
When you cook rice, you may also consider putting the rice immediately in glassware that you can let cool and then store in the refrigerator for the next few days. However, for food safety reasons, you can’t just leave your rice in the rice cooker on warm for a day and expect the rice to be safe to eat.
Generally speaking, using your rice cooker for one hour at a time and turning the appliance off when you are finished will not have an effect on your electricity bill. In fact, turning on the lights in the kitchen while you operate your rice cooker will impact your electricity bill more than an hour of cooking rice will.
If you leave your rice cooker on the warm setting for long periods of time (like a full day or two) the wattage use is still so low that it won’t have a major effect on your energy bill. However, it is not sanitary to leave your rice inside the rice cooker for days on end.
Once food has cooked, the amount of bacteria that can grow on exposed food increases every hour. Moisture in food increases the likelihood of bacteria growth.
Leaving rice on warm in your rice cooker for one to two hours is fine. However, when you leave the rice in there for a day or two, it will most certainly be spoiled. You will have a slimy, smelly, sour rice. Pretty nasty.
It is also worth mentioning that the average household appliance is not built to run continuously like this. A rice cooker is no exception. In fact, it’s very design is such that when the rice is done cooking, it immediately lowers the temperature inside the basin by activating the machinery’s fail-safe – which either turns the rice cooker off completely or switches it on to the warm setting.
Therefore, you can guarantee that a device whose sole function is that it stops cooking at the exact right time for the perfect rice, is not meant to stay on for days at a time.
The Key Take Away?
Rice cookers are inexpensive to run and will not impact your electricity bill, as it is unlikely one will use the rice cooker every single day. However, if you are that rare individual who will indeed make use of this helpful appliance daily, then you should not expect to pay more than $50 a year to run your rice cooker.
Another way to minimize the electricity consumption of your rice cooker is to turn it off and unplug it after each use. It is also highly recommended that you do not leave your rice in the rice cooker on the warm setting for more than two hours.
After this point, you risk the rice-growing bacteria on it and becoming spoiled, as well as using more energy than is actually necessary from this machine which has already completed its task (perfectly, I might add.)