Do Sous Vide Cookers Use a Lot of Electricity?

Does sous vide cooking sound great to you? Probably, but then you see it’s an electric cooker that you need to plug into an outlet, and you’re suddenly worried about your electricity bill.

You’ve heard that a steak might take a few hours to cook. And what about thicker meats, like roulades or meatballs? You’ve begun to wonder – do sous vide cookers use a lot of electricity?

Before you give up on sous vide cooking, read this article to learn more about how it works.

Do Watts Matter for Sous Vide?

Some appliances display the wattage requirements on the box. Sometimes, you need to know how much an appliance uses, especially if it’s a big unit. Watts matter because they contribute towards your power bills.

When it comes to sous vide cooking, you’ll probably want to find the info about its wattage usage before purchasing. It sure doesn’t use as much electricity as an oven or a clothes dryer, but the number isn’t irrelevant. It may be one of the factors you’ll bear in mind when considering different brands.

People also look at wattage as an indicator of how fast the device preheats the water bath. This is something many also consider when deciding between brands.

How Much Power Does a Sous Vide Machine Use?

It all depends on the specific model, but sous vide machines usually use between 800 to 1200W on average. So, what does this mean? Do sous vide cookers use a lot of electricity?

Not necessarily. You can find models that use less power, but keep in mind that lower wattage may mean that the cooker will take longer to reach the target temperature. For example, this research has shown that the Anova Precision Cooker has prolonged its startup time after the manufacturer reduced the wattage from 1000 to 800W.

If you take the average watt cost into account, along with the number of times an average household uses a sous vide machine, you won’t get a high number. The mentioned research concluded that an average cost for a 72-hour cooking time would be less than $2.

Sous Vide Immersion Circulator

Sous vide immersion circulators come with different capacities. Their power range goes from 800 to 1500W, so it’s best to choose one according to your needs.

Restaurants and professional cooks will probably benefit from more powerful immersion circulators. Still, if you only sous vide for your food once in a while, an 800 to 1100W model will do just fine. It may take longer to cook thicker meat, but it won’t make a big difference to your utility bill.

Sous Vide Water Oven

Like immersion circulators, sous vide water ovens do also heat the water, but unlike immersion circulators, they do not involve any sort of water flow or movement. They don’t actually circulate the water inside of the sous vide machine like an immersion circulator does. While the water in a water batch can reach the same temperature, due to a lack of water movement, it may result in somewhat uneven cooking.

Thanks to the fact that water ovens simply heat the water but do not move it, there are fewer moving components that are using electricity, and therefore water ovens do use a bit less power than immersion circulators.

For instance, a model of 1000W warms the water pretty rapidly and can reach an excellent temperature accuracy. Specific models can be extraordinarily energy-effective and spend no more than a 60-watt lightbulb. In fact, the only time a sous vide machine uses a bit more energy is the period before it reaches the temperature you’ve set.

In Summary

You can prepare five-star restaurant-worthy food at home thanks to the sous vide cooking technique.

If you were concerned about adding another electrical appliance to your kitchen, you now know it’s nothing to worry about. The delicious outcome isn’t the only benefit of investing in a sous vide cooker.

Do sous vide cookers use a lot of electricity? No! They’re actually very budget-friendly. If you choose an average-range model, you probably won’t even notice any changes in your utility bills at the end of the month.