With the price of energy skyrocketing worldwide, it is normal to worry about how much electricity each appliance in our home consumes. However, Dolce Gusto coffee makers have been designed to have a minimum expenditure, which we will hardly notice in the electricity bill.
No appliance manufacturer indicates their products’ energy consumption, but they provide us with data related to electrical power. To calculate the energy consumed by a Dolce Gusto coffee maker, we multiply its electrical power by the time of use. And with this energy data, we can obtain the cost of using the coffee maker if we multiply it by the price of electricity.
Dolce Gusto coffee makers are super-efficient machines with which, if one coffee is prepared per day, the consumption of the coffee maker will not exceed 10kWh per year. And if we translate this value to current energy costs, it will cost between 2 and 3 dollars per year.
How is the electrical consumption of a Dolce Gusto coffee machine calculated?
A Dolce Gusto coffee machine has an average electrical power of about 1,500W. This power refers mainly to the thermoblock (water heating element) because the water pump barely reaches 50W.
Empirical fact: To prepare a coffee with the coffee maker cold, it takes 60 seconds between heating the water and preparing the coffee.
- Total electrical power of the Dolce Gusto = 1,500W.
- Total time of use to prepare a coffee = 60sec = 0.01667h.
- Energy consumed to prepare a coffee (in Wh) = 1.500W * 0,01667h = 25 Wh
- Energy consumed to prepare a coffee (in kWh) = 25Wh * 0,001= 0.025 kWh
- Energy consumed to prepare 365 coffees (in kWh) = 9.12 kWh
- Approximate price per kWh at $0.25/kWh
- Cost of preparing 365 coffees (one each day of the year) = $2.28.
NOTE: Always turn off the coffee maker after brewing a coffee as the Dolce Gusto will keep the thermoblock hot until the auto shuts off. Although this consumption is minimal, it is advisable to turn it off.
Energy-consuming components in a Dolce Gusto
If you have read my Dolce Gusto troubleshooting guide, you will already know the components of a Dolce Gusto coffee machine. In the photo below, you can see a disassembled Dolce Gusto, which is divided into three zones:
- Top: Preparation lever, injector, capsule holder, beverage selector, and sensors.
- Middle: Control board with wiring, sensor output, and piping.
- Lower: Thermoblock, pump, flow meter, fuses, piping, and wiring.
Of all the components named above, the one with the most power, the one that consumes the most energy when in operation, is the thermoblock (about 1,500W). With less than 5% of consumption, the thermoblock follows the water pump (50W). And with almost negligible consumption, we have the control board and the LED light of the power button.
- The thermoblock turns on just after we press the power button and begins to operate at full capacity until it reaches about 86 ºC. The thermostat opens the circuit at that point, and the thermoblock switches off.
- The water pump is the next element to start preparing the coffee beverage. This will run between 8 and 33 seconds, as we saw in this article. I also leave you here a table with the time that the pump works in each segment of the selection bar:
| Scale Values | Volume | Time |
| Segment 1 (bottom) | 53 ml | 8 sec |
| Segment 2 | 68 ml | 12 sec |
| Segment 3 | 94 ml | 21 sec |
| Segment 4 | 130 ml | 22 sec |
| Segment 5 | 146 ml | 25 sec |
| Segment 6 | 173 ml | 29 sec |
| Segment 7 (top) | 230 ml | 31 sec |
| Segment 7 (+ XL) | 300 ml | 33 sec |
Immediately after brewing a coffee, you will see the light on the Dolce Gusto’s power button flash red for about 2 to 3 seconds; this means that the coffee maker is heating the thermoblock again. But this time is not significant compared to the initial one.
Do all Dolce Gusto models consume the same amount of power?
Most Dolce Gusto coffee makers differ in their external appearance and the distribution of their components inside. But both the components and the options that the coffee maker offers the user are the same from one model to another.
In this table, you will find the power ratings of the most sold Dolce Gusto models to understand the similarity in terms of power consumption visually:
| MODEL | POWER |
| Mini Me S | 1.500W |
| Piccolo XS | 1.600W |
| Infinissima | 1.500W |
| Genio Plus | 1.600W |
| Lumio | 1.600W |
| Genio 2 | 1.460W |
| Magesto | 1.460W |
Conclusion
From the research I have done to prepare this article, I have drawn several very interesting conclusions that I would like to share with you:
- The electrical power cost of a Dolce Gusto coffee maker is just over $2.28. The cost of 10 coffee pods equals this value, so we should not worry about the electrical consumption of the coffee maker as much as we should worry about finding good deals on coffee pods.
- All Dolce Gusto models consume approximately the same amount of power. As these coffee makers use the same components, their consumption is practically the same regardless of the model you buy.
- When you do not use the coffee maker, it is best to turn it off to save the residual consumption.
