Discussion»Questions»Science and Technology» Which takes more electricity/costs more? Running a microwave at full power for 5 minutes or half power for 10? Is it a draw?
That's somewhat dependent on how your microwave oven is designed but generally speaking it will consume more power if you run it at half power for 10-minutes than if you run it at full power for 5-minutes.
Keep in mind that the output power of the tube can't be changed. If it's an 800-watt magnetron it can't be throttled back to 400-watts. The apparent change in power levels is actually accomplished by switching the tube on and off. For half power the tube would only be powered for 1/2 of the 10-minutes, being switched off and on multiple times during that interval. And during that 10-minutes power would continue to be consumed to operate the fan(s) and the microwave "stirrer" (or rotating platter) and any other electronics that would not be powered up during the cooking cycle (such as the light inside the oven). And, if memory serves, there's also an inrush current, a momentary increase in the power being supplied to the tube and it's 3,000-volt power supply, every time the tube starts which adds to that power consumption. That would happen once during the full-power 5-minutes but multiple times during the 1/2 power ,10-minute cooking cycle.
This post was edited by Salt and Red Pepper at October 24, 2017 10:06 AM MDT
