Excalibur and energy usage!

[Clare]

I am considering asking for an excalibur for my birthday. My husband asked me about the wattage, and he was shocked and disturbed that it is 600 watts, or 400 for the 5-tray size. Considering it needs to run several hours, that's a lot of energy!

We are fairly energy concious with our appliances. Does anyone have any ideas or know of a more efficient dehydrator that's decent?

[Aleesha Sattva]

from what i've heard (on other threads on this forum) it takes less energy than your fridge! i wouldn't worry about it to be honest.

[Conscious Midwife]

hmmm

just consciously keep you clocks, microwave and puter unplugged oh and hot water heater on the vacation mode to make up for it.

If you blow dry and curl your hair daily imagine how much energy that is using:rolleyes:

[raweater]

It's important to consider the 600 watt rating is the peak usage, this means it's the maximum it will ever draw, and the 600 watts draw is only when you first turn it on. Once it's reached the proper temperature the heating element (which is probably 90% of that 600 watts) will start going on and off to maintain the temperature equal, during this time, which is normal operation, I would expect the average energy draw to be 100-200 watts at the very most. I believe they say it costs 24 cents a day in electricity in the manual.

I'm quite sure cooking something for 15 minutes takes more energy than leaving the dehydrator on for several days.

[Rawkinlocs]

This is from the Excalibur website FAQ:
http://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/faq.htm#8

How much electricity does the Excalibur consume?
The average cost of electricity used by the Excalibur is about 4 - 5¢ an hour. Dry a full load of fruits or vegetables for less than a quarter!

[Clare]

Thank you all, especially rawkinlocs for the link to the website. I am so excited now to get one for my birthday in April!