$15 Smart Switch Exposes $1,500-a-Year Coffee Machine Power Leak
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Jun 9
$15 Smart Switch Exposes $1,500-a-Year Coffee Machine Power Leak
1 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Jun 9
Summary
A SwitchBot Relay 1PM test found a La Spaziale S5 coffee machine was wasting more than $1,500 a year in electricity while supposedly idle.
Power logs showed the machine used about 8 kWh over roughly 16 standby hours—around 0.5 kW continuously—far higher than expected for downtime.
A small low-pressure water leak turned out to be the cause, forcing the machine to keep refilling with cold water and heating it over and over.
Fixing the leak cut standby draw to under 0.25 kW, showing how the $15 smart switch's monitoring feature can quickly pay for itself by exposing hidden energy waste.