These stupid headlines miss the whole point. Microwaves use very little power, slightly more than a 7-watt LED bulb over its lifetime.

Honestly, if you read these headlines you would think that it was time to throw out your microwave right now. They all are interpretations of a recent study led by Alejandro Gallego-Schmid of the University of Manchester titled Environmental assessment of microwaves and the effect of European energy efficiency and waste management legislation.

NDTV/Screen captureThe study notes that there are a lot of microwave ovens in Europe (130 million) so that, in total, they burn a lot of electricity (9.4 Terawatt/hours) per year. A lot of that electricity comes from burning fossil fuels and garbage, putting out a lot of CO2.

phys org should know better/Screen capture

But they conclude that new EU regulations on standby power consumption will reduce consumption by 4 to 9 percent, and decarbonization of the electricity supply will reduce most impacts by 6 to 24 percent by 2020, and recommend that “eco-design regulation for microwaves should be developed to reduce resource use” – which one could say about absolutely any appliance.

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But even the University of Manchester has a clickbait headline and summarizes the results with inane comparisons:

Guardian/Screen captureBut as the Guardian notes, microwave ovens are the most efficient way to cook, and the comparison to cars is idiotic. David Reay of the University of Edinburgh explains:

  • Microwaves emit 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year in the EU. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 6.8 million cars.Microwaves across the EU consume an estimated 9.4 terawatts per hour (TWh) of electricity every year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity generated by three large gas power plants.Efforts to reduce consumption should focus on improving consumer awareness and behaviour to use appliances more efficiently.

Inquisitr/Screen captureAlmost everything we do uses power, and you can multiply it out and find that when you have a lot of people, it uses a lot of power. Using this logic, I expect that my electric toothbrush is killing the planet.Of course, if the University of Manchester is writing this kind of headline in their press release, you really cannot blame all the other newspapers. But really, your microwave is not killing the planet.

© consumer energy centerCooking with a microwave uses a fraction of the energy at a fraction of the cost to cook a given item than any other appliance. That should be the story here.