Although we increasingly live in a world of portable, rechargeable gadgets—not to mention a world increasingly traversed by battery-powered cars—there are still wide swaths of our lives that are stationary and connected to our homes via cords. And those cords get tangled, get in the way, that make our countertops look cluttered.
But battery-powered appliances exist. In fact, it’s theoretically possible to stock your entire kitchen with battery-powered devices for a super-futuristic feel. But just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Battery-powered devices often underperform their corded brethren because certain things, like heat generation, take a lot of power. But as more and more battery-powered appliances hit the market, it’s time for an assessment: Which ones are worth buying?
These battery-operated appliances are not worth it
First, let’s start with a few categories where there are few, if any, viable battery-powered options:
Coffee makers. There are several pretty good travel coffee makers like the CONQUECO espresso maker, for example, but these are designed to be single-shot appliances you can use in a hotel room, not for daily wake-ups in your house. Makita offers a coffee maker that runs off its interchangeable power tool batteries, but it’s specifically designed for construction sites lacking power and the battery craps out after 2-3 cups of mediocre coffee, so it’s really a niche solution.
Space heaters. Generating heat is very power-intense, so there is no truly battery-powered space heater in this world worth the name. Most of the portable heaters that have the word “battery” in their description are using batteries as supplemental power and still rely on a fuel source like propane or kerosene for the actual heating.
Stoves and ovens. Right now there’s no such thing as a truly battery-powered stove or oven, because of the power requirements. That said, companies like Impulse Labs and The Channing Street Copper Company are working on “battery-equipped” stoves. These are worth mentioning because they solve a significant problem: Induction stoves pull a lot of juice—so much that most homes will need to install a heavy appliance 240-volt outlet to use one, which can cost a few thousand dollars. These stoves would plug into regular 120-volt outlets, charge up their batteries, and use the stored power to augment the actual cooking.
Which battery powered appliances are worth it?
There are, however, a surprising number of actually viable battery-powered appliances out there.
Makita microwave
Makita is introducing a short list of oddball appliances that run off of its power tool batteries. The market for these appliances is contractors who often find themselves working in places with no electricity, so being able to brew some coffee or cook lunch without leaving the job site is great, especially if you already use their power tools and have plenty of batteries charging. But the Makita portable microwave is actually worth looking into even if you’re not a contractor, because it does actually work—it can heat up about 10-11 small plates or about 20 cups of liquid, all off of battery power. That won’t help a large family, of course, but if you’re a single person or if you want to nuke some burritos in your car or tent, it’s well worth your attention. Plus, it’s pretty much the only battery-powered microwave in existence—although it’s currently only available in Japan.
Zero Breeze Mark II air conditioner
While battery-powered heaters still aren’t here, the Zero Breeze Mark II is a battery-powered air conditioner that actually works. Effective mainly in small spaces and kind of pricey, it’s not going to replace your gigantic window box any time soon, but for camping or for a small office space it will actually cool the place down, and you’ll get 3-4 hours of run time out of it at full blast.
BlenderX portable blender
The battery-powered blenders on the market are usually promoted as “portable” for folks who want to make smoothies or cocktails anywhere they go. But some of them are powerful enough to simply be your blender, like the BlenderX. Yes, it’s portable—it even comes in a waterproof bag—but it’s got enough juice to handle almost all of your cooking needs in the kitchen, so you can have one less cord to deal with.
Makita LXT electric kettle
There aren’t a lot of battery-powered kettles out there, because heating up water requires a ton of power. Once again, Makita makes a pretty decent one for its contractor market that runs off its standard power tool batteries. It will heat up about 27 ounces of water in under 10 minutes, making it perfect for a quick cup of tea, instant coffee, or even instant noodles.
KitchenAid cordless hand mixer
Mixers tend to be either enormous contraptions that belong in a professional kitchen or pretty basic items good for the occasional cookie bake. A battery-powered hand mixer like KitchenAid’s model handles that low-end stuff pretty well these days. KitchenAid, in fact, makes a full line of small appliances for the kitchen that are reviewed well.
Will we eventually get rid of cords altogether? Well, wireless power transfer might solve the problem someday, but for now at least you can pop some popcorn with battery power.