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Toaster
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|
A toaster from 2008 | |
| Inventor | Crompton & Company of Chelmsford, Essex |
|---|---|
| Inception | 1893 |
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Available | Globally |
A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to cook sliced bread into toast. When cooked the bread browns due to the maillard reaction. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, lowered, and cooked using heating elements, often made of nichrome wire, to generate heat and toast the bread.
Types
[edit]Pop-up toaster
[edit]In a pop-up or automatic toaster, a single vertical piece of bread is dropped into a slot on the top of the toaster. A lever on the side of the toaster is pressed down, lowering the bread into the toaster and activating the heating elements. The length of the toasting cycle (and therefore the degree of toasting) is adjustable via a lever, knob, or series of pushbuttons, and when an internal device determines that the toasting cycle is complete, the toaster turns off and the toast pops up out of the slots.
The completion of toasting may be determined by a timer (sometimes manually set) or by a thermal sensor, such as a bimetallic strip, located close to the toast.[citation needed]
Toasters may also be used to toast other foods such as teacakes, toaster pastries, potato waffles and crumpets, though the resultant accumulation of fat and sugar inside the toaster can contribute to its eventual failure.
Among pop-up toasters, those toasting two slices of bread are more purchased than those that can toast four.[1] Pop-up toasters can have a range of appearances beyond just a square box and may have an exterior finish of chrome, copper, brushed metal, or any colored plastic.[1] The marketing and price of toasters may not be an indication of quality for producing good toast.[1] A typical modern two-slice pop-up toaster can draw from 600 to 1200 watts.[2]
Beyond the basic toasting function, some pop-up toasters offer additional features such as:
- One-sided toasting, which some people prefer when toasting bagels
- The ability to power the heat elements in only one of the toaster's several slots
- Slots of various depths, lengths, and widths to accommodate a variety of bread types
- Provisions to allow the bread to be lifted higher than the normal raised position, so toast that has shifted during the toasting process can safely and easily be removed
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Glowing filaments of a modern two-slice toaster
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A toaster oven
Toaster oven
[edit]
Invented in 1910,[3] toaster ovens are small electric ovens that provide toasting capability plus a limited amount of baking and broiling capability. Similarly to a conventional oven, toast or other items are placed on a small wire rack, but toaster ovens can heat foods faster than regular ovens due to their small volume. They are especially useful when the users do not also have a kitchen stove with an integral oven, such as in smaller apartments and recreational vehicles such as truck campers.
Conveyor toaster
[edit]
A conveyor toaster is an appliance that caramelizes and carries bread products on a belt or chain into and through a heated chamber.[4] Conveyor toasters are designed to make many slices of toast and are generally used in the catering industry, restaurants, cafeterias, institutional cooking facilities, and other commercial food service situations where constant or high-volume toasting is required. Bread can be toasted at a rate of 250–1800+ slices an hour.[5] The total radiant heat a conveyor toaster applies to each slice can be controlled by adjusting the conveyor speed or the output strength of the heating elements. Conveyor toasters are generally available with either a vertical or horizontal conveyor orientation. Conveyor toasters have been produced for home use; in 1938, for example, the Toast-O-Lator went into limited production.[6]
History
[edit]Before the development of the electric toaster, sliced bread was toasted by placing it in a metal frame or on a long-handled toasting fork[7] and holding it near a fire or over a kitchen grill.
From the 16th century onward, long-handled forks were used as toasters, "sometimes with fitment for resting on bars of grate or fender."[8]
Wrought-iron scroll-ornamented toasters appeared in Scotland in the 17th century.[9] Another wrought-iron toaster was documented to be from 18th-century England.[10]
Utensils for toasting bread over open flames appeared in America in the early 19th century, including decorative implements made from wrought iron.[11]
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Toasters before the use of electricity
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Toaster with an Edison screw fitting, c. 1909
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General Electric Model D-12 toaster, from 1910s
Development of the heating element
[edit]The primary technical problem in toaster development at the turn of the 20th century was the development of a heating element that would be able to sustain repeated heating to red-hot temperatures without breaking or becoming too brittle.[citation needed] A similar technical challenge had recently been surmounted with the invention of the first successful incandescent lightbulbs by Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. However, the light bulb took advantage of the presence of a vacuum, something that could not be used for the toaster.
The first stand-alone electric toaster, the Eclipse, was made in 1893 by Crompton & Company of Chelmsford, Essex. Its bare wires toasted bread on one side at a time.[12]
The problem of the heating element was solved in 1905 by a young engineer named Albert Marsh, who designed an alloy of nickel and chromium, which came to be known as nichrome.[13][14][15][16]
The first US patent application for an electric toaster was filed by George Schneider of the American Electrical Heater Company of Detroit in collaboration with Marsh.[14][17] One of the first applications that the Hoskins company considered for its Chromel wire was for use in toasters, but the company eventually abandoned such efforts, to focus on making just the wire itself.[15]
The first commercially successful electric toaster was introduced by General Electric in 1909 for the GE model D-12.[14][18][19]
Dual-side toasting and automated pop-up technologies
[edit]
In 1913, Lloyd Groff Copeman and his wife Hazel Berger Copeman applied for various toaster patents, and in that same year, the Copeman Electric Stove Company introduced a toaster with an automatic bread turner.[20] Before this, electric toasters cooked bread on one side, meaning the bread needed to be flipped by hand to cook both sides. Copeman's toaster turned the bread around without having to touch it.[21]
The automatic pop-up toaster, which ejects the toast after toasting it, was first patented by Charles Strite in 1921.[22] In 1925, using a redesigned version of Strite's toaster, the Waters Genter Company introduced the Model 1-A-1 Toastmaster,[23] the first automatic, pop-up, household toaster that could brown bread on both sides simultaneously, set the heating element on a timer, and eject the toast when finished.[citation needed]
Toasting technology after the 1940s
[edit]In the 1980s, some high-end U.S. toasters featured automatic toast lowering and raising without the need to operate levers – simply dropping the bread into one of these "elevator toasters",[24] such as the Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster models made from the late 1940s through the 1990s, began the toasting cycle. These toasters use the mechanically multiplied thermal expansion of the resistance wire in the center element assembly to lower the bread; the inserted slice of bread trips a lever switch to activate the heating elements and their thermal expansion is harnessed to lower the bread.[citation needed]
When the toast is done, as determined by a small bimetallic sensor actuated by the heat radiating off the toast, the heaters are shut off and the pull-down mechanism returns to its room-temperature position, slowly raising the finished toast. This sensing of the heat radiating off the toast means that regardless of the type of bread (white or whole grain) or its initial temperature (even frozen), the bread is always toasted to the same consistency.[25]
Research
[edit]Several projects have added advanced technology to toasters. In 1990, Simon Hackett and John Romkey created "The Internet Toaster", a toaster that could be controlled by the Internet.[26] In 2001, Robin Southgate from Brunel University in England created a toaster that could toast a graphic of the weather prediction (limited to sunny or cloudy) onto a piece of bread.[27] The toaster dials a pre-coded phone number to get the weather forecast.[28]
In 2005, Technologic Systems, a vendor of embedded systems hardware, designed a toaster running the NetBSD Unix-like operating system as a sales demonstration system.[29] In 2012, Basheer Tome, a student at Georgia Tech, designed a toaster using color sensors to toast bread to the exact shade of brown specified by a user.[30]
A toaster that used Twitter was cited as an early example of an application of the Internet of Things.[31][32] Toasters have been used as advertising devices for online marketing.[33]
With permanent modifications, a toaster oven can be used as a reflow oven to solder electronic components to circuit boards.[34][35]
Similar inventions
[edit]Hot dog toaster
[edit]
A hot dog toaster is a variation on the toaster design; it can cook hot dogs without the use of microwaves or stoves. The appliance looks similar to a regular toaster, except that there are two slots in the middle for hot dogs and two slots on the outside for toasting the buns. Or there can be a set of skewers upon which hot dog are impaled.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Toaster Buying Guide". Consumer Reports. November 2012. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ "Automatic Toaster Guide". Melpomene.org. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
- ^ Cooper, Emily (5 January 2019). "Toaster Oven: An Energy-Efficient Appliance for Any Kitchen". Food & Nutrition. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ F26 Committee. "Test Method for Performance of Conveyor Toasters" (Report). ASTM International. doi:10.1520/f2380-18r23.
- ^ Sherer, Michael (2018-06-01). "Crash Course: Conveyor Toasters". Foodservice Equipment Reports Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Toast-O-Lator Electric Toaster by Crocker Wheeler Co., 1939". The Henry Ford. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (29 November 2004). Encyclopedia of Kitchen History. Taylor & Francis. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-57958-380-4.
- ^ Cameron, Ian; Kingsley-Rowe, Elizabeth (1973). Collins Encyclopedia of Antiques. Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-435022-6.
- ^ Hume, Ivor Noël; Hume, Audrey Noel; Hume, Audrey Noël (2016-07-18). The Archaeology of Martin's Hundred: Part 1, Interpretive Studies; Part 2, Artifact Catalog. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-1-5128-1971-7.
- ^ Education, Great Britain Board of (1911). Report for the Year 1909-1917 on the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bethnal Green Museum.
- ^ "The Howard Roth Collection of Early American Iron | Skinner Auctions 2744M, 2743T and 2757B". issuu. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Binney, Ruth (1999). The Origins of Everyday Things. Reader's Digest. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-7621-0141-2.
- ^ U.S. patent 811,859
- ^ a b c Norcross, Eric (2006). "The Cyber Toaster Museum". Toaster.org. The Toaster Museum Foundation. pp. section "1900–1920". Archived from the original on 15 August 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
- ^ a b George, William F. (2003). Antique Electric Waffle Irons 1900–1960: A History of the Appliance Industry in 20th Century America. Trafford Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 1-55395-632-X. Retrieved 16 August 2008.
- ^ Clark, Neil M. (May 1927). "The World's Most Tragic Man Is the One Who Never Starts". The American. Archived from the original on 25 August 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2007.; republished in hotwire: The Newsletter of the Toaster Museum Foundation, vol. 3, no. 3, online edition.
- ^ Schneider, George (17 July 1906) "Electric cooker" U.S. patent 825,938
- ^ Dana Gloger (31 March 2009). "A Toast to the Toaster... 100 Years Old and Still Going Strong". Daily Express. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
- ^ F. E. Shailor (22 February 1910) "Electric heater" U.S. patent 950,058
- ^ Copeman, Kent L. "Lloyd Groff Copeman". LloydCopeman.com. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ "Lloyd Groff Copeman: The Patent Man". Absolute Michigan. Leelanau Communications, Inc. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ United States patent 1,394,450, "Bread-Toaster", 1921
- ^ "Toastmaster Toasters: When They Were Made". Toaster Museum Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 September 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Kenmore "Elevator" Toaster". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
- ^ "US2667828A - Automatic toaster". Google Patents. Archived from the original on 28 Nov 2021.
- ^ Dern, Daniel. "11.6. I heard someone hooked a toaster to the Internet?! Really?". Your Internet Consultant - The FAQs of Life Online. Kay Savetz. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
- ^ "A small slice of design". BBC News. 6 April 2001. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- ^ Orlowski, Andrew (4 June 2001). "Bread as a display device – we have pictures". The Register. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "NetBSD Toaster with the TS-7200 ARM9 SBC". Technologic Systems. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Color-Sensing Toasters? A Student Reimagines the Home". Bloomberg.com. BloombergBusinessweek. 26 December 2012. Archived from the original on December 29, 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ Costanzo, Sam (25 July 2013). "This high-tech toaster can Tweet". The Boston Globe. Boston: NYTC. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Ganapati, Priya (5 August 2009). "Toaster, Toilet Lead Appliance Invasion of Twitter". Wired. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Murphy Kelly, Samantha (26 August 2013). "Eat What You Tweet: Toaster Strudel Personalizes Pastries on Twitter". mashable.com. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- ^ Kraft, Caleb (22 October 2008). "Reflowing with a toaster". Hack a Day. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Honorable Mention". DesignStellaris2006. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
External links
[edit]- U.S. patent 825,938 Electric cooker
- U.S. patent 950,058 Electric heater, GE D-12
- Toaster at HowStuffWorks
Toaster
View on GrokipediaOverview
Definition and Purpose
A toaster is a small electric kitchen appliance designed to brown and crisp slices of bread or similar baked goods through the application of radiant heat, primarily via infrared radiation generated by heating elements. This process triggers the Maillard reaction, a chemical interaction between amino acids and reducing sugars in the food at temperatures typically above 140°C (285°F), resulting in the characteristic golden-brown color, aroma, and flavor of toast.[2][9][10] The primary purpose of a toaster is to provide quick and even toasting for various bread products, such as bagels, English muffins, waffles, and pastries, enhancing their texture and taste in a matter of minutes without requiring constant monitoring. Unlike traditional manual methods, such as holding bread over an open flame on a fork or in a metal frame, modern toasters offer convenience, safety, and consistency, making them ideal for everyday breakfast preparation or snacks. Pop-up toasters, for instance, are commonly used in home settings for their simplicity and automatic ejection feature.[11][5] The concept of toasting bread has evolved from ancient practices of exposing slices to direct fire for preservation and flavor enhancement, dating back to Roman times, into a staple of modern convenience driven by electrification in the early 20th century. This shift has transformed toasting from a labor-intensive task into an accessible routine, supporting busy lifestyles in contemporary households.[5] In 2025, the global toaster market is valued at approximately US$5 billion, reflecting widespread adoption with retail penetration levels reaching 68% in households across developed economies, underscoring its role as an essential kitchen appliance.[12][13]Basic Principles of Operation
The operation of a toaster relies primarily on radiant heat transfer, where infrared radiation from the heating elements is absorbed by the bread's surface, raising its temperature to approximately 150-200°C and inducing dehydration that leads to crisping and browning.[14][15][16] This process evaporates moisture from the bread's exterior while the interior remains relatively soft, creating the characteristic texture of toast.[17] The browning and flavor development during toasting occur through the Maillard reaction, a non-enzymatic chemical process between amino acids (from proteins) and reducing sugars (from starches) in the bread when heated above about 140°C.[18][15] This reaction produces melanoidins, which impart the golden color, along with volatile compounds responsible for the nutty, toasty aromas and flavors; a simplified overview is given by the equation: The reaction accelerates optimally between 140-165°C but can continue up to higher temperatures before unwanted pyrolysis dominates.[19][20] A typical toasting cycle consists of a heating phase lasting 1-3 minutes, during which the bread is exposed to radiant heat until the desired level of browning is achieved, followed by automatic ejection in pop-up models or manual removal.[21][22] Evenness of toasting is influenced by factors such as bread thickness, which affects heat penetration, and initial moisture content, with higher moisture requiring longer exposure to achieve uniform drying and browning.[23][24] Fundamentally, toasters convert electrical energy into heat through the Joule heating principle, where current passing through resistive elements generates thermal energy proportional to the square of the current and the resistance.[25] Standard models consume 600-1200 watts during operation, with an average around 1200 watts. Toasting time is roughly inversely proportional to the toaster's wattage, as higher wattage delivers heat faster for the required energy input to brown and crisp the bread. Low-wattage toasters (typically 600-800W) generally take 50-100% longer to achieve the same level of browning compared to standard models (typically 900-1500W); for example, a low-wattage model might require 4-6 minutes for medium toast, compared to 2-3 minutes for a standard one. This aligns with the typical 1-3 minute cycle for standard toasters.[26][27] making them efficient for short cycles but energy-intensive relative to their brief use.Types
Pop-up Toaster
The pop-up toaster features a compact design with vertical slots typically accommodating 2 to 4 slices of bread simultaneously, utilizing a spring-loaded mechanism that ejects the toast upon completion of the cycle. This mechanism was invented by Charles Strite in 1919 while working as a mechanic in Stillwater, Minnesota, to address the need for an automatic toasting device that prevented burning in busy environments like factory cafeterias.[28][29] Household models generally operate at a power range of 800 to 1500 watts, providing efficient heating through nichrome wire elements positioned on both sides of each slot.[27] Key features include adjustable browning controls, often ranging from 1 to 7 settings, allowing users to select desired toast darkness by varying the heating duration. Many modern units incorporate specialized modes such as bagel settings, which toast only the cut side of bagels for even crisping while keeping the exterior softer, and defrost functions that extend the cycle to gently thaw frozen bread before toasting. The average toasting cycle lasts 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the selected level and bread thickness, with a manual cancel button for interrupting the process at any time.[30][31] Pop-up toasters are primarily used in home kitchens for quick, daily preparation of toasted bread, offering convenience for breakfast routines or snacks without requiring constant monitoring. They dominate the consumer toaster market, holding approximately 67% of the share in household sales as of 2025, due to their affordability, simplicity, and reliability for individual or small-family servings.[32] Variations include long-slot models, designed to handle oversized or artisan breads like sourdough loaves up to 10 inches in length, ensuring even toasting without trimming. Slim-profile versions cater to space-constrained countertops, maintaining standard functionality in a narrower footprint while accommodating typical slice sizes.[33][34]Toaster Oven
The toaster oven is a multifunctional, compact appliance featuring an enclosed oven-like structure with a front-loading door, distinguishing it from slot-based designs by enabling broader cooking applications. Invented around 1910 by William S. Hadaway for the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, it represents an early advancement in electric small appliances tailored for household use.[35] Modern models typically accommodate 4 to 6 slices of bread or equivalent small baking trays, with power ratings ranging from 1200 to 1800 watts to efficiently heat the interior space.[36] Key features enhance its versatility beyond simple toasting, including optional convection fans for uniform air circulation and broiler elements for high-heat searing. Temperature settings commonly reach up to 230°C (450°F), paired with adjustable timers extending to 30 minutes or more, allowing precise control for tasks like baking small batches of cookies or reheating leftovers. Many modern models also include air frying capabilities, utilizing rapid hot air circulation to produce crispy results with minimal oil.[37] These capabilities position the toaster oven as a practical tool for diverse cooking needs in limited kitchen setups. Toaster ovens offer several advantages, particularly for small-scale cooking tasks. They preheat quickly, often in just a few minutes, and consume 30-50% less electricity than full-sized conventional ovens for small batches or single servings by minimizing preheat times and heat loss. Their compact countertop footprint provides oven-like functionality without dominating space, making them well-suited to small apartments and dorms. In quality models, especially those equipped with convection, they deliver even cooking results across tasks such as toasting, baking, broiling, roasting, reheating, and air frying.[38] However, they have notable limitations. Capacity is generally restricted to smaller portions, rendering them unsuitable for large meals or items such as whole turkeys in most models. They occupy valuable counter space, which can require adjustments in cramped kitchens, particularly for larger units. Cleaning can present challenges in some models due to crumb accumulation, degrading non-stick interiors, or hard-to-reach areas. Lower-end models without convection may produce uneven results, while higher-end models with advanced features such as convection and air frying are typically more expensive.[37] In 2025, emerging trends emphasize smart integration, with models connecting to home ecosystems via apps for automated recipe presets, remote monitoring, and voice commands to streamline daily routines.[39] Unlike pop-up toasters, which excel at bread but falter with bulkier or wetter foods, the toaster oven's enclosure supports a wider array of ingredients and methods. Countertop toaster ovens are often easier to clean than traditional slot toasters due to features like removable crumb trays and open interiors that allow for straightforward wiping.[40]Conveyor Toaster
A conveyor toaster is a commercial-grade appliance featuring a horizontal conveyor belt system that transports bread slices through a heated chamber for continuous toasting, enabling high-volume production without manual intervention between batches.[41] These units typically offer capacities ranging from 250 to 1800 slices per hour, depending on the model and settings, making them suitable for demanding food service environments.[42] Power consumption generally falls between 2000 and 5000 watts, with examples like the Nemco 6805 model utilizing 3300 watts for efficient operation.[42] Construction often employs durable stainless steel for the body and components, ensuring longevity and resistance to corrosion in busy kitchens, as seen in units from manufacturers like Hatco and Nemco.[41][42] Key features include adjustable conveyor speed controls, which allow operators to customize browning levels based on bread type and customer preference, such as lighter toast for bagels or darker for English muffins.[41] Front-loading designs facilitate easy access for inserting and retrieving slices, often with openings of 2 to 2.5 inches to accommodate various thicknesses.[42] Hygiene is maintained through removable crumb trays that capture debris for quick cleaning, essential in high-traffic settings to prevent buildup and ensure food safety compliance.[41][42] Additional enhancements, like programmable settings and power-save modes, optimize energy use and workflow efficiency.[41] In use cases, conveyor toasters are widely deployed in restaurants, hotels, and cafeterias where rapid, consistent output is required for breakfast services or buffet lines, processing up to 1000 slices per hour in models like the Hatco TQ3-900.[41] This automation reduces labor demands by enabling hands-free, continuous production, allowing staff to focus on other tasks while maintaining service speed.[42] Unlike household pop-up toasters suited for lower-volume needs, these commercial models prioritize uninterrupted operation for peak-hour demands.[41] The commercial conveyor toaster segment is experiencing steady growth, projected at a 7.4% CAGR through 2030, driven by the expansion of fast-casual dining and quick-service restaurants that require efficient, high-capacity equipment.[43]Technical Components
Heating Elements
Heating elements are the core components responsible for generating the heat required in toasters through electrical resistance. The most common material used is nichrome wire, an alloy composed of 80% nickel and 20% chromium, which was developed and patented by American engineer Albert Marsh in 1905 while working for the Hoskins Manufacturing Company.[44][45] This alloy exhibits high electrical resistivity and excellent oxidation resistance, allowing it to withstand operating temperatures up to 1200°C without significant degradation or melting, making it ideal for repeated heating cycles in household appliances.[46][47] In typical configurations, nichrome wire is coiled and mounted on thin sheets of mica, a naturally occurring mineral with high thermal stability and electrical insulation properties, positioned within the slots of pop-up toasters or along the walls of toaster ovens.[2][48] These elements primarily operate via radiant heating, where infrared radiation from the glowing wire transfers heat directly to the bread surface, though minimal conductive heating occurs if the bread contacts the elements.[11][49] The evolution of toaster heating elements began with early 20th-century attempts using more fragile and costly materials like platinum for high-temperature resistance, which limited practicality due to expense and brittleness.[50] Nichrome's introduction in 1905 marked a pivotal shift, providing a durable, cost-effective alternative that enabled widespread adoption in electric toasters by the 1910s.[51] Modern iterations often feature ceramic coatings on nichrome wires or fully ceramic-based elements, enhancing even heat distribution, corrosion resistance, and longevity while reducing hotspots. As of 2025, some models incorporate graphite heating elements for faster heat-up times and more uniform toasting.[52][53][54] Performance of these elements is governed by the basic electrical power formula, which determines the wattage output and thus the heating capacity:where is power in watts (W), is the applied voltage (typically 120V or 240V in household systems), and is the resistance of the nichrome wire in ohms.[55] This relationship shows that higher voltage or lower resistance increases power, allowing elements to reach toasting temperatures (around 600–900°C) efficiently; for example, a standard 800–1200W toaster element achieves this via carefully calibrated wire length and thickness to yield an appropriate resistance value.[56][57][58]