Power level (watts)
How much microwave energy the oven puts out while it runs: full power heats fastest, lower settings pulse or reduce the power so food heats gently and evenly.
What it is for
Full power for liquids and quick reheating; about half for cooking dishes you cannot stir; the lowest settings for softening butter, melting chocolate and keeping warm. Whirlpool’s guide pairs 90 W with softening butter and chocolate and 160 W with defrosting.
Makes differ, check your microwave’s manual: the same drawing can start a different programme on another brand, and only your model’s manual gives its exact watts, weights and times.
- What it looks like
- Wavy lines, a key marked POWER or a lightning bolt, with the setting shown in watts (W), as a percentage or as words such as High, Medium and Low.
- Names makers use
- Micro Power: High, Medium, Low, Simmer, Warm (Panasonic); Power level 90 W to JET (Whirlpool); Power level 10% to 100% (Dacor); Microwave power output 90 to 900 W (Bosch)
Where makes differ
Makers count in different units: Panasonic names six steps from Warm (100 W) to High (1000 W), Whirlpool lists watts from 90 W up to JET, Dacor gives eleven levels as percentages, and Bosch shows 90, 180, 360, 600 and 900 W. The top power of the oven itself also varies, so “Medium” on one model is not the same watts as on another.
What it does not mean
The number is not a temperature, and a lower power does not mean the oven is cooler inside — it means less microwave energy per minute, so the same food needs longer.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No published standard we could check defines microwave control icons, so this meaning is taken from 4 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Panasonic: Panasonic — Operating instructions and cookbook, convection/grill/microwave oven NN-CD58JS — “There are six different microwave power levels available”: High 1000 W, Defrost 270 W, Medium 600 W, Low 440 W, Simmer 300 W, Warm 100 W. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Whirlpool: Whirlpool — JT469 control panel quick guide (GB) — Microwave power table: “JET” for reheating beverages, 750 W for fish, meat and vegetables, 650 W for dishes not possible to stir, 500 W, 350 W, “160 W Defrosting”, “90 W Softening butter, cheeses, ice cream and chocolate”. Checked 2026-09-28.
- Dacor: Dacor (Samsung) — Use and care manual, over-the-range convection microwave oven PCOR30S — “There are eleven preset power levels. Using lower power levels increases the cooking time”; table from 100% (High) through 50% (Medium) and 30% (Med Low/Defrost) to 10% (Low). Checked 2026-09-28.
- Bosch: Bosch Ireland — Microwave symbols and settings — Each power key explained: “Select a microwave power output of 90 watts”, 180, 360, 600 and 900 watts. Checked 2026-09-28.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.