How much does a freezer cost to run?

Figures on this page are calculated from typical appliance wattages and the price per kWh you enter, not looked up from a bill. See how we calculate this.

What a freezer costs to run: typical 160 W, about $101 a year. Adjust the figures to your own usage and electricity price.

Wattage and running cost

It is plugged in all the time, but the motor only runs part of it: the hourly figure and everything above it use a ~40% duty cycle, not 160 W around the clock. Cost at $0.18/kWh, the US average.

A standalone freezer, like a fridge, never switches off, so it is a steady background cost all year round. Its compressor cycles on and off to hold roughly −18 °C, which means its nameplate wattage overstates the true average draw. This page applies a realistic duty cycle so the yearly figure reflects real operation rather than the label. Chest freezers tend to be more efficient than upright ones because cold air does not spill out every time you open the lid, and a full freezer holds its temperature better than an empty one.

Location and maintenance matter more for a freezer than for almost any other appliance, because it runs continuously. A freezer in a hot garage or next to a heat source works far harder than one in a cool utility room. Frost build-up acts as insulation on the coils and forces longer compressor runs, so a manual-defrost model left to ice up can quietly cost a lot more than it should. Keeping it full, cold and frost-free is where the savings are.

Age is the other big factor. A freezer bought fifteen or twenty years ago can use two to three times the energy of a modern equivalent, and because it runs every hour of every year that gap turns into a large sum over its remaining life. If an old chest or upright freezer is humming away in the garage 'just in case', it is worth measuring what it costs to keep running against how much you actually use it.

What a freezer costs in other countries

The figures above assume $0.18/kWh, the US average. A freezer does not change when it crosses a border — the price of the electricity it drinks does. Here is what its 561 kWh a year cost in the 14 countries with a page here, dearest first.

Each figure is in that country's own currency at its average all-taxes-included price; the dollar column is there so they can be set against each other. Ireland to Canada is a factor of 3.8 — same appliance, same hours, 3.8 times the bill. Follow a country for its real retailer tariffs and what makes up that price, or see the full electricity price comparison by country.

How to cut freezer running costs

• Keep it at −18 °C; colder wastes power without keeping food any safer.
• Keep it reasonably full — frozen food holds the cold and cuts compressor runs.
• Defrost manual models before frost builds past a few millimetres.
• Site it somewhere cool, not a hot garage or next to the oven or boiler.
• Check the lid or door seal and leave airflow space around the cabinet.
• Before buying a new one, the EU energy label's A–G scale is the fastest way to compare two models — see how to read it.

Frequently asked questions