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Refrigerator Electricity Cost Estimator

What does cold storage really cost in your house?

Add up the monthly and annual electricity cost of every cold appliance in your home — primary and second fridges, freezers, ice makers, and water coolers — at your local rate.

⏱ ~30 secDOE + EIA + ENERGY STAR dataEnergy & Cost
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500
kWh / fridge yr
DOE avg
300
kWh / freezer yr
DOE avg
60
kWh / mo cooler
Hot+cold
12
kWh / mo ice
Built-in
STEP 01

Count every
cold appliance.

Don't forget the garage fridge and the office water cooler.

$/kWh
US avg: 0.165 · California: 0.302 · Texas: 0.147
Updates live as you type
Annual cold-appliance cost
$83/yr
Per month
$6.88
kWh / mo
42
% of bill
4.6%

Per-appliance breakdown

Monthly
Refrigerator (1)
42 kWh$6.88
Under the hood

DOE averages. EIA rates.

Reference numbers come from DOE federal-standards data, ENERGY STAR's certified product database, and EIA Form-861 utility filings.

  1. 01

    Per-appliance kWh

    500/yr per fridge, 300/yr per freezer, 144/yr per ice maker, 720/yr per hot+cold water cooler.

  2. 02

    Multiply by your rate

    Total kWh × $/kWh from your bill. We default to the US 16.5¢ EIA national average if you don't have a number handy.

  3. 03

    Compare to household total

    Average US home uses ~900 kWh/month. We surface what % of that is just cold storage.

Questions

Frequently asked

We use 500 kWh/yr for an average refrigerator, 300 kWh/yr for a freezer, ~144 kWh/yr (12 kWh/mo) for a built-in ice maker, and ~720 kWh/yr (60 kWh/mo) for a hot+cold water cooler. These match DOE and ENERGY STAR averages for current generation appliances.
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Next step

Cut the bill. Replace the worst offender.

ENERGY STAR refrigerators use up to 35% less energy than 10-year-old units. Browse certified models with the lowest annual kWh.

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