How much electricity does a refrigerator use?
A refrigerator of the usual size — 14 to 18 cubic feet — uses **435 kWh a year**. That is the median of 1,093 certified models, and the middle half fall between 360 and 469. At the US average tariff that is about **$80 a year**. Averaged over every hour of the year, the draw works out to about **50 watts**.
Work it out with your own tariff
Your rate, cents per kWh
There is no hours setting here, unlike the other device pages. This appliance is not certified in watts at all — only as a yearly total, and that total already includes a defined pattern of use. Multiplying it by hours of your own would count the usage twice.
| Period | Cost | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A year | $80 | 435 kWh — the measured figure |
| A month | $6.68 | a twelfth of the year |
| A day | $0.22 | a 365th of the year |
435 kWh × 18.44¢ = $80 a year. That averages 50 W drawn continuously.
435 kWh a year is the median of 1,093 certified refrigerators with a total volume of 14 to 18 cubic feet; the middle half fall between 360 and 469. Measured under the DOE federal test procedure. Watts are not published for this appliance at all. Rate defaults to 18.44¢ (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2026-05) — a national average, which is wrong for you specifically, so put your own in above.
By size
| Total volume | Middle half | Median | Models measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-18 cubic feet | 360-469 kWh | 435 kWh | 1,093 |
| 19-22 cubic feet | 429-588 kWh | 560 kWh | 710 |
| 23 cubic feet and up | 632-730 kWh | 685 kWh | 555 |
Going from a standard fridge to a large one adds about 250 kWh a year, which is roughly $46 at the US average tariff.
Why other pages give a much bigger number
A refrigerator has no wattage. Not "we could not find it" — the appliance is certified as a yearly total and a nameplate wattage is not published, because the compressor runs in cycles rather than continuously.
Pages on this topic get around that by quoting the compressor's draw while it is running and multiplying by 24 hours. The arithmetic is fine; the thing being multiplied does not exist as a continuous figure. Averaged across the year, our measured 435 kWh works out to about 50 W — and any figure derived from a running compressor will be several times that.
This is also why you cannot set an hours-per-day figure on this page, unlike the television and monitor pages. The certified total already contains a defined pattern of door openings and ambient temperature. Multiplying it by hours of your own would count the usage twice.
What it costs you specifically
Set your own tariff below.
What this does not account for
Certified refrigerators are a biased sample. Certification is voluntary and efficient models earn it, so this describes the better end of what is on sale. An uncertified or older unit uses more — often much more. A fridge from before 2001 can use two to three times these figures, which is the one case where replacing a working appliance pays for itself.
Your kitchen is not the test lab. The federal procedure fixes ambient temperature and door openings. A fridge in a hot garage, or one opened constantly by a family, uses more than the label. A nearly empty fridge in a cool room uses less.
The distribution is compressed by the standard. Certification sets a ceiling relative to the federal minimum, so certified models cluster below it. The spread here describes what passes certification, not the full range of what exists.
Sources
- 01ENERGY STAR certified residential refrigerators — measured annual energy useU.S. Environmental Protection Agency ·
- 02Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 — average price of electricity to ultimate customersU.S. Energy Information Administration ·
How these figures are produced: see our methodology.
Figures are calculated from published wattages and a published tariff, both dated above. They are good for comparing devices, not for predicting your bill: your rate, settings and usage all differ.