How Much Electricity Does a Refrigerator Use? By Type, Size and Age
A new refrigerator uses about 360 to 670 kWh a year, depending on the type: about $66 a year for a medium top-freezer fridge and $109 for a bottom-freezer or French door fridge with an ice maker, at the US average electricity price. That is an average of 41 to 76 watts, not the 300 to 800 watts often quoted. These are the medians for the 4,853 fridges on ENERGY STAR’s certified list. An old fridge can use far more: one made in the early 1990s was allowed to use up to 2.7 times as much as a new ENERGY STAR model.
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Most answers to this question start from a fridge’s rated watts and guess how long the compressor runs. There is no need to guess: every fridge sold in the US is tested for its yearly kWh, and ENERGY STAR publishes the result for each certified model next to the federal limit for that model. We used all 4,853 of them, plus the federal limits older fridges were held to, to show what your fridge uses, what it costs in your state and whether replacing it pays.
How much electricity each type uses
The type of fridge matters more than its size. A bottom-freezer or French door fridge with an ice maker uses about 1.6 times as much as a medium top-freezer fridge, and a side-by-side with an ice and water dispenser about 1.8 times as much.
| Type and size | kWh a year | Average watts | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top freezer about 18.1 cu ft | 364 limit 406 | 41 W | $66 |
| Top freezer, ice maker about 18.1 cu ft | 450 limit 492 | 51 W | $82 |
| Bottom freezer or French door about 21.6 cu ft | 500 limit 556 | 57 W | $91 |
| Bottom freezer or French door, ice maker about 22.2 cu ft | 597 limit 654 | 68 W | $109 |
| Side-by-side, ice and water dispenser about 25.6 cu ft | 668 limit 721 | 76 W | $122 |
| Fridge only, no freezer about 14.0 cu ft | 280 limit 329 | 32 W | $51 |
| Mini fridge about 3.3 cu ft | 246 limit 289 | 28 W | $45 |
The ice maker alone adds a lot. Since 2014 the federal test has added 0.23 kWh a day for an automatic ice maker, 84 kWh a year, and the federal limit for a fridge with one is 84 kWh higher than for the same fridge without. Among certified medium top-freezer fridges, the median with an ice maker uses 450 kWh against 364 without.
The limit is what a non-ENERGY STAR fridge may use. Every new fridge must stay under the federal limit for its type and size; The median ENERGY STAR model uses 7% to 15% less than the limit for the same models, depending on the type. Tighter federal limits take effect in 2029 and 2030, depending on the type.
How many watts does a fridge use?
Two different numbers get called a fridge’s watts:
- While the compressor runs: about 190 W, and up to 1,200 W for a moment as it starts, according to Honda’s generator wattage guide for an ENERGY STAR fridge. That is the figure that matters for a generator or power station.
- Averaged over the day: 41 W for a medium top-freezer fridge to 76 W for a side-by-side, because the compressor switches on and off. This is the figure that sets your bill: kWh a year ÷ 8,760 hours × 1,000.
Multiplying the running watts by 24 hours, as some calculators do, overstates what a new fridge uses several times over. Use the yellow EnergyGuide label’s kWh a year, or the table above.
What a fridge costs to run
kWh a year × your price per kWh. For a medium bottom-freezer or French door fridge with an ice maker, the most common type on the certified list, at 597 kWh a year:
- At the US average price of 18.19 cents per kWh (EIA, January to July 2026): about $109 a year, $9 a month or 30 cents a day.
- In North Dakota, at 12.36 cents: about $74 a year.
- In Hawaii, at 46.28 cents: about $276 a year.
Pick your state in the calculator above, or use the electricity cost calculator for anything else you plug in.
Old fridge: keep it or replace it?
It depends on when it was made. Federal limits on how much electricity a fridge may use tightened in 1990, 1993, 2001 and 2014. We worked out each limit for the same size of fridge from the Code of Federal Regulations. For a medium top-freezer fridge without an ice maker:
| Made | Allowed up to | Replacing it saves up to |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 to 1993 | 974 kWh | 610 kWh, $111 a year |
| 1993 to 2001 | 697 kWh | 333 kWh, $61 a year |
| 2001 to 2014 | 486 kWh | 122 kWh, $22 a year |
| New ENERGY STAR | 364 kWh (median) | — |
So a fridge from the early 1990s is worth replacing on running costs alone, especially where electricity is expensive. One from after 2001 usually is not: a new fridge costs far more than $22 a year, so replace it when it fails or no longer suits you. Fridges made before 1990 had no federal limit at all.
These are limits, the most a fridge could use when new, so a fridge of that era may use less. The limits before 2014 applied under an earlier federal test procedure, so treat the comparison as a guide. They also had no allowance for an ice maker, so for a fridge with one, the calculator compares the old limit with a new model’s figure less the 84 kWh ice maker allowance.
An old fridge kept in the garage or basement for drinks costs the same to run as it did in the kitchen. Put its age in the calculator: a fridge from the early 1990s could be costing over $100 a year at the US average price. If you only need it now and then, unplug it the rest of the time.
The most energy-efficient refrigerators
The three freestanding models from different brands with the lowest tested use on ENERGY STAR’s list, for each common type at a typical size. This table reads ENERGY STAR’s list every week, so it shows newly certified models as they appear.
| Model | Size | kWh a year | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top freezer, no ice maker, 17 to 20 cu ft (median 364 kWh of 286 models) | |||
| Samsung RT18DG6300** | 17.5 cu ft | 333 | $61 |
| LG LT18S1100* | 17.5 cu ft | 344 | $63 |
| Frigidaire FRTE1622AB | 17.0 cu ft | 347 | $63 |
| Bottom freezer or French door, ice maker, 20 to 25 cu ft (median 590 kWh of 373 models) | |||
| Liebherr FDBHI36S | 20.7 cu ft | 488 | $89 |
| Miele KFFD 6867 obsw/matt | 20.7 cu ft | 488 | $89 |
| Samsung RM80F23VM* | 23.5 cu ft | 510 | $93 |
| Side-by-side, ice and water dispenser, 24 to 28 cu ft (median 647 kWh of 35 models) | |||
| Samsung RS27T5202** | 27.4 cu ft | 546 | $99 |
| Frigidaire GRSN2620A* | 26.0 cu ft | 605 | $110 |
| KitchenAid KRSF505***** | 24.8 cu ft | 610 | $111 |
| Fridge only, no freezer, 12 to 18 cu ft (median 270 kWh of 78 models) | |||
| Liebherr SRB5290 | 13.7 cu ft | 200 | $36 |
| Element EUF14CE** | 13.8 cu ft | 204 | $37 |
| Midea MRU14F5A** | 13.8 cu ft | 204 | $37 |
Model numbers are as ENERGY STAR lists them; an asterisk covers variants of the same model. The most efficient fridge in a type usually saves under $25 a year over the median certified one, so choosing the right type and size matters more than the last few kWh. A top-freezer fridge is the cheapest to run of the full-size types. For a smaller fridge, see our mini fridge guide; for a separate freezer, our freezer guide.
How to measure your own fridge
Plug the fridge into a plug-in electricity meter, such as the Kill A Watt, and leave it for at least 24 hours, because the compressor switches on and off. Multiply the kWh for the day by 365 for a yearly figure. A week gives a better average. Compare it with the table above: an old fridge using far more than its type’s figure is a candidate for replacing. Our home energy monitor guide explains how to find the rest of your home’s always-on load.
Running a fridge in a power cut
A generator or power station has to handle the fridge’s starting surge, up to about 1,200 W in Honda’s guide, as well as its running draw of about 190 W. Averaged over the day, a bottom-freezer fridge with an ice maker uses about 68 W, so a 1,000 Wh power station would run it for about 12 hours, allowing for the 15% lost in the station’s inverter (Jackery’s runtime formula). See our portable power station guide or size a generator with the generator size calculator.
Our pick
- One device at a time
- No app, no setup
P3 Kill A Watt EZ shows what your own fridge really uses over a day or a week, so you can decide whether it is worth replacing. No app or Wi-Fi. The accuracy figure is the listing’s claim. We have not tested it ourselves.
How we worked it out
New fridges: the median tested kWh a year, and the median federal limit, for the ENERGY STAR certified models of each type, size band and ice maker option on 13 October 2026, from all 4,853 certified refrigerators; groups with fewer than 10 models are left out. An ice maker includes a through-the-door ice or water dispenser. Older fridges: the federal maximum-energy equations for refrigerators made from 1 January 1990, 1 January 1993 and 1 July 2001, from the 1997 and 2010 editions of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 430.32), applied at the median adjusted volume of the same group. The ice maker allowance is from the federal test procedure (10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix A, section 5.4). Running and starting watts are from Honda’s generator wattage guide. Prices are EIA’s average residential electricity prices for each state, January to July 2026. All of these are stored, with their sources, in our MasterBrain data layer, and the table and calculator update when they do.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR, Certified Residential Refrigerators dataset (retrieved 13 October 2026)
- 10 CFR 430.32, 1997 edition: refrigerator energy standards effective 1990 and 1993 (PDF)
- 10 CFR 430.32, 2010 edition: refrigerator energy standards effective 1993 and 2001 (PDF)
- 10 CFR 430.32, 2026 edition: current refrigerator energy standards (PDF)
- 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix A: federal test procedure for refrigerators, 2026 edition (PDF)
- Honda Power Equipment, generator wattage estimation guide
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B: average residential electricity price by state, January to July 2026 (year to date)
How we pick products for every buying guide: our buying guide standards.
Frequently asked questions
A new ENERGY STAR fridge of a typical size uses about 364 kWh a year as a top-freezer model, 500 kWh as a bottom-freezer or French door model, 597 kWh with an ice maker and 668 kWh as a side-by-side with an ice and water dispenser. A mini fridge uses about 246 kWh.
About 190 W while the compressor runs, and up to about 1,200 W for a moment as it starts (Honda). Because the compressor cycles on and off, a new fridge averages only 41 to 76 W over a day, depending on the type.
About $5.50 a month for a new medium top-freezer fridge and about $9 for a bottom-freezer or French door fridge with an ice maker, at the US average price of 18.19 cents per kWh. In Hawaii the second costs about $23 a month.
For one made before 1993, usually yes: a medium top-freezer fridge from 1990 to 1993 was allowed to use up to 974 kWh a year, against 364 for a new ENERGY STAR model, a saving of up to about $111 a year. For one made after 2001, the saving is about $22 a year at most, so replace it when it fails.
The federal test counts 84 kWh a year for an automatic ice maker, about $15 at the US average price. Certified top-freezer fridges with an ice maker use a median of 450 kWh a year, against 364 without.
Among full-size fridges with a freezer, a top-freezer model without an ice maker: a median of 364 kWh a year for a medium one, against 597 for a bottom-freezer or French door fridge with an ice maker and 668 for a side-by-side with a dispenser.