Refrigerator electricity cost

A refrigerator is a small draw that never stops: the compressor cycles on and off around the clock, so the figure that matters is its average wattage, not the rating on the door.

Short answer at the example rate of $0.17/kWh: a typical 120 W refrigerator running 24 hours a day, 30 days a month uses about 86.4 kWh and costs $14.69 a month. Put in your own wattage, schedule and rate below — 100 W average suits a modern efficient fridge, about 120 W a typical family model, and 200 W an older or very large unit. These are averages across the compressor's on-off cycle.

The $0.17/kWh default is a rough example rate — about the US residential average on EIA figures, and it moves over time. Type in the rate from your own electricity bill for numbers that mean anything for your home.

Low, typical and high — side by side

The schedule is 24 hours a day because a fridge is always on — the average wattage already accounts for the compressor resting part of each hour. All three rows use that same schedule and the $0.17/kWh example rate; only the wattage changes.

Average watts: the only fridge number that matters

Fridges confuse people because two different wattages are both "true". The nameplate states the electrical maximum the circuit must handle — the compressor's running and starting draw. The bill, meanwhile, is written by the average: a compressor that draws 150 W while running and runs 60% of the time averages 90 W across the day. Every figure on this page is an average, which is why the hours are 24 and the watts look small next to a kettle's.

If your fridge has an energy label, it settles the question: take its stated kWh per year, divide by 8,760 hours, and you have its tested average watts. Put that number in the calculator with your own rate and the estimate stops being an estimate.

Questions

How much does a fridge cost to run per month?

At a 120 W average draw, about 86 kWh and $14.69 a month at $0.17/kWh — roughly $176 a year. It is one of the larger always-on costs in a home precisely because it never gets a day off.

The nameplate says 6 amps. Is my fridge using 700 W?

No — that is the maximum the compressor can draw while running (6 A × 120 V ≈ 720 W at startup peaks, less in steady running), and it only runs part of the time. Average draw over a day is what the bill sees, and it is typically 100–150 W for a modern fridge. An energy label’s kWh-per-year figure divided by 8,760 gives your model’s true average watts.

Is the old fridge in the garage expensive?

This is the classic sleeper cost. An older unit averaging 200 W costs about $294 a year at the example rate — often more than everything it stores is worth in a month, especially if it holds four drinks. It is the first row to check on the whole-home list.

Does a fuller fridge use less electricity?

Marginally — food mass holds cold better than air, so a reasonably full fridge recovers temperature faster after the door opens. The effect is small next to door seals, coil dust and the temperature setting; a fridge thermometer beats guesswork for all three.

More appliances: the main calculator and whole-home list · every preset on one chart · how the formula works