How much electricity does a refrigerator use per month?

A new 18-cubic-foot top-freezer labelled at 405 kWh a year uses about 34 kWh a month, which costs $6.13 a month at 18.16 cents. An older refrigerator at 1,100 kWh a year uses about 92 kWh a month, which costs $16.65 a month. A modern refrigerator averaging 60 watts uses 43.68 kWh a month, which costs $7.93.

How do I read the EnergyGuide label?

The yellow label carries the estimated yearly electricity use in kilowatt-hours, and the estimated yearly operating cost in dollars. Use the kilowatt-hours, not the dollars, because the dollars are computed at a national average rate that is usually out of date. Multiply the label's kilowatt-hours by your own rate.

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The current ledger · Table No. 47

How Much Electricity Does a Refrigerator Use?

A new 18-cubic-foot top-freezer uses about 405 kilowatt-hours a year, which costs $73.55 a year, and an older refrigerator uses about 1,100, which costs $199.76. This article reads the yellow label, prices the old one, and states when the replacement pays.

Filed November 4, 2026 · figures checked against 2026 sources

The short answer

A new 18-cubic-foot top-freezer refrigerator uses about 405 kilowatt-hours a year, which costs $73.55 a year at the national average rate of 18.16 cents per kilowatt-hour, or $6.13 a month, and $0.20 a day. An older refrigerator, the kind from before 2005 that still hums in the kitchen or the garage, uses about 1,100 kilowatt-hours a year, which costs $199.76 a year, or $16.65 a month, and $0.55 a day. The difference is $126.21 a year, and $1,262.12 over ten years, which is the saving from replacing the old one, and which is the number to weigh against the price of the new one: a $1,000 replacement pays for itself in 7.9 years on the electricity alone, and a $700 replacement in 5.5 years, and the replacement also keeps the food colder, runs quieter, and does not leak, which are the reasons people actually replace a refrigerator, though the $126.21 a year is the reason the replacement pays for itself, and the reason to check the yellow label before buying, because the label is the cost, and the cost is $73.55 a year for the new one, and $199.76 for the old one.

The refrigerator is the only appliance in the house that never turns off, which is why it is the appliance people ask about, and why the answer is about efficiency rather than hours, because the hours are always 24, and the only number that changes is the watts, and the watts change with the age, the size, and the design. A modern refrigerator averages about 60 watts over the day, because the compressor cycles on and off and runs roughly a third of the time, which is 43.68 kilowatt-hours a month, $7.93 a month, and $95.19 a year, and an older refrigerator averages about 150 watts, because the compressor runs longer and the insulation is thinner, which is 109.2 kilowatt-hours a month, $19.83 a month, and $237.97 a year, and the two are the same appliance, the same food, and the same kitchen, and the difference is the year it was built, and the year is the cost. The refrigerator is also a small share of the bill: the new one is 3.8 percent of the average household's 1,152 kilowatt-hours a month, and the old one is 9.5 percent, which is why the refrigerator is never the reason a bill is high, and why it is the appliance to replace when it is old, not the appliance to unplug, because unplugging it spoils the food, and replacing it saves $126.21 a year, every year, for the life of the new one.

Refrigerator	kWh per year	Cost per month	Cost per year
New 18 cu ft top-freezer (EnergyGuide)	405	$6.13	$73.55
Modern, 60 W average draw	524	$7.93	$95.19
Older, 150 W average draw	1,310	$19.83	$237.97
Older, 1,100 kWh a year (EnergyGuide)	1,100	$16.65	$199.76

The table mixes two ways of measuring, and the difference is worth stating plainly, because the two rows for the modern refrigerator do not match, and the two rows for the older one do not match either, and the mismatch is the measurement, not an error. The EnergyGuide rows are measured yearly totals for a specific model: 405 kilowatt-hours a year for a new 18-cubic-foot top-freezer, and 1,100 for an older one, which are the figures the yellow label carries, and which are the figures to trust for those models. The average-draw rows are the same appliances priced from an average wattage: 60 watts averaged over the day is 524 kilowatt-hours a year, and 150 watts is 1,310, which are larger units or harder-working ones, and which are the figures to use when the label is gone and only the watts are known. The label is the better input whenever it exists, because it is measured, and the watts are rated, and the calculator on this site has a mode for each, so the household can use whichever number it has.

The yellow label, and how to read it

Every refrigerator sold in the United States carries a yellow EnergyGuide label, and the label carries two numbers that matter: the estimated yearly electricity use in kilowatt-hours, and the estimated yearly operating cost in dollars, and the second is computed at a national average rate that is usually out of date, so the first is the number to use, and the rate to multiply it by is your own. A label that says 405 kilowatt-hours a year costs $73.55 a year at 18.16 cents, and $61.16 at 15.10 cents, and $191.08 at 47.18 cents in Hawaii, and the label does not know your rate, so it guesses, and the guess is the national average from the year the label was printed, and the household that multiplies the label's kilowatt-hours by its own rate gets its own cost, which is the number that matters. The label also carries a scale, showing where the model falls among similar models, and the scale is the comparison, and the model at the low end of the scale is the cheap one to run, and the model at the high end is the expensive one, and the difference between the ends of the scale is often 200 kilowatt-hours a year, which is $36.32 a year at the national average, and $363.20 over ten years, which is the amount the label saves the household that reads it.

The label is the honest input for the refrigerator because the refrigerator cycles, and the cycling is the whole problem with pricing it from watts. The nameplate says 150 watts, or 200, or 300, and that is the draw while the compressor runs, and the compressor runs a third of the time in a modern refrigerator and half the time or more in an old one, and the average over the day is the nameplate times the duty cycle, and the duty cycle depends on the room temperature, the door openings, the food load, and the age of the seals, which is why two identical refrigerators in two kitchens cost different amounts, and why the label, which is measured in a standard test, is the better number, and why the smart plug, which measures the actual kilowatt-hours over a week, is better still, because it measures the household's refrigerator in the household's kitchen, and the measurement is the truth.

Why the old one costs three times more

The old refrigerator costs more for three reasons, and all three are the age. The insulation is thinner and less effective, because the foam degrades and the door seals harden, and the cold leaks out, and the compressor runs longer to replace it, which is the duty cycle rising from a third to a half or more, and which is the largest of the three. The compressor is less efficient, because the refrigerant is older, the motor is older, and the design is from a time when electricity was cheaper and efficiency was not the selling point, and the compressor draws more watts for the same cooling, which is the second. The size and the features are larger, because the old refrigerator is often the second one, the garage one, the one that holds the drinks and the overflow, and it is a larger box cooling a smaller load, which is the third, and which is why the garage refrigerator is the most expensive appliance in the house per unit of food stored, at $199.76 a year for a box that holds a case of drinks and the Thanksgiving turkey, and which is the appliance to unplug first, because the food in it is worth less than the electricity it eats.

The comparison that decides the replacement is the payback, and the payback is the price divided by the saving, which is $126.21 a year between the 405 and the 1,100 kilowatt-hour models, so a $1,000 replacement pays back in 7.9 years, and a $700 replacement in 5.5 years, and a $1,500 replacement in 11.9 years, and the payback is the electricity alone, before the quieter running, the colder food, the working ice maker, and the absence of leaks, which are the reasons people actually replace a refrigerator, and which are not priced. The replacement also has to be bought, delivered, and installed, and the old one has to be hauled away, which costs money or time, and the household that is moving soon should not replace it, because the new owner buys the new refrigerator, and the household that is staying should, because the $126.21 a year is the rent the old refrigerator charges, and the rent never stops, and the new refrigerator stops it.

The new insight

The refrigerator is the only appliance whose cost is entirely about efficiency, because it never turns off, and the hours are always 24, and the only number that changes is the watts, and the watts change with the age, which makes the refrigerator the purest test of whether a household should replace an appliance: the saving is $126.21 a year, the price is the price, and the payback is the division, and there is no behaviour to change, because the behaviour is the refrigerator running, and it always runs, and the only choice is the machine. The heater can be run fewer hours, and the dryer can be run fewer loads, and the lights can be turned off, but the refrigerator cannot be run less, because the food spoils, and the only way to pay less for the refrigerator is to own a better one, which is why the refrigerator is the appliance where the purchase is the savings, and the savings are $126.21 a year, every year, for the life of the new one.

How to pay less for the one you have

The ways to pay less for the refrigerator you already own are the seals, the temperature, the location, and the load. The seals are the gaskets around the door, and they harden with age, and the test is a dollar bill: close the bill in the door and pull, and if it slides out easily the seal is leaking, and the compressor is running to replace the cold that escapes, and the fix is a new gasket, which is cheaper than a new refrigerator, and which restores the seal, and which is the cheapest repair in the house. The temperature is the dial inside, and the right setting is 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for the fresh food and zero for the freezer, and every degree colder costs more, because the compressor works harder, and the thermometer is the check, because the dial is not calibrated, and the dial that says 4 may be 34 degrees, which is colder than it needs to be, and which costs more than it needs to. The location is the kitchen, and the refrigerator belongs away from the oven, the dishwasher, and the sunny window, because the heat from those raises the temperature around the refrigerator, and the compressor runs longer, and the refrigerator in the garage in summer is the worst case, because the garage is hot, and the refrigerator is working against the heat, and the $199.76 a year is the price of that fight.

The load is the food, and the refrigerator works best when it is full but not packed, because the food holds the cold, and the air circulates, and the empty refrigerator cycles more, and the packed one blocks the vents, and the rule is to keep it three-quarters full, and to let hot food cool before putting it in, because the hot food warms the inside, and the compressor runs to cool it, and the pot of soup is the load that costs the most. The second refrigerator is the decision: the garage refrigerator that holds the drinks and the overflow costs $199.76 a year, and the drinks are worth less than that, and the household that unplugs it saves the $199.76, and the household that keeps it pays the $199.76 for the convenience of cold drinks in the garage, and the convenience is the price, and the price is $16.65 a month, and the decision is whether the convenience is worth it.

Sources

U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, August 2026: U.S. residential average 18.16 cents per kWh; average monthly use 1,152 kWh. EnergyGuide label figures: a new 18-cubic-foot top-freezer uses about 405 kWh a year, which costs about $73 a year at 18 cents; newer Energy Star models use about 400 to 600 kWh a year; older models can use twice as much. Refrigerator duty cycle: the compressor runs about one-third of the time in a modern refrigerator; a modern refrigerator averages 45 to 90 watts over a day by size and type. Recommended temperatures: 37 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for fresh food, zero for the freezer. All calculator figures were computed by this site's calculator under the stated model: kWh per year is the average watts times 24 times 365 divided by 1,000; cost is kWh times the rate; a month is the weekly figure times 52 divided by 12.