We Did the Math: How Much an Energy-Efficient Fridge Saves vs. a 10-year-old Model

One of many largest causes to purchase a brand new refrigerator is healthier power effectivity in contrast with an older mannequin. However how a lot of a distinction does power effectivity make within the long-term prices of a fridge? I am right here to crunch the numbers in a battle royale between fashionable fridges and people from 10 years in the past (2016).

Honest warning earlier than I get began, I did a variety of math on a pattern dimension of two,630 fridges. I focus nearly solely on long-term power prices as a result of I gained quick access to the suitable Power Star knowledge. 

The place my fridge knowledge comes from

For my 2025 samples, I analyzed power utilization in fashionable Energy Star-certified models. For 2016, I could not depend on Power Star knowledge, as a result of it lists solely fashions that qualify for the latest requirements, not previous ones.

As a substitute, I sourced my 2016 knowledge from the California Power Fee’s Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System. Relatively than cowl 42 fridge courses individually, I grouped them into the next broad classes:

I did not take a look at standalone fridges as a result of there wasn’t sufficient knowledge from both pattern group to carry out a significant comparability. Standalone freezers are a unique Energy Star dataset that I did not embody.

It was important to exclude older merchandise from the fashionable knowledge

The present slate of Power Star-qualified fridges contains fashions from way back to January 2014, so I narrowed my record of candidates to merchandise that hit the market in 2021 or later — the final time Power Star up to date its criteria. Whereas this technically implies that this is not a one-to-one comparability of 2025 and 2016, it displays vital particulars:

• Shops do not solely carry fridges from the present calendar yr, so the info ought to no less than mirror what’s accessible at retail.
• Lots of the best fridges have been launched earlier than 2025.
• It is totally potential {that a} fridge rolled off the manufacturing unit line a month in the past, regardless of incomes a certification in 2021.

Evaluating your current fridge

I counsel utilizing Power Star’s Flip Your Fridge Calculator to check your present fridge with this evaluation. It offers a tough estimate primarily based in your fridge’s age, dimension, configuration and native electrical energy value. For extra present electrical energy costs, test your current billing assertion.

Likewise, you’ll be able to search for an Energy Guide Label along with your fridge’s mannequin quantity for an actual yearly electrical energy use determine. I exploit the most recent Energy Information Administration knowledge from 2024 for my calculations — 2025’s knowledge is not finalized as of the publishing of this text. It lists the residential nationwide common at $0.1648 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

The magic quantity for every kind of fridge

As a result of all of it boils all the way down to a fridge’s class and quantity, I can not provide you with a common quantity that applies to each fridge. As a substitute, I will break down the highlights and common stats in every class. Discovering retail pricing from 2016 (and 2025) proved to be a way more troublesome process than I might resolve within the time I had for this evaluation. As a substitute, I used the info to create easy power financial savings pointers beneath.

Fridges with probably the most potential financial savings over 10 years

If the added price of upgrading to a brand new fridge (in contrast with shopping for or repairing a used one) is decrease than the numbers beneath, the brand new fridge will doubtless offset that value distinction by way of power financial savings alone over the following 10 years:

• Aspect-by-side fridges: $340
• Backside freezers: $272
• High freezers: $83
• Compact fridges: $0 (common power effectivity stays largely unchanged since 2016)

If a brand new fridge prices greater than this effectivity premium, it would take longer to interrupt even. Keep in mind that whereas averages may give you an excellent rule of thumb, probably the most environment friendly home equipment will save much more in power prices. These numbers additionally do not account for potential rebates out of your utility firm, so precise financial savings could also be even increased.

Crucially, these numbers assume you are not switching to a unique fridge kind. For instance, you will doubtless see even higher power financial savings when changing a side-by-side fridge with a bottom-freezer fridge.

Key takeaways

• New side-by-side fridges will, on common, reduce your power prices greater than every other kind of fridge, although backside freezers additionally noticed some good enhancements during the last 10 years. Upgrading both kind of fridge to a contemporary model might be price it.
• The $83 in power financial savings for high freezers over 10 years in all probability will not be sufficient to justify an improve in case your current high freezer nonetheless works.
• Fashionable compact fridge know-how is essentially equivalent to that of 2016. You do not should be choosy with most fashions.

High-mounted freezers

• Over 10 years, a brand new top-mounted freezer saves an estimated $83 in electrical energy payments in contrast with a 2016 mannequin.
• I could not discover a single instance from the pattern knowledge (together with the 2016 MAEDBS knowledge) that does not already meet the necessities for Power Star Most Environment friendly 2025.
• The typical effectivity of recent Power Star-rated high freezers is nearly triple that of 2016.
• High freezers use much less power per cubic foot, on common, than backside freezers and side-by-sides. They’re additionally the smallest full-size fridges.

• A brand new bottom-mounted freezer ought to save an estimated $272 in electrical energy payments over 10 years in comparison with a 2016 mannequin.
• Backside freezer fridges earn increased effectivity scores on common than different full-size fridges, however their effectivity enhancements since 2016 aren’t as pronounced as these of high freezers and side-by-sides.
• Roughly one in six backside freezers qualify for Power Star Most Environment friendly 2025 — solely three fashions from 2016 meet this commonplace.

• A  new side-by-side fridge saves a median of $340 in electrical energy payments in contrast with a 2016 mannequin, the most important financial savings on this evaluation.
• Whereas 5 side-by-side fridge fashions (7%) from 2016 nonetheless meet fashionable Power Star standards, two of those additionally qualify for Power Star Most Environment friendly 2025 — versus a single product within the fashionable group.

• New compact fridges have roughly the identical power effectivity as their 2016 counterparts. Actually, the typical 2016 mannequin makes use of much less power.
• Whereas compact fridges use much less power total than full-size fridges, they use extra electrical energy per cubic foot of quantity.
• 121 minifridge fashions (81%) from 2016 meet fashionable Power Star standards.
• Roughly 5% of fashions from each pattern teams qualify for Power Star Most Environment friendly 2025.

The place you reside additionally performs a task

Electricity costs fluctuate extensively relying on the state and area you reside in. For instance, North Dakota’s common value in 2024 was simply 11.51 cents per kilowatt-hour (the bottom within the US), whereas Hawaii’s was a whopping 42.86 cents.

The upper your electrical charge, the extra you will save on power with a brand new fridge. In contrast with the nationwide common, residents of Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Alaska will see extra power financial savings of 51% to 160% when shopping for a brand new Power Star fridge.

Conversely, financial savings can be a lot decrease in states with comparatively low-cost electrical energy, equivalent to North Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska, Louisiana and Washington, which common lower than 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. In North Dakota’s case, that is simply $237.51 in financial savings on a side-by-side fridge — $102.56 lower than the nationwide common.

Effectivity math does not add up for good fridges

Whereas I do not explicitly discover it on this evaluation, smart fridges aren’t usually an excellent funding in case your most important aim is saving power over time. It has nothing to do with power effectivity and the whole lot to do with the premium you are paying for good dwelling tech.

For instance, Samsung’s good fridge fashions price no less than $700 greater than their conventional counterparts — this simply obliterates any long-term power financial savings. That stated, good fridges aren’t going away, and it is OK to splurge in case your finances permits.

How I did the mathematics: Calculating effectivity knowledge for fridges from 2016

After I began on this evaluation, I had no concept how bewildering refrigerator efficiency regulations are within the US. However I wanted to grasp them to precisely calculate 2025 energy-efficiency values for all of the 2016 fashions.

The only method to clarify that is that each potential fridge configuration makes use of a novel formulation decided by effectivity variables, the fridge’s adjusted quantity, and anticipated base power consumption.

For instance, Class 3 Fridges have a top-mounted freezer, automated defrost, and do not embody an automated icemaker. As a result of the freezer is on high, the equipment’s fan can make the most of the truth that chilly air sinks to tug air from the freezer into the fridge compartment. One of these passive cooling will all the time be extra environment friendly than pumping chilly air up from a bottom-mounted freezer.

Likewise, the adjusted quantity accounts for the freezer compartment, which takes extra power to succeed in a goal temperature than the recent meals compartment. Adjusted quantity is all the time bigger than the linear quantity of a fridge — no less than when the equipment has each a freezer and a fridge.

Lastly, the entire parts of a fridge have a baseline power degree (base load) decided by the legal guidelines of physics. Since fridges cannot use lower than this a lot power, it is added to the ultimate calculation:

(Effectivity variable X Adjusted Quantity) + Base Load = Most Allowable Power Use

When you notice that almost the whole lot — from defrost kind to freezer location to built-in versus freestanding — impacts effectivity, it is smart that there are 42 courses of fridges and freezers with completely different power effectivity requirements.

Power Star standards are extra simple

It is a lot simpler to calculate the power degree a fridge must qualify for an Energy Star Certification. It merely wants to make use of 10% much less power than the federal commonplace — I excluded fashionable fridges that fall beneath this threshold. The final wrinkle is the Power Star Most Environment friendly standing, which adjustments yearly. Listed below are the 2025 standards (PDF):

• High-mounted freezers should have an annual power consumption of 637 kWh or much less.
• Backside-mounted freezers and side-by-side models should be no less than 27% extra environment friendly than the federal commonplace.
• Compact fridges should be no less than 30% extra environment friendly than the federal commonplace.

As soon as I found out the calculations for every fridge class, it was merely a matter of including the formulation to my spreadsheet, calculating common power prices and figuring out the financial savings.