Refrigerators are nearly universal in U.S. homes, but their energy burden depends on appliance age, configuration, ownership of extra units and local electricity prices. The statistics below distinguish household surveys, shipment-weighted model-year data, field measurements, eligibility formulas and global appliance scenarios.
Key Refrigerator Energy Use Statistics
The most useful refrigerator energy use statistics span ownership, costs, measured consumption and efficiency benchmarks:
- In 2020, 99% of U.S. homes had a refrigerator.
- In 2020, 34% of U.S. homes had two or more refrigerators.
- In 2020, 33% of U.S. homes had a separate freezer.
- In 2020, 38% of Midwest homes had a second refrigerator.
- In 2020, 44% of Midwest homes had a separate freezer.
- In 2020, the most-used U.S. household refrigerator cost about $87 per year to operate on average.
- In 2020, a second U.S. household refrigerator cost about $66 per year to operate on average.
- In 2020, a separate U.S. household freezer cost about $74 per year to operate on average.
- Shipment-weighted use was 1,730 kWh per year for U.S. refrigerators from model years 1970–1974.
- Shipment-weighted use was 988 kWh per year for U.S. refrigerators from model year 1990.
- Shipment-weighted use was 693 kWh per year for U.S. refrigerators from model years 1994 and 1995.
- Shipment-weighted use was 550 kWh per year for U.S. refrigerators from model year 2005.
- In an English household study during 2015, 998 cold appliances were monitored in 766 properties.
- In that 2015 England study, 52% of monitored cold appliances were fridge-freezers.
- Mean annualized electricity use across valid monitored English cold appliances was 354 kWh per appliance per year in 2015.
- Mean monitored refrigerator temperature in English homes was 5.3 °C during 2015.
- Mean monitored freezer temperature in English homes was −20.3 °C during 2015.
- The ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 full-size refrigerator-freezer basic class used a base allowance of 7.19 × adjusted volume + 202.5 kWh per year.
- ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 full-size product classes specified 10% less energy than measured energy use.
- Appliances represented 45% of building electricity demand globally in the IEA policy-toolkit baseline.
Contents
- U.S. refrigerator ownership and operating-cost statistics
- Historical refrigerator electricity-use trends
- Measured refrigerator and freezer energy use in English homes
- Energy-use benchmarks by refrigerator and freezer class
- ENERGY STAR requirements and DOE product examples
- Global appliance energy trends and refrigerator demand
U.S. Refrigerator Ownership and Operating-Cost Statistics
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) shows how common cold-storage appliances are, while also showing why household totals should not be confused with refrigerator-only electricity use. The survey reports ownership and estimated operating costs rather than a direct refrigerator kWh measurement.
| 2020 U.S. household measure | Result | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Homes with a refrigerator | 99% | RECS-based ownership estimate |
| Homes with two or more refrigerators | 34% | Additional units may not be full-size |
| Homes with a separate freezer | 33% | RECS estimate |
| Most-used refrigerator operating cost | About $87/year | EIA estimate |
| Second refrigerator operating cost | About $66/year | EIA estimate |
| Separate freezer operating cost | About $74/year | EIA estimate |
The same EIA page reports that the average U.S. household consumed about 10,500 kWh of electricity in 2020. That figure is residential electricity total, not refrigerator-only use, and the appliance costs depend on electricity prices and assumed use. Electricity use in homes – U.S. Energy Information Administration
Regional ownership can be higher than the national estimate. In 2020, 38% of Midwest homes had a second refrigerator, and 44% had a separate freezer, compared with 34% and 33% respectively across all U.S. homes.
Historical Refrigerator Electricity-Use Trends
DOE’s Refrigerators Final Rule Technical Support Document reports shipment-weighted annual electricity use for new U.S. refrigerators by model year. The 1970–1979 values are approximate AHAM Fact Book figures, and these are new-refrigerator shipment measures rather than readings from today’s installed household stock.
| Model year or period | Shipment-weighted use |
|---|---|
| 1970–1974 | 1,730 kWh/year, approximate |
| 1975–1979 | 1,530 kWh/year, approximate |
| 1980 | 1,278 kWh/year |
| 1981 | 1,190 kWh/year |
| 1982 | 1,191 kWh/year |
| 1983 | 1,160 kWh/year |
| 1984 | 1,139 kWh/year |
| 1985 | 1,147 kWh/year |
| 1986 | 1,165 kWh/year |
| 1987 | 1,052 kWh/year |
| 1988 | 1,049 kWh/year |
| 1989 | 1,006 kWh/year |
| 1990 | 988 kWh/year |
| 1991 | 918 kWh/year |
| 1992 | 877 kWh/year |
| 1993 | 699 kWh/year |
| 1994 | 693 kWh/year |
| 1995 | 693 kWh/year |
| 2001 | 611 kWh/year |
| 2002 | 576 kWh/year |
| 2003 | 589 kWh/year |
| 2004 | 559 kWh/year |
| 2005 | 550 kWh/year |
| 2006 | 564 kWh/year |
The series includes small increases in some years, such as 1982, 1985–1986, 2003 and 2006, so it should be read as a model-year record rather than a perfectly smooth annual decline. Refrigerators Final Rule Technical Support Document
Measured Refrigerator and Freezer Energy Use in English Homes
A peer-reviewed study monitored 998 cold appliances in 766 English properties during 2015. It used seven-day measurements during a nine-month study window and annualized valid observations, so its mean is an estimate for a mixed appliance sample rather than a national ownership average.
The monitored sample contained 52% fridge-freezers, 6% refrigerators with an ice-box, 14% larder fridges, 9% chest freezers and 19% upright freezers. These percentages describe the study sample’s composition, not the share of all English homes owning each appliance type.
| 2015 England monitoring measure | Observed result |
|---|---|
| Monitored appliances | 998 |
| Monitored properties | 766 |
| Mean ambient temperature | 18.5 °C |
| Mean refrigerator temperature | 5.3 °C |
| Mean freezer temperature | −20.3 °C |
| Mean annualized use across valid cold appliances | 354 kWh/appliance/year |
The 354 kWh per appliance per year result combines refrigerators, fridge-freezers and freezers and was annualized from seven-day measurements. It therefore should not be presented as the average consumption of a single refrigerator class. Temperature and energy performance of domestic cold appliances in households in England
Refrigerator and Freezer Energy-Use Benchmarks by Appliance Class
ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 specifies class-based base allowances using adjusted volume. These are eligibility formulas, not measured household averages, and the adjusted-volume definition comes from the specification.
| ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 class | Base allowance |
|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator-freezer, basic | 7.19 × adjusted volume + 202.5 kWh/year |
| Top-freezer, no automatic icemaker | 7.26 × adjusted volume + 210.3 kWh/year |
| Side-freezer, no through-door ice service | 7.66 × adjusted volume + 268.0 kWh/year |
| Bottom-freezer, no automatic icemaker | 7.97 × adjusted volume + 285.3 kWh/year |
| Upright freezer, manual defrost | 5.01 × adjusted volume + 174.3 kWh/year |
| Upright freezer, automatic defrost, no automatic icemaker | 7.76 × adjusted volume + 205.5 kWh/year |
| Chest or other non-compact freezer | 6.56 × adjusted volume + 97.0 kWh/year |
| Compact refrigerator-freezer, top-mounted freezer | 10.62 × adjusted volume + 305.3 kWh/year |
| Compact refrigerator-freezer, side-mounted freezer | 6.14 × adjusted volume + 411.2 kWh/year |
| Compact chest freezer | 8.33 × adjusted volume + 123.1 kWh/year |
The formulas show why appliance class, configuration and adjusted volume matter when comparing labels. A compact side-mounted refrigerator-freezer, for example, has a different allowance from a full-size basic refrigerator-freezer; the figures are not interchangeable averages. ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Residential Refrigerators and Freezers – Eligibility Criteria
ENERGY STAR Refrigerator Requirements and DOE Product Examples
The ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 full-size product classes specify 10% less energy than measured energy use. The same specification gives connected products a functional adder of 0.05 × AECBASE kWh/year, which is an allowance in the eligibility framework rather than an observed household-consumption result.
DOE’s refrigerator and freezer energy-rating tool gives a separate example: a 2000 Amana freezer is estimated at 537 kWh/year with a good door seal. This is a tool estimate for that example and condition, not a current average or a direct measurement of every 2000 freezer.
The DOE database includes appliances larger than 10 cubic feet. Its coverage rule describes what the database contains and should not be read as an energy-use observation. Refrigerator and Freezer Energy Rating Online Search Tool
Global Appliance Energy Trends Affecting Refrigerator Demand
The International Energy Agency’s appliance policy toolkit places refrigerators within the broader appliance system. In its baseline, appliances represent 45% of electricity demand in buildings, and appliances are responsible for almost 3 gigatons of CO2 emissions globally; neither figure is refrigerator-only.
The IEA also reports that, in countries with appliance standards and labeling, appliances typically consume 30% less energy than they otherwise would. This is a cross-country policy estimate for appliances generally, not a refrigerator-specific measurement.
Its forward-looking figures are scenarios rather than realized outcomes:
- The IEA’s 2030 scenario says appliance energy-intensity improvement would need to rise 30%–40% by 2030.
- Under the IEA policy package, appliances could consume 25% less energy by 2030.
These forecasts should be kept separate from the historical U.S. model-year series and the 2015 English field study. The historical series describes shipment-weighted new refrigerators, the field study annualizes measured appliance use, and the IEA figures describe global appliances and policy scenarios. Appliances – Energy Efficiency Policy Toolkit