How much is the average fridge freezer cost per year?
The average fridge freezer cost is roughly £65 to £75 a year for a mid range model, and anywhere from about £25 to £120 depending on size, age and energy rating. That is around 20p a day for a typical one. It never gets a day off, so small differences add up.
The sums use the Ofgem price cap, which averages 26.32p per kWh for electricity on Direct Debit from 1 October 2026. Your own rate depends on your region and tariff, so treat every figure here as an estimate.
Most modern fridge freezers use somewhere around 100 to 300 kWh a year, and larger American style models often use more, in the region of 250 to 450 kWh. At about 26p a unit, that works out roughly like this:
- A small, efficient model at around 150 kWh: roughly £40 a year
- A mid range model at around 280 kWh: roughly £73 a year
- A large American style model at around 450 kWh: roughly £118 a year
How do you work out your own fridge freezer cost?
Working out your own fridge freezer cost is a two step job. Find the kWh per year on the energy label, in the manual or on the maker’s product page, then multiply it by your unit rate.
Say your label says 280 kWh and your unit rate is 26p. That is 280 times 0.26, so roughly £73 a year. Your unit rate sits on your bill next to the standing charge, and our guide to reading your energy bill shows where to find it.
Two caveats apply. The label figure comes from standard test conditions, so a warm kitchen or a door that opens all day will push your real fridge freezer cost higher. And the label scale was reset in March 2021, so a rating that looked great on an older model may look modest on today’s A to G scale. Compare kWh figures, not letters.
What pushes your fridge freezer cost up?
The fridge freezer cost creeps up for boring reasons, and most of them are fixable:
- Location: a fridge freezer squeezed next to the oven or in a sunny spot works harder to stay cold.
- Temperature: colder than it needs to be wastes power. Food safety advice generally points to a fridge at 5°C or below, and a freezer is conventionally set to minus 18°C.
- Door seals: a worn seal lets warm air in, so the compressor runs more often.
- Frost build up: thick ice in an older freezer makes it less efficient, so defrost when it builds.
- Blocked airflow: packing the back vents or leaving hot food inside makes it work harder.
Age matters too. An older model can use noticeably more electricity than a modern one of the same size, which brings us to the question everyone asks.
Is it worth replacing an old fridge freezer to cut the cost?
Sometimes, but rarely as fast as the adverts suggest. Compare the kWh per year on the old and new labels, then price the difference. If your old one uses 400 kWh and a new one uses 200 kWh, that gap is 200 kWh, roughly £52 a year at 26p a unit. A replacement that costs several hundred pounds would take years to pay back on running costs alone.
That is an illustration, not a promise. Your own numbers will differ. If your fridge freezer is old, faulty or failing, replacing it is a different decision, and the label figure is a useful tie breaker between models.
The unit rate matters as much as the appliance. The same fridge freezer costs more at 30p a unit than at 24p, and the rate is the part you can change by comparing tariffs. Ofgem’s current figure also carries no VAT on electricity until 31 March 2027, so the same appliance may cost slightly more after that. The details are in Ofgem’s price cap announcement.
Three quick checks to trim your fridge freezer cost
- Read the kWh per year on the label or product page and work out your own figure.
- Check the temperature, the door seals and the space around the back and sides.
- Look at your unit rate. If it sits well above the current average for your region, a comparison is worth a few minutes.
Your fridge freezer is one of the few appliances that runs every hour of every day, so the price per unit gets multiplied all year. Doing nothing about that rate has a price of its own. Our guides on standby power and dishwasher running costs show the same pattern. Checking your rate takes a few minutes.
Key takeaways
- The typical fridge freezer cost is roughly £65 to £75 a year, from about £25 to £120 by size and rating.
- The kWh per year on the energy label times your unit rate gives your own figure.
- Placement, temperature, door seals and frost all change the real cost.
- Replacing an old model may take years to pay back on running costs alone.
- Your unit rate multiplies everything, and it is the part you can change.
Frequently asked questions about fridge freezer cost
- How much does a fridge freezer cost to run per day?
- Roughly 20p a day for a typical mid range model at around 26p per kWh. Smaller efficient models cost less and large American style models cost more, so treat this as an estimate.
- Where do I find my fridge freezer’s kWh per year?
- Look on the energy label, in the instruction manual or on the maker’s product page. It is shown as kWh per year, sometimes written as kWh/annum.
- Does a full fridge freezer cost less to run?
- A reasonably full freezer tends to hold its temperature better, while a badly overpacked fridge blocks airflow. Aim for full but not crammed.
- Does the fridge freezer cost change if my unit rate changes?
- Yes. The cost scales with your unit rate, so a lower rate lowers the cost of running it. Your bill shows the rate you currently pay.
Sources
- Ofgem, Changes to the energy price cap between 1 October and 31 December 2026, 26 August 2026. The 26.32p per kWh electricity unit rate and the removal of VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Checked 29 September 2026.
