How many Watts does a Refrigerator Use?

“How many watts does my refrigerator use?” After getting over 100 messages in regards to this question, I decided to write a detailed guide that will help you to understand the energy consumed by the refrigerator at your place. It also will help you analyse your monthly budgets and electricity bills. Read on!

In this modern world of processed food, drinks, and technological equipment an appliance like a refrigerator has become quite a necessity. The refrigerator is very rightly positioned in the top 20 inventions of the century. There are various types of refrigerators that consume different levels of energy. So I’ve created different sections based on refrigerators! Shall, I begin?

Energy Consumption by Different Types of Refrigerators

If you have questions on how many watts your refrigerator will need, read on. There are many types of fridges available in the market and each fridge has a specific use and different requirements. The various refrigerators available in the market are

Each type of these various types of fridges may be made by different brand but have common characteristics like design, wattage, etc. There may be very rare exceptions. The below list will help you understand how much electricity does refrigerator consume in a day.

1. Top Freezer Refrigerators

1. This is a traditional fridge used by all households and the most budget-friendly.
2. These types of fridges use only around 180 Watts to 250 Watts. However, the top freezer refrigerator is one of the most electricity consuming refrigerator.
3. The reason for this is that the compressor’s power consumption is directly proportional to the fridge temperature.
4. Apart from that, there is the notorious (yet helpful) defroster, which ensures that there is no extra frost built-up in the compartments.

Recommended: 10 Best Mini Freezers for Perfect Freezing

2. Side-by-Side Refrigerators

1. A side-by-side refrigerator uses about 240 Watts.
2. These refrigerators are revolutionary and removed the problem of having less space to keep food. It has a vertical freezer.
3. These may not be as energy-efficient and eco-friendly but surely are budget-friendly.
4. You could maintain life and keep the electricity usage to the lowest by regularly cleaning the condenser coil.

3. Wine Coolers

1. Every household’s dream fridge is a wine cooler.
2. The Watt usage is generally 210 Watts.
3. A wine cooler is different from a refrigerator or beverage cooler as it set to a higher temperature than a refrigerator or beverage cooler as the wines should not be stored as cold as other beverages stored normally in these fridges.
4. A wine cooler of a 30 bottle capacity will consume the same amount of electricity as a 28 bottle capacity cooler i.e. about 85 Watts.

Recommended: Best Wine Coolers to Keep Your Wine Chilled

4. Counter-Top Refrigerators

1. These fridges use around 160 Watts.
2. It is advised to clean the fridge twice a year to keep it working efficiently. 
3. Counter-Top Refrigerator is a very smartly designed fridge that is made specifically to blend in with the depth of the kitchen counters. This is a perfect fridge for those who need to reserve space in the kitchen and also save electricity.

Recommended: 10 Best Counter-Top Icemakers for Perfect Ice

5. Mini Fridges

1. A mini fridge due to its small size only uses around 87 to 100 Watts.
2. Mini Fridge is the perfect fridge for when you need a fridge but can’t afford a lot of space and energy consumption. It is specifically made for the purpose of a smaller kitchen or room where it can be used as bedside fridge. Mini fridge, although requires very less space and is small as compare to a fridge, provides the exact same power of cooling as compared to the big fridges. 
3. Mini fridges are available in different sizes and configurations. You may also get a separate freezer compartment or double doors in a mini fridge which may increase the watts by a couple.

Suggest Read: Best Mini Fridges with Locks (Reviewed)

6. French Door Refrigerators

1. These type of refrigerators use around 190 to 210 Watts.
2. Known as “Très jolie” in French, the French door refrigerator makes your kitchen look very modern and brings out the elegance of the kitchen. Having really great feature like side by side door fridge’s design combined with a huge storage space that acts as a freezer, it is one of the best fridges in the market.
3. The door like swing open function helps it in places with limited areas. A single door opening at a time saves energy as well as the cooling in the compartments.

7. Beverage Coolers

1. A beverage cooler uses only around 140 Watts.
2. A beverage cooler or beverage center is a smaller variant of the fridge but bigger than a mini fridge. It is used for storing beverages available in can and glass bottles and even plastic. It usually has glass doors so that one can view what is inside the fridge.
3. Due to its small size, it is very energy efficient.

Recommended: 10 Best Beverage Refrigerators for Hot Summers

How to Calculate Watts of Electricity used in a refrigerator?

To convert these wattages into kilowatt-hours (kWh – the standard billing unit of electricity suppliers in the U.S), the following formula is applied:

(Wattage x 8*) ÷ 1000
= kWh/day.

8* being assumed as the hours of usage of the appliance in the day. Change the number according to your usage hours.

So, let’s assume an example to better understand the calculation. In this case, I will use my personal usage and case study.

I have two mini-refrigerators, one in each bedroom and a french door refrigerator in my kitchen. I use the mini fridges 8 hours a day and the french door fridge 24 hours a day.

Electricity for my Mini Fridge: (90 x 8) x 2 (two fridges) / 1000 = 1.44 kWh per day. Assuming 12 cents per kWh for my city, I pay US $0.2 per day for both the fridges.

Electricity for my French door Fridge: (200 x 24) / 1000 = 4.8 kWh per day. Assuming 12 cents per kWh, I pay US $0.6 per day for this fridge.

I hope this helps you understand how many watts your refrigerator uses and how much you will pay for the electricity consumed by your fridge every month. If you have any queries regarding the same, feel free to comment down below and I’ll try my best to help you with the technical knowledge I possess with regards to refrigerators!

Although first icebox machines originated from the mountain areas were invented in 1748, the mechanical concept of the present-day refrigerator came to household use in the 1920s.  Earlier they used toxic gasses as refrigerants. However, due to a number of fatal deaths due to leaks, they found colorless and odorless gasses that weren’t toxic at all. Thus, the concept of modern Fridge was introduced commercially.