Energy Bill Lab

Refrigerator Electricity Cost Calculator

Calculate monthly and annual electricity costs for your refrigerator using rated power, compressor cycling percentage, or official EnergyGuide annual kWh benchmarks.

Illustrative Refrigerator Benchmarks
Choose U.S. State

Estimated Refrigerator Operating Cost

Monthly Cost

$6.24

37.8 kWh / month
Annual Cost

$75.88

460 kWh / year
Daily Cost

$0.21

1.26 kWh / day
Effective Power Draw

52.5 W

35% duty cycle
Formula: kWh = (Watts × Hours/Day × Days × Duty Cycle %) / 1,000 | Rate used: 16.50¢/kWh

Understanding Refrigerator Power Draw and Compressor Duty Cycles

Refrigerators remain plugged into the electrical grid 24 hours a day, but their cooling compressor runs intermittently. Under typical room temperatures, a modern residential refrigerator compressor runs approximately 30% to 45% of total time.

Refrigerator Energy & Cost Formula:Daily kWh = (Wattage × 24 hrs × Duty Cycle %) ÷ 1,000Monthly Cost ($) = (Daily kWh × 30 days) × (Rate ¢/kWh ÷ 100)

Data Sources & Methodology

All U.S. state electricity rate averages provided in this calculator are sourced directly from the official U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly residential dataset.