How much electricity does a freezer use?
Upright freezers used a median of 242 kWh a year and chest freezers 229 kWh in homes metered by ADEME: about £60–64 a year at the UK price cap or $42–44 at the US average.
- Upright freezer: 242 kWh/yr median (34 units metered, middle half 185–356 kWh).
- Chest freezer: 229 kWh/yr median (25 units, middle half 182–431 kWh).
- UK price cap (26.32p/kWh): about £64 a year for a median upright and £60 for a median chest freezer. US average (18.31¢): about $44 and $42.
- The spread between homes is huge: an old freezer can easily use twice as much as a recent one.
| Appliance | Median (kWh/yr) | Middle half (kWh) | Units measured | Median cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fridge-freezer (combi) | 268 | 186–353 | 95 | £71 |
| Upright freezer | 242 | 185–356 | 34 | £64 |
| Chest freezer | 229 | 182–431 | 25 | £60 |
| Refrigerator (no freezer) | 134 | 104–218 | 24 | £35 |
Source: ADEME (French Agency for Ecological Transition) – Panel Elecdom open data, measurement period July 2023 - July 2024, Wisiko calculations (median and quartiles of measured units, samples of 10+ units).
These are not energy label figures but real measurements. In its Panel Elecdom study, ADEME, the French environment agency, metered appliances individually in French homes for a full year (July 2023 to July 2024). We use the median and quartiles of the units measured.
Annual use and cost
| Appliance | Measured median | UK cost (26.32p) | US cost (18.31¢) | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upright freezer | 242 kWh | £64 | $44 | 0.66 kWh |
| Chest freezer | 229 kWh | £60 | $42 | 0.63 kWh |
| Fridge-freezer | 268 kWh | £71 | $49 | 0.73 kWh |
The table above also shows the “middle half” range: half of the measured units fall inside it, a quarter below and a quarter above. You can change the price per kWh in our full appliance data table.
Chest or upright: which uses less?
The medians are close (229 vs 242 kWh a year). Chest freezers have a physical advantage, since cold air is heavier and stays in the cabinet when you open the lid. But the measured range for chest freezers is wider (up to 431 kWh for the top quarter), probably because many are old, large, or kept in garages and utility rooms where the temperature swings.
So age, size and location matter more than the shape.
Is your freezer using too much?
- Check the energy label: it shows the standardised annual consumption in kWh. A freezer measuring well above that figure may need defrosting or new door seals.
- Measure it: a plug-in energy monitor left for a week gives a reliable figure (multiply by 52 for the year).
- Work out the cost with our appliance running cost calculator by entering the annual kWh directly.
If an old freezer uses 450 kWh a year and a new one 200 kWh, the 250 kWh saving is worth about £66 a year under the UK cap, or about $46 at the US average.
Six ways to cut freezer running costs
- Defrost once the ice is more than a few millimetres thick (on models without automatic defrost).
- Set it to −18 °C (0 °F): colder doesn’t preserve food better, it just costs more.
- Keep it away from heat (oven, radiator, direct sun) and leave space for air to circulate at the back.
- Check the seals: a sheet of paper shut in the door should resist when you pull it.
- Let food cool before freezing it.
- Avoid running a nearly empty second freezer all year: one well-filled freezer costs less than two half-empty ones.
For fridges, see how much electricity a fridge uses.