Guide
What a fridge costs to run
A fridge runs all day, every day, so its energy use adds up. Here’s how to turn the energy label into dollars, and how to weigh that against the price.
The number to use
Every fridge sold in Australia is registered with a rated energy use in kilowatt hours (kWh) a year. It’s on the energy label and in the Australian Government’s Energy Rating data. The star rating tells you how efficient the fridge is for its size and type, but for costs, use the kWh figure.
The sum
Yearly running cost = energy use (kWh a year) × your usage rate ($ per kWh)
Your usage rate is on your electricity bill, usually in cents per kWh. Divide cents by 100 for dollars: 30 c/kWh is $0.30 per kWh. Leave out the daily supply charge; you pay that whichever fridge you choose.
Price plus energy over a period
Cost over a period = purchase price + known delivery, installation and removal charges + (years × yearly running cost)
This is a comparison, not a prediction of everything you’ll spend. It leaves out repairs, finance, resale value and future changes in electricity prices, and assumes one steady rate. If a charge such as delivery isn’t known yet, the total is incomplete, and we show it as a subtotal rather than pretending delivery is free.
A worked example
These two fridges are made up to show the arithmetic; they are not real products.
| Fridge A | Fridge B | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,200 | $1,450 |
| Delivery | $50 | $50 |
| Energy use | 350 kWh a year | 200 kWh a year |
| Running cost a year | $105 | $60 |
| Five years, price plus energy | $1,775 | $1,800 |
Fridge B uses less energy but is still $25 dearer over five years. It costs $250 more upfront and saves $45 a year, so it takes about 5.6 years for the energy saving to cover the difference. If the more efficient fridge is also cheaper, there’s nothing to pay back; if it doesn’t save energy, it never pays back.
Try it
Change the figures to compare any two fridges. Everything stays in your browser.
Comparing with an old fridge
Energy test methods have changed over the years, so an old fridge’s label figure may not compare directly with a new one’s. We don’t estimate savings from replacing an old fridge without a comparable figure for the old one, and we don’t assume old fridges use a set amount more.
The fridge finder shows these costs for every model, using your own rate and your chosen period. Rated energy use for each model comes from the Energy Rating registrations; the finder’s default rate of 30 c/kWh is illustrative only.