Cost to run a chest freezer
A chest freezer typically uses 218 kWh a year, which costs £57.38 at 26.32p/kWh: about £4.78 a month.
A year of running costs
£57.38 a year
That is 218 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £4.78 a month and £57.38 a year.
On the energy label as kWh/annum or kWh a year.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| A day | 15.7p | 0.6 kWh | 130 g |
| A month | £4.78 | 18.2 kWh | 3.9 kg |
| A year | £57.38 | 218 kWh | 47.4 kg |
How we calculated this
218 kWh a year is how an energy label rates it: measured over normal running, with the compressor switching on and off as it does. That is far more reliable than its wattage, which it only draws part of the time.
The figures are for ENERGY STAR certified models sold in the US and Canada. Certified models are more efficient than the average model on sale, and many are larger than the ones sold in Europe, so an older or less efficient one will use more. The power shown is the average over every hour of the year, worked out from the annual figure: a compressor draws more than that while it runs and nothing while it is off.
The starting use for a chest freezer, all year round, is where the calculator starts, not a measurement of your home: change it to how you use yours. A day is the average across the week, and a month is a twelfth of a 365-day year.
Electricity costs 26.32p/kWh. That is the published figure for the United Kingdom, 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026, from Ofgem. Average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. No VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Standing charges are left out: you pay them whether or not the appliance runs.
Emissions use 0.217 kg CO2e per kWh, the lifecycle intensity of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2025, from Ember, via Our World in Data. Lifecycle means building the power stations and supplying their fuel are counted too. It is the grid’s average, not the particular power station an extra appliance brings on.
What drives the cost
A chest freezer runs all year, and what it costs is set by the energy label’s figure for a year. Only 9 certified chest freezers are listed, so the spread is narrow, but the median uses 218 kWh a year, which costs £57.38 at 26.32p/kWh.
Also called: deep freezer, freezer chest.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For a chest freezer used as typical (all year round), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | A year |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | £57.38 |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | $39.65 |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €88.12 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 84,34 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 55,83 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 58,18 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 64,66 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 55,76 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest freezer | 24.9 W | — | £57.38 |
| Upright freezer | 50 W | — | £115.28 |
| Fridge freezer | 54 W | — | £124.49 |
How to spend less on it
- Keep it full: frozen food holds the cold, so a full freezer works less than a nearly empty one.
- Defrost it before ice builds up, and keep it somewhere cool, not in a warm room or next to a boiler.
- Check the seal: a lid that does not close tightly lets warm air in and makes the compressor work more.
Questions
How much does a chest freezer cost to run a year?
A typical one uses 218 kWh a year, which costs £57.38 at 26.32p/kWh, about £4.78 a month.
How many watts does a chest freezer use?
Most draw between 23.9 W and 39.5 W while running, and 24.9 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
Is a chest freezer cheaper to run than an upright?
Cold air is heavier than warm air, so it stays in a chest freezer when the lid is lifted and falls out of an upright when the door opens. The certified chest freezers here use a median of 218 kWh a year.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR Certified Residential Freezers (open data), ENERGY STAR, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 September 2026. “ENERGY STAR certified chest freezers, annual energy: median 218 kWh a year across 9 certified models, 10th to 90th percentile 209 kWh a year to 346 kWh a year (models where type='Chest Freezer').”
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