Can you imagine your life without your smartphone or a chilled bottle of water? Since the inception of electricity, things have taken a 180-degree turn, especially when it comes to refrigerators.
In recent years, refrigerator technology has become top-notch. Some refrigerators come with built-in water and ice dispensers, while some have a built-in screen or even speakers. While the technology has peaked, every refrigerator model is different from each other, and are available with unique features and functionalities.
With these wide options available, people have a question about ‘which are the best refrigerators available in the Indian market’, ‘how much electricity does a fridge use’ and so on. So, without any further delay, let’s get started!
Table of Contents
What Is The General Power Consumption Of A Fridge?
To understand how much electricity a fridge uses, you first need to understand the concept of power. Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred around a closed circuit, making it work perfectly.
So, when you switch on your refrigerator, the rate at which the electric energy will traverse through the entire wiring circuit of your device will give you the measure of the power consumed.
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Now, here is a little catch- electric power is consumed only when:
- The circuit is complete, and the endpoint and starting point of the traversal journey is the same.
- The switch to the electrical device is on.
The general refrigerator energy use is usually around three to four hundred.
Refrigerator works with 7 different components, each component has its own function which consumes the electricity.
How much electricity does a fridge consume?
Depending on the multiple factors, the consumption rate of the refrigerator differs. The factors which determine the consumption range are the size of the refrigerator, star rating, age of the refrigerator and so on.
The following table below will help you understand how the size of the refrigerator impacts the annual power consumption.
Size Of Refrigerator |
Annual Power Consumption (On Average) |
| 200 Litres | 720 kWh |
| 300 Litres | 900 kWh |
| 400 Litres | 1080 kWh |
| 500 Litres | 1440 kWh |
| 600 Litres | 1800 kWh |
A domestic refrigerator is likely to consume less than commercial refrigerators. It consumes around 1 to 2 kWh over a day.
To calculate the yearly cost,
Total Yearly Cost = how much kWh/day used x 365 days x price per kWh.
Now, this is just an average rate, which will depend on certain facts (here we discussed one factor, i.e., size of the refrigerator) that we are going to study next, in detail.
Factors that Affect the Power Consumption of Fridge
Now, let us discuss the factors that alter your query’s answers–how much electricity does a refrigerator use.
1. Type of the refrigerator
Regular refrigerators have compressors that draw electricity only when it needs to compress the light gas into a high-pressurized one. However, whenever the compressor needs to work, it does so at its full potential. So, the power consumption of such compressor types is more.
Inverter refrigerators have a different working principle for their compressors. Rather than always working at their peak, these compressors work as per the requirement. This means that it will draw that much amount of electric energy required to pressurize the gas. So, no extra amount of energy is consumed, thereby lowering the overall consumption rate.
2. Size of the refrigerato
How much electricity does a fridge consume also depend on the size of the device? If the size of the device’s internal volume is more, a large volume of the refrigerant will be required to cool down the food items that you have stored inside the device.
As a result, when this huge volume of heated air reaches the compressor, the motor will draw more electric power to apply pressure to the gas molecules. With a smaller device, the action is just the opposite.
3. Location
The refrigerator power draw also depends on the location of the device. As we have discussed earlier, the gas loses its heat energy as it flows through the condenser coils. Hence, the heat emanating from the coils usually accumulates around the device and is slowly dispersed into the atmosphere.
However, if you are keeping your refrigerator in a closed-off space or under poor ventilation circumstances, the heat won’t get dissipated easily. This will further affect the condenser tubes’ cooling power, increasing the device’s overall power consumption.
4. Usage
The next factor on which the refrigerator power consumption watts depend is its usage. If you are keeping the refrigerator switched off for too long, it will take longer to cool down to the inner temperature again. As a result, the compressor will do its work more often, thereby increasing consumption.
Also, if you are keeping the door open often, it will lead to higher power consumption. This is because once you open the door, the colder air inside the refrigerator will mix with the temperature outside, making the inside temperature hotter.
5. Age
Another factor that alters the refrigerator power is the age of the device. The older the fridge, the higher the power consumption. With age, the device’s working efficiency will get lowered, and the compressor will draw more power to compress the gas under pressure for the condenser section.
6. Star Rating
A fridge is perhaps the only appliance in the house that is always ON. We don’t even switch it off when we go for a short trip. And so it is very important that you pick a brand and model that make efficient use of electricity. BEE star ratings for the refrigerator will help save on your electricity bills.
7. Weather
A change in weather may also cause change in power consumption. A day where the temperature is cold or hot may cause the heating and cooling equipment in the refrigerator to run longer to maintain the inside temperature. To maintain the temperature, the device needs more supply to run longer than usual, causing more power consumption.
6 Ways To Reduce Excess Refrigerator Power Consumption
Since your electric bill will depend on how much electricity a fridge uses, it will be very convenient if we discuss some ways of lowering the power consumption of the appliance. So, let’s have a look!
1. Keep Static temperature
First, make sure that the fridge’s temperature is stable and static. Well, you will have the regulator to control the settings. Even so, you need to ensure that the temperature is not fluctuating too often.
2. Do Not Put Food When It’s Hot
Do not put hot food in the refrigerator. This is because if the food is super hot, it will take longer for the coolant gas to cool down the food item until the average fridge temperature. As a result, the compressor will be triggered more, and hence your electric bill will increase.
3. Should be Ventilated
Place the fridge in a vacant space or at least in a place where the condenser will have enough room for dissipating the heat into the atmosphere. If you keep the fridge against a wall, leave some distance to allow the flow of air.
4. Has Good Star Rating
While purchasing a refrigerator, look for a BEE star rating. The higher the star rating, the lower the power consumption. Do note that the BEE star rating is not an indicator of quality.
5. General Maintenance
Like any other appliance, a refrigerator also requires general maintenance. If you are keeping your fridge maintained, the device’s general power consumption will be lowered.
6. Use Timer Switches
Using timer switches can reduce the excess amount of power consumption. If the refrigerator does not contain perishable food, then it is only on when it is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here we answered the most frequently asked Questions about how much electricity does a refrigerator use.
1. Does Power Consumption Affect Your Monthly Bill?
Your monthly bill will depend on how much electricity a fridge uses per hour. Generally, electric bills are calculated based on the unit of electrical energy consumed by an appliance every hour of its operation.
So, the amount of energy consumed by the device every hour will give you the total units consumed by the appliance in a month. Just multiply the units with your electric board’s per-unit price rate, and you will get the electric bill for the month.
2. Do refrigerators use a lot of electricity?
Domestic refrigerator consumes around 1 or 2 kWh over a day. Yearly, a 400 L refrigerator consumes around 1100 kWh assuming the refrigerator is above three stars.
Refrigerators with additional functionality, such as an ice maker, uses an extra 81 kWh annually, which incurs your electricity charges.
Hence, the consumption of power depends on the types of refrigerators, their features, and the star ratings. Old refrigerator will consume more electricity than a new one.
3. How do I check the power consumption of my refrigerator?
To check the wattage of the refrigerator, there is a sticker inside the refrigerator where you can find the number for VOLTS and AMPS. Multiply these numbers to determine how many watts your refrigerator uses.
For Instance, your refrigerator could have 120 V and 6 Amps, for 720 Watts. Another method to check the power consumption is via a tool named “electricity usage monitor”.
4. How much does it cost to run a fridge for 24 hours?
A 400-500 L of refrigerator uses around 495 kWh of electricity annually, costing around 12 k INR. If we further calculate the power consumption per day is approximately 35 INR.
How much power does a fridge use per hour is one of the most asked questions. By the above calculation we can say it could be around 1.4 INR.
Note: The cost may vary based on the energy usage rate at your location.
Conclusion
Now, understanding the factors that cause high power consumption of refrigerators and how much electricity a fridge uses might seem to be easy now. But, always remember the ultimate power consumption amount will depend on which brand of the device you are using, how old it is, and the technology used in manufacturing.
