Freezer Energy Cost Calculator
This freezer energy cost calculator estimates what your freezer costs to run: enter its average power draw, your electricity rate and the storage period, and get the electricity cost, the total storage cost and a cost per kilogram stored. Everything runs in your browser — no meter reading is replaced.
Calculated results
Daily running time of 24 h: if the value you entered is the rated power, actual consumption may be overestimated because the compressor does not run continuously.
This calculation is no substitute for a meter reading: use the appliance's actual average power draw if you know it.
The cost per kg is an operating cost spread over the stored mass, not an estimate of the food's production cost.
Method and limits
How to use this calculator
Enter the freezer's average power draw — a watt-meter reading ideally, the manufacturer's documentation otherwise — and its daily running time, usually 24 hours. Fill in the storage duration and the price per kWh from your utility bill. Add the value of the food, any expected losses, packaging and your currency: energy, electricity cost and total cost compute instantly, per month or per year as you choose.
Energy used is E_kWh = P × H × D / 1000, with P the average power in watts, H the running hours per day and D the number of days; the electricity cost is E_kWh × T_kWh. The total cost adds packaging and lost value: C_total = C_electricity + C_packaging + C_food × p/100. The cost per kilogram spreads that total over the stored mass.
From power draw to kilowatt-hours
The nameplate often states the compressor's rated power, which does not run continuously: the thermostat cycles on and off with room temperature, load and door openings. A freezer rated at 150 W may average 60–100 W, so entering the rated power likely overstates the bill — hence the warning shown for 24-hour running. If your freezer lists a yearly kWh rating instead, divide it by the 8,760 hours in a year to get an average draw in kW.
Total cost and cost per kilogram
The total cost adds electricity, packaging and lost value — the last one valuing the share of food lost to freezer burn, rejects or power outages at the purchase price you entered. The cost per kilogram spreads the total over the stored mass: it is an operating cost of storage, not an estimate of what the food cost to produce. On equal assumptions — same load, same rate, same duration — it also lets you compare two freezers before buying.
Worked example
A freezer averaging 150 W and running 24 hours a day for 30 days uses 108 kWh; at $0.15 per kWh that is $16.20 of electricity for the month. With 25 kg of food worth $120 and 5% losses, the lost value is $6.00, bringing the total storage cost to $22.20, or $0.89 per kg stored. Over 365 days the same freezer uses 1,314 kWh — $197.10 of electricity, $203.10 total, $8.12 per kg. Reproduce these values in the tool: you must get exactly the same results.
Assumptions and limits
The power you enter should be an average draw: a nameplate rating overstates the real consumption of a cycling compressor. The calculation is no substitute for a meter reading or a plug-in watt meter. The loss rate values food at the purchase price entered; leaving it at zero assumes loss-free storage. The cost per kg is a spread operating cost, not a production cost: it says nothing about the original purchase price per kilogram of food.
Frequently asked questions
Limits of use