UPDATED: July 2022NEWS
How Much Electricity Does a Chest Freezer Use?
Electricity seems to be an ever-rising household expense, but do you know how much each household appliance actually uses? Despite being "always on" the relatively low cost daily of running a freezer might surprise you.
How Energy Efficient are Chest Freezers?
On the freezer specification details, look for annual energy usage - it will be shown as a KWh figure (1Kwh = 1 unit of electricity).
Average Energy Usage By Freezer Size
(* assumes 30p per unit)
SMALL
(to 149 litres)
173 KWh
£51.90 per year*
MEDIUM
(150-299 litres)
230 KWh
£69.00 per year*
LARGE
(300 litres+)
313 KWh
£93.90 per year*
How to Use Your Freezer Efficiently
Here are some simple tips to ensure your freezer operates most economically:
- Allow warm or hot food to cool down to room temperature before freezing
- Regularly review the contents for expired items or those you know you will never use
- Only open the lid when required and close as soon as possible
- Keep the freezer 75% full - this is the most optimum level between airflow and mass
- In summer, ensure the surrounding area (especially in a shed or garage) is properly ventilated and the unit is out of direct sunlight
- Defrost on a regular basis - thick ice build-up reduces space and makes the freezer work harder

Compare All the Latest Chest Freezers for Annual Energy Usage
Below is our animated comparison graph that shows a selection of current model chest freezers with their capacity, annual energy use and approximate annual cost.
The larger the capacity the higher the energy usage. Use the drop-down menu to filter by size group to see how similar sized models compare.
Shorter lines = more economical
(costs based on 30p per kWh - that's 1 unit of electricity)