Consumer and Vehicles

ENERGY STAR refrigerators: typical energy use

4,848 refrigerator listings currently carry the ENERGY STAR certification — full-size and compact refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers certified under the U.S. ENERGY STAR program. Here is the typical range and the most efficient model on record, straight from the U.S. EPA's own product-finder dataset.

Certified models

4,848

Catalog average

386 kWh

Most efficient model

Fisher & Paykel RS2435V2*

42 kWh

refrigerators: most efficient, average and least efficient certified modelThree bars comparing the most efficient, the catalog average and the least efficient ENERGY STAR-certified refrigerator, out of 4,848 listings.Most efficient42 kWhCatalog average386 kWhLeast efficient805 kWh
Source: data.energystar.gov (dataset p5st-her9), collected 2026-10-09. Own chart.

How to read this page

Como ler este número

What the number measures

This is the annual energy use reported under the U.S. DOE test procedure for refrigerators — a standardized lab test, not a measurement from a real home.

De onde vem o dado

data.energystar.gov, collected 2026-10-09

Figures come straight from the U.S. EPA's own Socrata dataset (dataset p5st-her9), under the EPA Data License. Last model added to this category: 2026-10-07.

Cuidado

ENERGY STAR only covers certified models

This list only includes refrigerator models the manufacturer submitted for certification — it is not every refrigerator sold in the U.S., and a model being absent does not mean it is inefficient. Figures are per year, under lab conditions; your own bill depends on size, settings and how much you use it.

O que fazer com isso

Check a specific model yourself

Open the raw dataset or search the brand and model number directly on the manufacturer's own EnergyGuide label before buying.

How big is the certified refrigerator market?

As of 2026-10-07, 4,848 refrigerator listings carry the ENERGY STAR certification — full-size and compact refrigerators and refrigerator-freezers certified under the U.S. ENERGY STAR program. It is a smaller, more specialized list than categories like refrigerators or dishwashers, which makes individual model specs more worth comparing one by one.

What is a typical refrigerator annual energy use?

Certified refrigerators range from 42 kWh to 805 kWh a year — more than a 19x spread, mostly driven by size and features (capacity, ice makers, smart controls, variable-speed compressors). The average across the whole certified list is 386 kWh a year, but that number means little without matching it to the size of unit you actually need.

Which certified refrigerator uses the least energy?

The most efficient model in the dataset is the Fisher & Paykel RS2435V2*, at 42 kWh a year — close to the catalog minimum of 42 kWh. "Most efficient" here is a single data point, not a buying recommendation: capacity, features and price matter too.

Glossário: os termos desta página

ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that certifies appliance models meeting a set energy-efficiency threshold. Certification is voluntary for manufacturers and does not cover every model on the market.

Fonte: ENERGY STAR Product Finder — U.S. EPA.

Ver no glossário completo

Energy and consumer glossary — todos os 9 termos.

Source: data.energystar.gov (dataset p5st-her9), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the EPA Data License. Collected 2026-10-09. "ENERGY STAR" is used here as the plain-text name of the EPA program, not as a logo or endorsement of any brand.