Refrigerators & Freezers for Consumers

Refrigerator Retirement Savings Calculator

Residential Refrigerators

See also: Commercial Refrigerators & Freezers

ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators require about half as much energy as models manufactured before 1993. ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators provide energy savings without sacrificing the features you want.

Earning the ENERGY STAR

• ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use high efficiency compressors, improved insulation, and more precise temperature and defrost mechanisms to improve energy efficiency.
• ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models use at least 20% less energy than required by current federal standards and 40% less energy than the conventional models sold in 2001.
• Many ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerator models include automatic ice-maker and through-the-door ice dispensers. Qualified models are also available with top, bottom, and side-by-side freezers.
• ENERGY STAR qualified freezer models use at least 10% less energy than required by current federal standards. Qualified freezer models are available in three configurations:
  • upright freezers with automatic defrost
  • upright freezers with manual defrost
  • chest freezers with manual defrost only
• ENERGY STAR compact refrigerators and freezers use at least 20% less energy than required by current federal standards. Compacts are models with volumes less than 7.75 cubic feet.

Remember, saving energy prevents pollution. In most households, the refrigerator is the single biggest energy consuming kitchen appliance. Replacing a refrigerator bought in 1990 with a new ENERGY STAR qualified model would save enough energy to light the average household for nearly four months.

You may also be interested to know that you can reduce the amount of energy your refrigerator or freezer uses, whether with a standard or an ENERGY STAR qualified model:

• Position your refrigerator away from a heat source such as an oven, a dishwasher, or direct sunlight from a window.
• To allow air to circulate around the condenser coils, leave a space between the wall or cabinets and the refrigerator or freezer and keep the coils clean.
• Make sure the door seals are airtight.
• Keep your refrigerator between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Minimize the amount of time the refrigerator door is open.
• Recycle older or second refrigerators.

Make a Cool Change Campaign

U.S. households have 44.5 million fridges over 10 years old, 12.7 million of which are secondary units, often in basements and garages. And almost a quarter of these fridges are at least 20 years old! Fridges made before 1993 use more than twice the energy of a new ENERGY STAR qualified model. The ENERGY STAR Make a Cool Change: Recycle Your Old Fridge (or Freezer), brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy, encourages every American who owns an old, inefficient refrigerator or freezer to take another step — to save money, energy and the environment by properly recycling that old fridge or freezer. And if a replacement is needed, you can save when you buy a new ENERGY STAR qualified model.

Program Announcement

DOE Reaches Agreement with LG Electronics, USA, on Refrigerator Energy Matter (November 2008)

• DOE Test Procedure Statement (12KB)
• DOE Press Release (58KB)
• DOE, LG Signed Settlement Agreement (421KB)