Running Costs for Freezers Test Results

This is part 2 of a 3 part article on Freezer Running Costs. See also :

• Freezer Running Costs Introduction
• Freezer Running Costs Conclusions

Tall Old Upright Freezer Running Cost

First up was our old tall upright. It's seen better days but it still holds temperature down and it's convenient. I'd estimate its capacity around 7 cubic feet.

Without the Savaplug it would cost us about £111 pounds a year to run, consuming 950 KWh of electricity. Not unexpected, it's before the days of efficiency ratings. With the Savaplug running the figures dropped dramatically. It was just using 556 KWh a year, costing us £65 pounds. So we are saving £46.00 a year using a gadget that only costs around £25.00. Now that is a good return on our investment.

Electrolux Premier Eco Freezer Running Costs

The next freezer we checked the running costs on was a fairly new, about 14 months old, Electrolux Premier Eco freezer. I think the capacity is about 4 cubic feet.

This is an A+ rated appliance so we expected it to be very economical to run. It is, however, a 'frost free' freezer and I've heard these can be expensive to run. It's an upright freezer again and has drawers with solid fronts, which should help to keep in the cold when the door is opened.

We discovered the normal running costs are approximately £34 a year, using some 290 KWh of electricity each year. Adding the Savaplug to the equation, the running costs fell to £24 a year using 207 KWh of electricity. A slower return for our cash investment in energy use reduction but still 40% That's far higher than any inflation proofed savings account.

Chest Freezer Running Costs

Next to the small upright freezer, we have a Whirlpool chest freezer. It takes up the same room as the Electrolux and is nominally around the same 4 cubic feet capacity, but we find you can get a lot more into it due to less air gaps than with drawers. I think this is actually 'C' rated although chest freezers seem cheap to run anyway and are certainly cheap to buy, even new.

The running costs are £33 a year using 283 KWh each year. Because we only have 3 Savaplugs this was not tested with a Savaplug but I would bet it would reduce the freezer's running costs.

Frost Free Fridge Freezer Running Costs

Finally we tested the fridge freezer in the kitchen. This we bought from new about 5 years ago and, if I'm truthful, we paid more attention to the size and internal fittings than the energy efficiency at the time.

One problem we do have with this appliance that we didn't realise until we'd had it for a while is that there is only one temperature control. We need the freezer to run at between minus 18 degrees and minus 20 degrees. To achieve this the fridge section has to run at around 2 to 3 degrees when 4 to 5 degrees would be ideal. So we pay extra to run the freezer in over-cooling the fridge.

This is part 2 of a 3 part article on Freezer Running Costs. See also :

• Freezer Running Costs Introduction
• Freezer Running Costs Conclusions
• Buying a Freezer - chest, upright or fridge freezer?

Freezer & Energy Saving Resources

• Big Green Smile - an online shop specialising in ecologically sound products including meters and standby busters etc
• Nigel's Eco Store - another online shop specialising in ecologically sound products.
• Currys - Refrigeration - good range of freezers at especially good prices
  inc. Chest Freezers
• Electricshop.com - good range of chest freezers