Are Fridges Expensive to Run?
It depends, is the answer! When using an average energy rate of 17.17 cents per Kilowatt hour (kWh)[ChooseEnergy], the annual cost of running a wine fridge ranges from $115 to $300.
To find out, we took the average wattage (W) of a wine cooler and calculated how many hours it can run per Kilowatt. This period of time is then divided by the number of hours in a year.
Small/Medium
[I.E. Koolatron WC – 20 ]
Avg Watts: 76 watts
NY Electricity Rates: 17.17 cents per KiloWatt
Number of hours per kilowatt (KW) consumed: 13.15 (1000/76)
Hours in 1 year: 8760
Calculation: (8760/13.15)*0.1717 = $114.4
Large
[I.E. Koolatron Grand Series 173-bottle Wine Fridge]
Avg Watts: 200 watts
NY Electricity Rates: 17.17 cents per KiloWatt
Number of hours per kilowatt (KW) consumed: 5 (1000/200)
Hours in 1 year: 8760
Calculation: (8760/5)*0.1717 = $300.10
We hope you found this article useful and that you are confident in the costs, especially now that you have seen the above energy calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the costs of running a wine fridge:
What kinds of factors will increase my ‘s running costs?
There are several of them, including:
- Size
- Manufacturer
- Energy Cooling System
- Number of Zones
Size
The physical size of a wine refrigerator will affect its efficiency because a larger unit will have more air stored inside that needs to be cooled in order to keep the unit cool.
The bottle capacity of the wine cooler, like its physical size, will affect the unit’s running cost, as units with larger bottle capacities will require more power to maintain a cold internal temperature.
Manufacturer
Certain wine cooler manufacturers are forward-thinking and constantly improve the technology used in their wine refrigerators. These manufacturers will design units that use less wattage per hour. This information is typically provided by brands alongside technical information about the wine cooler.
Energy Cooling System
The wine cooler’s energy cooling system refers to whether it is powered by a compressor or a thermoelectric system.
Because there are no moving parts in a thermoelectric wine cooler, it is more energy efficient than a compressor wine cooler.
However, because a compressor refrigerator is often more powerful than a thermoelectric cooler, it is always used in large wine refrigerators.
Number of Zones
A typical wine refrigerator will have either a single or dual zone for storing wine bottles.
These are known as single-zone wine coolers or dual-zone wine coolers.
Single zone units are useful for storing only one type of wine at a time, whereas dual zone units are better suited for storing multiple types of wine at the same time, such as red and white wines.
Dual zone wine fridges consume more energy because they have separate zones that can be individually controlled in terms of temperature settings.
I’ve been a wine enthusiast for over 20 years, and have sold wine refrigerators for the last 15 years. So I would consider myself to be a wine fridge expert. Hence why I created this blog, read between wines, where I post about wine fridges, wines and wine equipment.