Frostless Refrigerator Wattage Requirements

Size of Refrigerator

• The amount of wattage a frostless refrigerator requires to run depends partially on the refrigerator's size. Smaller refrigerators typically take less energy to run than larger refrigerators. For example, a 16-cubic-foot refrigerator needs about 600 watts of power per hour to run, which translates to about 2,100 kilowatts per month. A 20-cubic-foot refrigerator needs slightly more power: 800 watts per hour and 2,700 kilowatts per month.

How It Works

• Frostless refrigerators require more power than regular refrigerators because the refrigerator switches back and forth between cooling and defrosting. Thus, the refrigerator needs extra power to run the thermostat, heat sensors and fans required for both cooling and defrost modes. However, the refrigerator doesn't run when it's in defrost mode, so the amount of energy you use balances out. Most home refrigerators are frostless, although ice boxes need to be defrosted manually.

Saving Electricity

• The best way to save electricity using a frostless refrigerator is to make sure your thermostat is set at a reasonable level. If your refrigerator's thermostat is set at too low a level, the refrigerator will expend extra energy getting to that low temperature. In addition, your food may get icy or the refrigerator may stop running effectively. If your refrigerator's thermostat is set at a reasonable level, your refrigerator will save electricity by not running while in defrost mode.

Considerations

• If you're looking into lowering your electricity bill, you need to know the average kilowatts per hour that you use over the course of a month, including how much your refrigerator uses. You can't really change the amount of electricity your refrigerator uses other than by changing the thermostat as discussed above, so you should consider your refrigerator's wattage requirements to be a constant and seek to save electricity in other ways.