What is The Average Amperage of Refrigerators?

Low Amp Efficiency

• Almost all refrigerators in the United States run on 120-volt input and use a current (amps) of anything between 0.75 amps and 4 amps. Using the Ohms Law formula (watts = volts x amps), this adds up to 90 watts per minute (0.75 amps) for energy-efficient models and 480 watts per minute for less-efficient models, such as a 1992 GE 17-cubic-foot freezer (4 amps).

Calculations

• ConEdison's "Appliance Guide" notes that 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) runs a typical 14-cubic-foot refrigerator for about 10 hours while another could run for 11 hours. Both appliances run on 120-volt electricity; but as with all refrigerators, they are not using electricity all of the time. An efficient fridge, working on 0.75 amps and powered by 120 volts, would only have to run for 11 minutes in that time, according to the ConEdison figures; but as the Saving Electricity website notes, that's with the ice maker turned off.

Differences

• The greater the efficiency, through components and electronic sensors, the less current is required to power the fridge. A pre-1986 fridge, according to Saving Electricity, uses 1,400 kWh per year compared with the 350 kWh per year a modern fridge uses. The homeowner will be more interested in how the efficient Energy Star model relates to electricity cost, but that's because the current (amps) required is also considerably less through those same efficiencies.

Trade-In Savings

• Saving Electricity estimates the payback time for replacing an inefficient 4-amps model with an efficient, and larger, 0.75-amp model to be inside of three years. A new Energy Star 22-cubic-foot refrigerator cost $720 as of 2011. The savings for trading in the old fridge could be $257 per year, not counting a $75 salvage deduction for the old refrigerator.