Fridges & Freezers

This guide is for anyone with a fridge, freezer or fridge-freezer, and why it might actually make sense to buy something new, even if yours still works (as long as you dispose of your old equipment properly).

We highlight ways to make existing appliances as energy efficient as possible, and how to make best use of them to cut down on food waste.

If you do decide to buy we highlight some of the problems with smart fridges, American-style fridges, and fridges or freezers that are just bigger than you need.

And ok, a green fridge might not be a realistic colour option, but there are some really sensible things to consider if you want to be as eco as possible. We explain the new energy labelling system, which companies are leading or lagging behind, but also why there’s more to making an energy efficient choice than its rating – ‘kWh’ are key.

As always, our scores uncover social concerns too. We explain why you might want to boycott some fridge brands for their ties to oppressive regimes, and which companies have been found to use tax havens.

New fridges are much more efficient

Because fridges and freezers are on all the time, the vast bulk of their lifecycle energy – in the region of 90% – is expended in use. And, compared to 10 years ago, they have been getting much more energy efficient. So, if your fridge is over 10 years old, or if you are running a separate fridge and freezer, you may actually make cost and carbon savings over time by buying new.

If you bought yours before July 2012 it could be rated anything between G and A and have much higher running costs.

You could find out how much your existing fridge or freezer is actually using with a plug-in energy-usage meter (which you may be able to borrow from a library), measuring it over a period of time. Then a calculation could be done to compare it to the annual kWh on the energy label of a new fridge.

Choosing an eco-friendly fridge freezer

The most energy efficient fridge-freezer brands

The table below shows the highest energy-rated free-standing fridge-freezer on each company’s website (there may be differences in their fridge-only or freezer-only models).

Only a few had models rated above D, which is roughly similar to the previous highest rating (A+++). Many companies didn’t have anything with a rating higher than F, similar to the previous A+ which was the minimum expectation since 2012. Two brands fell below with only G-rated models.

Those highlighted in bold were from companies which made it possible to search by energy rating, or made them easily visible on their websites.

The numbers refer to how many models were of that rating, out of all models shown. for example LG 1/34 means that of 34 LG fridge-freezers, 1 had an 'A' rating. (Some websites duplicated models if they were available in different colours).

*on Currys website. Although the deadline for applying new energy labels to company websites was 19 March 2021, the following still referred only to old ratings: Gorenje A+++ 11/15; Sharp A++ ?/80; Baumatic A+ 3/3.

kWh is the key to energy consumption

As well as the energy efficiency class (A-G), the energy label lists how many kWh electricity an appliance uses per year, the volume of freezer space and of chilled space, and how noisy it is.

The energy efficiency class is calculated relative to the volume of the appliance. So, a 150 or 350 litre fridge could both carry the same energy rating, but the smaller one will use less energy.

To use the least energy, the kWh figure is the most important one to compare.

We looked on Curry’s website in March 2021, and found a small fridge from Liebherr, one of our recommended brands, that only used 113kWh/year. Compare that to the cheapest American style fridge they had which used 387kWh/year.

Small is beautiful

Minimising energy use will involve not buying a fridge bigger than you need. Although storing more food in the fridge might sound good at first from a food waste point of view, it really depends on your buying and cooking habits. If you over-buy and then can’t see what you’ve got, produce will probably get neglected and go off anyway.

Lifetime costs of fridge-freezers 

A fridge-freezer could last much longer than 14 years, and electricity prices may go up too – meaning you’d save even more by buying a more efficient model. And if you are replacing older, much more inefficient fridges and freezers, it can easily save you hundreds of pounds.

It is hard to make price comparisons between fridge-freezers because there are so many different models with different capacities and features. You may only need a small fridge with (or even without) an icebox, in which case the energy used will be lower.

On the first table below, we looked at fridge-freezers of a medium or large size on the Currys website. We found a couple of the cheapest D (similar to previous A+++) rated models, and the cheapest F (similar to previous A+) rated ones of a roughly similar size.

In this tiny sample, whether they are more or less energy efficient they will cost about the same – give or take a bit – over a lifetime of 14 years, including the purchase price.

Note that cheaper fridge-freezers tend to need manually defrosting – if you are not good at keeping up with this, the built-up ice causes the appliance to use more energy, so it may be a false saving!

On the second table below we looked for models from our Best Buy and Recommended brands, with annual kWh figures under 250.

Although the Liebherr model had an energy rating of F, as it was smaller than other more efficient models, its annual energy consumption was still relatively low.

Making your existing fridge energy efficient

There are some simple tips to keep an existing fridge as energy efficient as possible, which will save on your bills as well as cutting carbon emissions. Good maintenance should also increase the life of an appliance.

Temperatures around the fridge

A fridge or freezer needs to get rid of heat in order to keep cool. So, if the space it’s in is too warm, it will have to work harder. Aside from the age of a fridge, room temperature has been found to be the biggest factor affecting energy use. Ideally, the room should be under 19°C. You can also make it easier for your fridge to get rid of heat (and safer) by keeping the back 10 cm from the wall, and the air escape route above unobstructed by stored items or shelves.

Temperatures inside the fridge

It is always good to check the temperature inside the appliance too. A fridge thermometer will help you keep it at about 5°C (freezers should be at -18°C). Fridges should cycle on and off to maintain the correct temperature. If you can hear that yours is noisy all the time, it may need a repair that could save you having to buy new. The seals on the doors should also be maintained and can be replaced if they wear out and are no longer keeping your fridge properly closed.

Defrosting and draining

If you let ice build up it actually decreases the efficiency of a fridge or freezer. Self-defrosting appliances have progressed, and ‘passive’ defrost is more efficient than ‘electric’. Most new freezers are now self-defrosting, but if yours isn’t, it should be turned off to defrost every 6-12 months. This is quite fiddly, so prepare yourself, and be patient – don’t hack at the ice or you can damage your freezer and risk leaking refrigerant which is likely to be flammable.

The drainage hole inside the fridge at the back also needs to be kept clear – if it gets blocked this can lead the compressor to use more energy.

Daily use of the fridge

Ideally, you should let any hot or warm food cool down before putting it into the fridge. It may be hard to control how much the fridge is opened depending on the size of your household, but you can at least not leave the door open longer than needed.

Highlights of issues behind the brands

Tax havens

The only brands which did not lose any marks for likely tax avoidance strategies were seven at the top of the table – Miele, Montpellier, Amica, CDA, Smeg, Swan, and Liebherr – and John Lewis.

Miele is a Best Buy whilst Liebherr, John Lewis and Smeg are among our Recommended brands.

Military equipment

Several brands on our table are part of company groups which also make military equipment.

Beko, Grundig, Flavel, Leisure and Blomberg are all ultimately controlled by Koç Holding A.S. Another of Koç’s companies, Otokar, manufactures military vehicles used by the Turkish police and army to suppress protests, especially in Kurdish areas.

Sharp Home Appliances is a division of Vestel UK Limited, part of the Zorlu Holding which also includes Vestel Defence Industry, a supplier of drones, computer technology and fuel cells for armoured vehicles for the defence industry.

Robert Bosch GmbH: Bosch Rexroth was listed on USASpending.gov as having contracts with the US Department of Defense in 2020 worth $7.9 million including 'aircraft launching equipment' and other items. The Siemen’s brand of home appliances is also produced and marketed by Bosch.

Samsung was marked down for investments since 2015 in companies involved in the manufacture and sale of cluster munitions, as well as marketing virtual reality devices for military training and other communications equipment “tailored for deployment in tactical environments".

Liebherr makes “systems for combat aircraft, military transporters, military training aircraft ... and combat helicopters", as well as military cranes.