Sometimes you have to spend a little upfront to save more down the line. Energy-efficient home systems and appliances are a good example of that rule.
For example, heat pumps and solar panels are known long-term money-savers compared to older heating and power systems. But what about your fridge?
To determine the real financial impact of energy efficiency over a refrigerator's lifespan, I've run the numbers comparing today's models with those from a decade ago (2016).
I did the math -- a lot of it -- on a sample of 2,630 fridges and focused on long-term energy costs since I had easy access to the relevant Energy Star data.
Here's how much energy and money you might save by upgrading to a more energy-efficient fridge.
Where my fridge data comes from
Publicly available Energy Star data is a major player in this analysis. Screenshot by CNET
For my 2025 samples, I analyzed energy usage in modern Energy Star-certified models. For 2016, I couldn't rely on Energy Star data, because it lists only models that qualify for the most recent standards, not past ones.
Instead, I sourced my 2016 data from the California Energy Commission's Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System. Rather than cover 42 refrigerator classes individually, I grouped them into the following broad categories:
Fridge types analyzed
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