# How much energy does my walk in freezer use per day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846 "2017-02-14T21:10:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/1 "2017-02-14T21:10:49Z")
The information panel reads: 208-230v 1 PH Motor Quantity: 3 HP per motor: 1/15 FLA ea: 0.5 MCA: 1.6 MOPD: 20 Looking for kilowatt hours per day. Bonus if you could tell me the cost per day. Looks to be like $10 per Killowatt hour if I read the energy companies cryptic correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/2 "2017-02-14T21:14:54Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > . . .Looks to be like $10 per Killowatt hour if I read the energy companies cryptic correctly. :eek: (I’m guessing that’s probably 10¢ per kWh. $10 seems a bit steep, unless it means $10 per day.) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/3 "2017-02-14T21:28:39Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > The information panel reads: > > 208-230v > 1 PH > Motor Quantity: 3 > HP per motor: 1/15 > FLA ea: 0.5 > MCA: 1.6 > MOPD: 20 > > Looking for kilowatt hours per day. > > Bonus if you could tell me the cost per day. Looks to be like $10 per Killowatt hour if I read the energy companies cryptic correctly. There’s not enough information here to give any reasonable estimate. We can calculate how much energy the motors use when they are running (230 V \* 1.6 A = 368 W), but we don’t know how frequently they cycle on and off. As an absolute upper limit, 368 W \* 24 hr/day ~= 9 kW\*hr/day. But most refrigeration units don’t run constantly (if they do there’s probably something wrong). How well insulated is the freezer? How hot is it outside the freezer? How often is it opened? ---
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/4 "2017-02-14T22:05:58Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > There’s not enough information here to give any reasonable estimate. > > We can calculate how much energy the motors use when they are running (230 V \* 1.6 A = 368 W), but we don’t know how frequently they cycle on and off. As an absolute upper limit, 368 W \* 24 hr/day ~= 9 kW\*hr/day. But most refrigeration units don’t run constantly (if they do there’s probably something wrong). > > How well insulated is the freezer? How hot is it outside the freezer? How often is it opened? I’d say it’s running pretty much non-stop during business hours, lots of inand out. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/5 "2017-02-14T22:43:30Z")
Putting this info together. Each motor uses about 400 watts when running. There are 3 motors, so 1200 watts total. That’s 1.2 kilowatts (“kw”) or about 12 cents of electricity per hour. If the motors run 8 hours per 24-hour day you’re spending $1 per day. If they run 16 hours per 24-hour day you’re spending $2 per day. At absolute worst if they run continuously day & night you’re spending $3 per day. Plus tax. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/6 "2017-02-14T22:43:40Z")
Does that information panel say the unit has 3 motors? It’s pretty hard to guess at the amount of time it (or they) are running which depends on a lot of things (how often is the freezers opened, how much un-frozen stock goes in, etc…). We had a medium sized super-low -80C freezer in our office, and it did run constantly even though we only opened it once a month or so - although it’s not exactly a common freezer type. I’d just do the calculation as shown above assuming your motor/s are running 24/7 and get yourself a _maximum_ amount of power it could be using. A better way would be to plug in a kilo-wat type device to actually measure the current draw over time, though I don’t know if they make them for 230V plugs. [This webpage](https://www.homepower.com/articles/home-efficiency/electricity/tracking-your-energy-use) has some interesting info on larger systems you can use to measure power consumption on different circuits in your house, and there are bigger yet systems that businesses install to measure how much and where the power they pay for goes. I’m not sure how much time or money you want to spend to answer your question. Is a max of 9 (or maybe 27) KwH \* 0.1 = 90cents to $2.70 per day good enough? ---
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/7 "2017-02-14T23:10:57Z")
What I really should be wondering about I guess is the compressor, I gave the condenser information instead. I find it hard to believe my entire walk in only costs $2/day to operate ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/8 "2017-02-14T23:34:36Z")
Compressor duty motors usually run between one and ten horsepower. If we guess a 2HP motor, we have amp draws from 10 to 17 FLA @ 230V (single phase). Three phase motors will get you down the 8 to 10 range. So at 2HP you’re probably in the 2.5 kilowatt hour range, so maybe only about double the three small motors. At 5HP, you’re basically double that at around 4.8 kilowatt hour range. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/9 "2017-02-15T00:22:09Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > The information panel reads: > > 208-230v > 1 PH > Motor Quantity: 3 > HP per motor: 1/15 > FLA ea: 0.5 > MCA: 1.6 > MOPD: 20 > > Looking for kilowatt hours per day. > > Bonus if you could tell me the cost per day. Looks to be like $10 per Killowatt hour if I read the energy companies cryptic correctly. Walk in freezer? I can not imagine a walk in with a 1/15 HP compressor. Is that possibly the name tag info for the evaporator fans. I also think You have the wrong cost per KWH. I think it may be around $0.10/KWH. Impossible to know the KWH consumed in a day with out know the run time. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/10 "2017-02-15T00:26:47Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > What I really should be wondering about I guess is the compressor, I gave the condenser information instead. I find it hard to believe my entire walk in only costs $2/day to operate I tested a household refrigerator and came up with $10 per month … never opened, empty, certainly not new seals … so the $60 per month is close … 1/15 hp per motor is small, very small … I think a typical washing machine runs a couple horses … ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/11 "2017-02-15T00:29:29Z")
The motors aren’t drawing 368 W while they’re running. The amperage rating on the wiring is for the maximum load, which only occurs very briefly while the motor is starting up. The steady load for the motors is given as 1/15 HP each, which is only about 50 W (or 150 W for the three of them). So we’ve got 0.15 KW for (at most) 24 hours, or 3.6 KWh. At $0.10/KWh, that comes to 36 cents a day. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/12 "2017-02-15T00:42:18Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > What I really should be wondering about I guess is the compressor, I gave the condenser information instead. I find it hard to believe my entire walk in only costs $2/day to operate Electricity is surprisingly cheap for individual devices and appliances. Things like home computers and flat screen TV’s cost a negligible amount to run. Something like a walk-in freezer or large hot water heater that consumes $10’s of dollars a month to operate is in the middle. That is one reason electric cars are so cheap to operate. The “fuel” cost (electrical charging) is very low compared to gas powered cars (although the acquisition costs may be higher). You have to get into whole house or building cooling and heating to see the big numbers. I am always amazed that my all-electric home costs less than $3 a day for everything during the summer and about $10 a day during peak heating season in New England. I am not especially energy conscious. I am not saying that people shouldn’t strive to save energy but it is difficult to make most costs back in a reasonable amount of time through electricity savings alone on items that are expensive to replace. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/13 "2017-02-15T00:47:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The motors aren’t drawing 368 W while they’re running. The amperage rating on the wiring is for the maximum load, which only occurs very briefly while the motor is starting up. The steady load for the motors is given as 1/15 HP each, which is only about 50 W (or 150 W for the three of them). I believe the start-up current is the “MOPD” figure, which is 20 A. Or at the very least, the manufacturer suggests a 20 A circuit breaker – anything less could be tripped by the startup current. Similarly, the “MCA” figure is the current that this unit draws when running at steady state. That’s 1.6 A. Either way, having a ~360 W draw to give a ~ 150 W output is at the lower range of electric motor efficiency (particularly if we’re talking cheap little fan motors). Finally, these figures aren’t really meant to be useful for energy consumption calculations. They’re all for determining how to wire it up safely. Basically the above info says “put it on a 20 A circuit, and don’t put more than 18 A of other loads on the circuit” (I think, I am not an electrician…) ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/14 "2017-02-15T02:24:07Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Walk in freezer? I can not imagine a walk in with a 1/15 HP compressor. Is that possibly the name tag info for the evaporator fans. > I also think You have the wrong cost per KWH. I think it may be around $0.10/KWH. > > Impossible to know the KWH consumed in a day with out know the run time. As this post noted, we have no details on your compressor, average cycle, hours per day, etc. [Here is a link](https://blog.uscooler.com/operating-cost-walkin-cooler-freezer/) giving some averages for walk-in freezers (assuming ~10.7 cents per kW hr): in short, an 8x8 ft freezer runs about $245/month under standard use patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-energy-does-my-walk-in-freezer-use-per-day/779846/15 "2017-02-15T03:39:29Z")
> [@SuperAbe](#): > > As this post noted, we have no details on your compressor, average cycle, hours per day, etc. [Here is a link](https://blog.uscooler.com/operating-cost-walkin-cooler-freezer/) giving some averages for walk-in freezers (assuming ~10.7 cents per kW hr): in short, an 8x8 ft freezer runs about $245/month under standard use patterns. Super helpful! My walk in freezer is 8x16, so that $500/month mark sounds about right.