Model
Criterion® CUF17C1W
Rank #345 means 344 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 81st efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 81% of those models.
What does the Criterion® CUF17C1W cost to run per year?
The Criterion® CUF17C1W holds rank #345 of 622 on running cost, at about $81 a year, an unremarkable but typical figure for the class. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $90/yr to run, a saving of roughly $9 a year. Its size-adjusted efficiency percentile of 81 sits well above the class median, a clearly above-average efficiency result. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 17 cu ft (the class spans 1.1 to 23), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Conserv FR1700WREV at $81/yr runs a little cheaper and the Element EUF17CEES at $81/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A freezer typically stays in service for somewhere around 14 years; over that span, the Criterion® CUF17C1W's $81/yr adds up to roughly $1134 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Black+Decker BUC1700XB.
By the numbers
The Criterion® CUF17C1W normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $81/yr, here is what the Criterion® CUF17C1W adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Criterion® CUF17C1W costs about $810. That is roughly $90 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $900 over the same ten years.
How the Criterion® CUF17C1W compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $81/yr, it runs about $6 a year above the class median of $75, and it is about $56 a year more than the cheapest freezer to run at $25. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $90/yr, the Criterion® CUF17C1W uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17 cu ft, the Criterion® CUF17C1W is a large freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, size is usually the single biggest lever behind a running-cost figure, and at this end of the range there is more capacity to service, which tends to push the number up.
- Interior volume. As with refrigerators, more cubic feet of frozen storage generally means a bigger compressor and a higher annual energy figure.
- Insulation and defrost type. Better-insulated cabinets lose less cold to the surrounding room, and frost-free (automatic-defrost) freezers run a periodic heating element that a manual-defrost model does not.
- Chest vs upright design. Door orientation affects how much cold air escapes per opening: top-opening chest designs generally hold cold better than front-opening upright ones.
Common questions
Is the Criterion® CUF17C1W cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $81/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #345 of 622, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Criterion® CUF17C1W cost per month?
About $6.73 a month, which is the $81 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 435 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $81 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Criterion® CUF17C1W for its size?
81st percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 352 | Conserv FR1700WREV17 cu ft | $81 |
| 351 | Conserv FR1700SREV17 cu ft | $81 |
| 350 | Conserv FR1700ER17 cu ft | $81 |
| 349 | Conserv FR1700EL17 cu ft | $81 |
| 348 | Conserv FR1700BREV17 cu ft | $81 |
Source
ES_1092528_CUF17C1W_07162023220919_80162201View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Criterion® and CUF17C1W are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.