Model
Hamilton Beach BD-396
Rank #231 means 230 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 69th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 69% of those models.
What does the Hamilton Beach BD-396 cost to run per year?
Ranking #231 of 622, the Hamilton Beach BD-396 is in the cheaper half of its class to run, at about $73 a year. It uses 11% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $82/yr to run, a saving of roughly $9 a year. Adjusted for size, it is more efficient than 69% of freezer models we track, a solidly above-average result. At 14 cu ft, it is a mid-size freezer for the class, which runs 1.1 to 23 cu ft; size and efficiency are the two levers behind the figure above, and this dataset does not carry a separate efficiency-factor column for this class.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Farberware FW-UFR399US-IN-I6A at $73/yr runs a little cheaper and the Upstreman BD-396 at $73/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 Hamilton Beach BD-396's $73/yr adds up to roughly $1022 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Farberware FW-UFR391US-IN-I6A.
By the numbers
The Hamilton Beach BD-396 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 $73/yr, here is what the Hamilton Beach BD-396 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Hamilton Beach BD-396 costs about $730. That is roughly $90 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $820 over the same ten years.
How the Hamilton Beach BD-396 compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $73/yr, it runs about $2 a year cheaper than the class median of $75, and it is about $48 a year more than the cheapest freezer to run at $25. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $82/yr, the Hamilton Beach BD-396 uses 11% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 14 cu ft, the Hamilton Beach BD-396 is a mid-size freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, putting it squarely in the middle of the class on the size lever that drives most of the cost.
- Interior volume. Cubic feet of frozen storage is the first lever behind a freezer's running cost, ahead of insulation or defrost type.
- Insulation and defrost type. Two freezers of the same size can differ meaningfully on running cost based on insulation quality and whether they run an automatic-defrost heater.
- Chest vs upright design. Chest freezers open from the top, so cold air, which sinks, stays inside when the lid opens; upright freezers lose more cold air per door opening for a similar capacity.
Common questions
Is the Hamilton Beach BD-396 cheap to run?
Yes, relatively. At $73 a year it ranks #231 of 622 freezer models we track, in the cheaper part of its class to run.
How much does the Hamilton Beach BD-396 cost per month?
Roughly $6.06/mo, spreading the $73/yr estimate evenly across twelve months at $0.1856/kWh. Actual monthly bills swing with your rate and usage pattern.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
We take the model's published annual energy use of 392 kWh from ENERGY STAR and multiply it by the US average residential electricity rate of $0.1856/kWh, giving about $73 a year. It is an electricity-only estimate and does not include purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Hamilton Beach BD-396 for its size?
69th percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
Source
ES_1120898_HBFRF1495-B-3BCOM_06172024144437_3143884View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Hamilton Beach and BD-396 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.