Model
Hisense FU171N3SSEC
Rank #374 means 373 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 77th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 77% of those models.
What does the Hisense FU171N3SSEC cost to run per year?
At about $81 a year, the Hisense FU171N3SSEC costs more to run than most freezer models we track, rank #374 of 622. 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. Size-adjusted, this model beats 77% of freezer models we track on efficiency, better than most of its class. 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 Gaggenau RVF467790 at $81/yr runs a little cheaper and the Hisense FU171N3SSEL 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC's $81/yr adds up to roughly $1134 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Avanti AV170VFLJM#**.
By the numbers
The Hisense FU171N3SSEC 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Hisense FU171N3SSEC 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17 cu ft, the Hisense FU171N3SSEC 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC cheap to run?
Its $81/yr running cost, rank #374 of 622, is above what most freezer models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Hisense FU171N3SSEC cost per month?
About $6.77 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: 438 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 Hisense FU171N3SSEC for its size?
77th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 377 | Gaggenau RVF46779014.2 cu ft | $81 |
| 376 | Ellipse EDV166W17 cu ft | $81 |
| 375 | Element EUF17CE**17 cu ft | $81 |
| 374 | Avanti AV170VFLJM#**17 cu ft | $81 |
| 373 | Mora MFU170N6AWE17 cu ft | $81 |
Source
ES_1110877_FU171N3SSEC_060520260306176_6669818View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Hisense and FU171N3SSEC 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.