Model
Liebherr SIF5181
Rank #163 means 162 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 22nd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 22% of those models.
What does the Liebherr SIF5181 cost to run per year?
At about $65 a year, the Liebherr SIF5181 undercuts most freezer models we track on running cost, rank #163 of 622. It uses 28% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $90/yr to run, a saving of roughly $25 a year. Size-adjusted, this model trails most of its class on efficiency, ahead of just 22% of freezer models we track. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 7.5 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 Liebherr SF5291 at $65/yr runs a little cheaper and the Miele FNS 7794 E at $65/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 Liebherr SIF5181's $65/yr adds up to roughly $910 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Miele FNS 7794 E.
By the numbers
The Liebherr SIF5181 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 $65/yr, here is what the Liebherr SIF5181 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Liebherr SIF5181 costs about $650. That is roughly $250 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $900 over the same ten years.
How the Liebherr SIF5181 compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $65/yr, it runs about $10 a year cheaper than the class median of $75, and it is about $40 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 Liebherr SIF5181 uses 28% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 7.5 cu ft, the Liebherr SIF5181 is a small freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is.
- 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 Liebherr SIF5181 cheap to run?
Yes. Its $65/yr running cost puts it at rank #163 of 622, below what most freezer models we track cost to run.
How much does the Liebherr SIF5181 cost per month?
About $5.41 a month, which is the $65 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: 350 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $65 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Liebherr SIF5181 for its size?
22nd percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 162 | Liebherr SF52919.8 cu ft | $65 |
| 161 | Hotpoint HCM22QW*WW21.7 cu ft | $64 |
| 160 | Ge FCM22DL****21.7 cu ft | $64 |
| 159 | Crosley XCM22DM****21.7 cu ft | $64 |
| 158 | Fisher & Paykel RS18F*E*8.3 cu ft | $64 |
Source
ES_1017655_SIF5181_121920252119994_2551450View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Liebherr and SIF5181 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.