Model
Vitara VLUF1401ESE
Rank #276 means 275 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 68th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 68% of those models.
What does the Vitara VLUF1401ESE cost to run per year?
The Vitara VLUF1401ESE costs about $73 a year to run, a middle-of-the-pack figure at rank #276 of 622. It uses 10% 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. Its 68th size-adjusted efficiency percentile is a step ahead of the class median, though not among the very top results. 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 Vitara VLUF1400EWE at $73/yr runs a little cheaper and the Vitara VLUF1401EWE 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE's $73/yr adds up to roughly $1022 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Black+Decker BUC1400XS.
By the numbers
The Vitara VLUF1401ESE 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Vitara VLUF1401ESE 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 14 cu ft, the Vitara VLUF1401ESE is a mid-size freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, right in the middle of the capacity range, so capacity is roughly a wash compared with the rest of the class.
- 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE cheap to run?
It is about average. At $73 a year it ranks #276 of 622 freezer models we track, close to the middle of its class on running cost.
How much does the Vitara VLUF1401ESE cost per month?
Roughly $6.12/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 396 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 Vitara VLUF1401ESE for its size?
68th percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | Vitara VLUF1400EWE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 300 | Vitara VLUF1400ESE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 299 | Vissani VXUF1400WEL14 cu ft | $73 |
| 298 | Vissani VXUF1400BVEL14 cu ft | $73 |
| 297 | Professional Series® PS-UFR14114 cu ft | $73 |
Source
ES_1145610_VLUF1401ESE_05312024115302_80193194View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Vitara and VLUF1401ESE 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.