Model
Vitara VLUF1701ECE
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 VLUF1701ECE cost to run per year?
The Vitara VLUF1701ECE holds rank #276 of 622 on running cost, at about $73 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 $82/yr to run, a saving of roughly $9 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it edges out 68% of the class, a modestly above-average showing. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 14 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 Vitara VLUF1401EWE at $73/yr runs a little cheaper and the Ge FUF14DL**** at $74/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 VLUF1701ECE'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 VLUF1701ECE 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 VLUF1701ECE 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 VLUF1701ECE 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 VLUF1701ECE 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 VLUF1701ECE uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 14 cu ft, the Vitara VLUF1701ECE is a mid-size freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, neither the size advantage of a small unit nor the size penalty of a large one applies here, so its running cost is a fairer test of efficiency alone.
- 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 Vitara VLUF1701ECE cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $73/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #276 of 622, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Vitara VLUF1701ECE cost per month?
About $6.12 a month, which is the $73 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: 396 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $73 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Vitara VLUF1701ECE 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 303 | Vitara VLUF1401EWE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 302 | Vitara VLUF1401ESE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 301 | Vitara VLUF1400EWE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 300 | Vitara VLUF1400ESE14 cu ft | $73 |
| 299 | Vissani VXUF1400WEL14 cu ft | $73 |
Source
ES_1145610_VLUF1701ECE4_02132026111639_80267956View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Vitara and VLUF1701ECE 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.