Model
Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J**
Rank #771 means 770 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 45th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 45% of those models.
What does the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** cost to run per year?
The Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** costs about $99 a year to run, more than most of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track; it ranks #771. It uses 11% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $109/yr to run, a saving of roughly $10 a year. Its size-adjusted efficiency percentile of 45 lands in the middle of the pack once capacity is accounted for. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 17.3 cu ft (the class spans 1.2 to 31.7), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Miele KF 2911 SF at $99/yr runs a little cheaper and the Fisher & Paykel RS36W(X) at $99/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A refrigerator typically stays in service for somewhere around 12 years; over that span, the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J**'s $99/yr adds up to roughly $1188 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** 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 $99/yr, here is what the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** costs about $990. That is roughly $100 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $1090 over the same ten years.
How the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $99/yr, it runs about $35 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $91 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $109/yr, the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** uses 11% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17.3 cu ft, the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** is a mid-size refrigerator for its class, which spans 1.2 to 31.7 cu ft with a median of 12.6 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. More cubic feet of cold air to maintain generally means a bigger compressor and a higher running-cost figure, even among efficient models.
- Counter depth vs standard depth. Standard-depth models generally offer more interior volume per unit of width than counter-depth models, a tradeoff between built-in looks and cubic feet.
- Compressor technology. How a compressor cycles, full on/off versus a variable-speed inverter design, is one of the biggest hidden differences behind two fridges with similar cubic feet but different running costs.
- Placement and ventilation. Ventilation clearance around the back and top matters more than most owners expect; a fridge starved of airflow runs its compressor longer to hold the same temperature.
Common questions
Is the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** cheap to run?
Its $99/yr running cost, rank #771 of 1,000, is above what most refrigerator models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** cost per month?
About $8.23 a month, which is the $99 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: 532 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $99 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Fisher & Paykel RF170A***J** for its size?
45th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is not the main reason for the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 770 | Miele KF 2911 SF19.6 cu ft | $99 |
| 769 | Miele KFN 9859 iDE li14.1 cu ft | $98 |
| 768 | Liebherr HC 1580G14.1 cu ft | $98 |
| 767 | Fisher & Paykel RF178ANJX118 cu ft | $98 |
| 766 | Ge GNE25DYR****24.7 cu ft | $97 |
Source
ES_31708_RF170A***J**_081720210937884_2829264View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Fisher & Paykel and RF170A***J** 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.