Model
Fisher & Paykel RF172****
Rank #786 means 785 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 43rd efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 43% of those models.
What does the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** cost to run per year?
At about $100 a year, the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** costs more to run than most refrigerator models we track, rank #786 of 1,000. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $110/yr to run, a saving of roughly $10 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it sits right around the class median, ahead of 43% of the models we track. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 16.8 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 Galanz GLR18F**S16 at $100/yr runs a little cheaper and the Summit FDRD173SSIM at $100/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 RF172****'s $100/yr adds up to roughly $1200 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Fisher & Paykel RF172**** 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 $100/yr, here is what the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** 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 RF172**** costs about $1000. That is roughly $100 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $1100 over the same ten years.
How the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $100/yr, it runs about $36 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $92 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $110/yr, the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 16.8 cu ft, the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** 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 RF172**** cheap to run?
Its $100/yr running cost, rank #786 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 RF172**** cost per month?
About $8.37 a month, which is the $100 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: 541 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $100 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Fisher & Paykel RF172**** for its size?
43rd 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
Source
ES_0031708_RF172****_11262019115257_80022276View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Fisher & Paykel and RF172**** 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.