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I am shopping for refrigerators and looking at this model. Feel free to let me know if that's stupid.

But my main question is this: I'm trying to come up with a moderately conservative power consumption estimate for this fridge, based on this performance data sheet from the manufacturer. I'm wondering whether my methodology makes sense.

I would expect to be using "control position 1" under a range of ambient temperatures <=35 degrees celsius. If I understand correctly, the performance datasheet predicts that this setting will consume ~6.4W at 25 deg and ~13.44W at 35 deg. My area (central Indiana, USA) is predicted to have x cooling degree days per year with a reference temperature of 25 deg, and to almost never go above 35 deg.

So I now pretend that, every year, I will have x/(35-25)=x/10 35-degree days and 365-x/10 sub-25-degree days, and thus my power consumption in watt-hours per year will be 13.44x/10 + 6.4(365-x/10). I interpret this as a conservative estimate since the power required to cool by one degree probably increases with ambient temperature. Does that make sense?

If so, how would it compare to other common methodologies for estimating annual power consumption, such as the US EPA's energy star approach?

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    "Highly efficient, it typically draws around 1 to 2 Amps per hour" -- I would stay away from any refrigerator whose marketing material uses the unit "amps/hour". Not only that, but it looks small so it must have very little space and very little insulation, i.e. huge losses for tiny interior space.
    – juhist
    Commented Sep 5, 2020 at 11:15
  • Haha, I am not too crazy about amps/hour either. I'm told that this company is popular in the "sailing community," see here: sustainability.stackexchange.com/questions/10168/…. But I guess that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with efficiency.
    – capet
    Commented Sep 5, 2020 at 20:57
  • @juhist Assuming you believed the data sheet, what do you think of my methodology and how it compares to EPA? Also, would there be a good way to insulate this thing to reduce the loss?
    – capet
    Commented Sep 5, 2020 at 20:58
  • @juhist Maybe it has polyurethane insulation based on this review of a similar-looking product? shedheads.net/the-best-coolers/engel-review
    – capet
    Commented Sep 8, 2020 at 18:12
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    I don't think there's enough data here to answer the question. The heading at the top says "NO LOAD." Presumably this means the plots are for an empty cooler, which probably isn't what you're interested in doing with it.
    – LShaver ♦
    Commented Jan 18, 2021 at 22:03

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