What a refrigerator costs to run in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania homes use 815 kWh a year on a refrigerator. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $81.48 to $182.88 a year across 11 published Pennsylvania plans — a $101.40 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Service Add-On Heat Pumptime-of-use · needs a heat pump | $56.39 | −$25.09 | 8.4¢ |
| Residential Service Heatingtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $78.48 | −$3.00 | 11.2¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $81.48 | — | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Heating Service (RH)time-of-use · needs electric heating | $82.16 | +$0.68 | 11.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R)flat rate | $95.04 | +$13.56 | 13.0¢ |
| Residential Service Add-On Heat Pumptime-of-use · needs a heat pump | $159.48 | +$78.00 | 21.1¢ |
| Residential Heating Service (RH)time-of-use · needs electric heating | $165.64 | +$84.16 | 21.6¢ |
| Residential Service Heatingtime-of-use · needs electric heating | $170.40 | +$88.92 | 22.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R) - TOUtime-of-use | $175.79 | +$94.31 | 22.9¢ |
| Residential Service (R)flat rate | $178.44 | +$96.96 | 23.2¢ |
| Residential Serviceflat rate | $182.88 | +$101.40 | 23.9¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $49.20 (Residential Service), dearest $110.28, a $61.08 spread
- Average — cheapest $81.48 (Residential Service), dearest $182.88, a $101.40 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $102.36 (Residential Service), dearest $229.80, a $127.44 spread
What a refrigerator costs here
Across 11 plans priced in Pennsylvania, a refrigerator adds $81.48 to $182.88 a year — $6.79 to $15.24 a month. The median plan puts a refrigerator at $175.79 a year.
Cheapest for a refrigerator: Residential Service, Duquesne Light Co. Dearest: Residential Service, Duquesne Light Co.
Those 815 kWh are billed at 10.0¢–22.4¢, against a 22.9¢ whole-bill average on the median plan, so on these plans the two rates are close.
What Pennsylvania homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 815 kWh a year across 613 sampled homes that run one, near the national 839 kWh. The middle half spans 492 kWh to 1,024 kWh, so a refrigerator varies by 533 kWh between one household and another.
Every refrigerator in the home, including a second one in a garage or basement. That average covers homes with a refrigerator — 99% of homes here.
That makes a refrigerator about 8% of the electricity a Pennsylvania home uses. The remaining 9,433 kWh is what a refrigerator is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each Pennsylvania provider's cheapest plan: Duquesne Light Co, $81.48; PECO Energy Co, $95.04.
PECO Energy Co charges $13.56 a year more than Duquesne Light Co on Residential Service for the same 815 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a refrigerator
A household in the lighter quarter runs a refrigerator for 492 kWh a year and pays $49.20 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 1,024 kWh and pays $102.36 — $53.16 more for a refrigerator on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Pennsylvania, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 11 Pennsylvania tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.4406, -79.9959.