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Refrigerators & Freezers Purchasing & Procurement

What ENERGY STAR Purchasing & Procurement resources does EPA offer?

ENERGY STAR Purchasing & Procurement resources include lists of qualifying products, key product criteria, drop-in procurement language and savings calculators. Organizations can use these resources to facilitate the procurement of energy-efficient ENERGY STAR products and prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Savings Calculator

Sample Procurement Language

Download Sample Procurement Language Word document

The following is an example of language you may wish to require in your upcoming contract:

The Vendor Must:

Provide refrigerators and freezers that earn the ENERGY STAR and meet the ENERGY STAR criteria for energy efficiency as outlined below. The vendor is encouraged to visit www.energystar.gov for complete product specifications and an updated list of qualifying products.

Key Product Criteria:

Refrigerators are categorized by the location of the freezer and whether or not they have through the door ice service. When purchasing a refrigerator, just specify the capacity that is the actual square footage of the refrigerator and freezer combined. Then specify that the energy consumption shall not exceed the ENERGY STAR specification. Include the “AV” and “Maximum kWh/yr” equations, so that the vendor can calculate the maximum energy consumption allowable by that model. Also, request that the vendor include the individual capacities of the freezer and refrigerator compartments so that compliance can be checked.

Table 1: Criteria for ENERGY STAR Qualified Refrigerators & Freezers (as of April 28, 2008)

Equipment Volume Criteria
Full Size Refrigerators 7.75 cubic feet or greater At least 20% more energy efficient than the minimum federal government standard (NAECA).
Full Size Freezers 7.75 cubic feet or greater At least 10% more energy efficient than the minimum federal government standard (NAECA)
Compact Refrigerators and Freezers Less than 7.75 cubic feet and 36 inches or less in height At least 20% more efficient than the minimum federal government standard (NAECA)

Table 2: NAECA Criteria for Refrigerators & Freezers

Product Class NAECA maximum energy use (kWh/year)
1. Refrigerators and Refrigerator-freezers with manual defrost 8.82*AV + 248.4
2. Refrigerator-Freezer-partial automatic defrost 8.82*AV + 248.4
3. Refrigerator-freezers-automatic defrost with top-mounted freezer without through-the-door ice service and all refrigerators-automatic defrost 9.80*AV + 276
4. Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with side-mounted freezer without through-the-door ice service 4.91*AV + 507.5
5. Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with bottom-mounted freezer without through-the-door ice service 4.60*AV + 459
6. Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with top-mounted freezer with through-the-door ice service 10.20*AV + 356
7. Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with side-mounted freezer with through-the-door ice service 10.10*AV + 406
8. Upright Freezers with Manual Defrost 7.55*AV+258.3
9. Upright Freezers with Automatic Defrost 12.43*AV+326.1
10. Chest Freezers and all other Freezers except Compact Freezers 9.88*AV+143.7
11. Compact Refrigerators and Refrigerator-Freezers with Manual Defrost 10.70*AV+299
12. Compact Refrigerator-Freezer-partial automatic defrost 7.00*AV+398
13. Compact Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with top-mounted freezer and compact all-refrigerators-automatic defrost 12.70*AV+355
14. Compact Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with side-mounted freezer 7.60*AV+501
15. Compact Refrigerator-Freezers-automatic defrost with bottom-mounted freezer 12.1*AV + 367
16. Compact Upright Freezers with Manual Defrost 9.78*AV+250.8
17. Compact Upright Freezers with Automatic Defrost 11.40*AV+391
18. Compact Chest Freezers 10.45*AV+152

*Refrigerator-Freezer Adjusted Volume (AV) = Fresh Volume + (1.63 x Freezer Volume)
Refrigerator Adjusted Volume (AV) = (1.63 x Total Volume)
Freezer Adjusted Volume (AV) = (1.73 x Total Volume)

NOTE: The previous ENERGY STAR criteria was set at 10% above the federal minimum efficiency standard that went into effect on July 1, 2001, and only covered product classes 3 – 7.

On January 1, 2003, the ENERGY STAR criteria expanded to include all sizes and configurations of refrigerators and freezers. ENERGY STAR criteria for full size freezers was set at 10% above minimum federal standards. ENERGY STAR criteria for compact refrigerators and freezers was set at 20% above minimum federal standards.

On January 1, 2004, the ENERGY STAR criteria changed to require all full-size refrigerators to be at least 15% above the minimum federal standard to qualify for ENERGY STAR. The ENERGY STAR criteria for full-sized freezers and compact refrigerators and freezers did not change at this time.

On April 28, 2008, the ENERGY STAR criteria changed for all full-size refrigerators. All refrigerators greater than 7.75 cubic feet must be at least 20% more efficient than the federal standard. The ENERGY STAR criteria for full-sized freezers and compact refrigerators and freezers did not change at this time.

Interested in Buying Refrigerators in Bulk?

Additional considerations for the procurement official:

When purchasing a refrigerator, just specify the capacity that is the actual square footage of the refrigerator and freezer combined. Then specify that the energy consumption shall not exceed the ENERGY STAR specification. Include the “AV” and “Maximum kWh/yr” equations, so that the vendor can calculate the maximum energy consumption allowable by that model. Also, request that the vendor include the individual capacities of the freezer and refrigerator compartments so that compliance can be checked.