Running cost for the VITARA VLUF1701EWE
At 435 kWh/yr, the VITARA VLUF1701EWE's ENERGY STAR certification puts it more expensive than most models in its category to run against every other certified freezer.
That $82 is priced at 18.8¢/kWh, the average of all 51 state rates this site tracks. Your own state's rate is one click away.
Efficient, or not, for a freezer
The category average is 401 kWh/yr; this model runs 8.5% above it, ranking 385 of 658 freezers tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 658 freezers ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $6/year gap from this model at the national rate. Full sourcing is in the sourcing notes.
Right next to it on the list
A rank or two either side of the VITARA VLUF1701EWE: VITARA VLUF1701ESE ($82/yr, 435 kWh/yr), then Elisii DECVC170W ($82/yr, 437 kWh/yr).
Comparing VITARA's own models
Ranked 17 of VITARA's 27 certified freezers, this sits between the VLUF0310EB ($46/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the VBCF2001EWE ($118/yr, its priciest).
Lifespan
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components does not publish a figure for freezers, so no lifetime cost is shown here rather than a guessed one. The annual and monthly figures above stand on their own.
Is it worth replacing?
The VITARA VLUF1701EWE runs above its category average. If the freezer you actually own is older still, likely well past ENERGY STAR's efficiency baseline when it was made, a current certified model could cost meaningfully less than this model's $82/year every year.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified freezers before buying.
If you're keeping it
$82/year to run is the predictable cost of the VITARA VLUF1701EWE; a protection plan covers the unpredictable one, a repair bill.
Where this number comes from
Ranked 385 of 658, the VITARA VLUF1701EWE sits in the middle of the freezer category, see the guide to why your state changes this number for the other half of the math. The 435 kWh/yr figure is ENERGY STAR's own certification, not a wattage estimate; exact dataset IDs are on the data sources page.