On this page, you will find out how many watts a walk-in freezer draws.
For restaurants and commercial premises, a walk-in freezer enables you to store huge amounts of produce at a single time. The benefits speak for themselves as you can buy in bulk and don’t have to worry about low stock. But one thing to consider is the amount of power these huge units draw. You might need to know this for energy calculations or if you want to install a backup power system to use in an emergency.
Below we will discuss and test walk-in freezer wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is a Walk-In Freezer?
The average walk-in freezer uses between 1000 – 2000 watts.
The exact number depends on the size and model of your walk-in freezer. These commercial appliances vary greatly in size. For example, a 5m3 sized walk-in uses 1100W while a 10m3 walk-in draws over 1700W. The more internal space there is to cool, the more power it will use.
You should also note how a walk-in freezer works. It will not draw this maximum wattage all the time. The majority of the time it will sit idle drawing low/zero power. When internal temperatures rise to high, it cycles on and starts cooling. This is when electricity usage spikes.
If you rarely open the door and let cold air out then the energy usage will be quite low. But if you let cold air out often or have added lots of products to freeze then the appliance works harder to reduce its internal temperature.
How to Find Out Your Walk-In Freezer Wattage
There’s 3 ways you can work out the wattage of a walk-in freezer.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the walk-in freezer’s specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the door of the appliance. If not, you can check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for technical details.
- Use a Wattmeter
A wattmeter is brilliant for getting a live wattage reading and tracking total energy usage of any appliance. You can simply plug it into your walk-in freezer to get instant information. This is not always possible if your unit is hardwired.
I used one to test a walk-in freezer which gave a live reading of 1535W during a cooling cycle.
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your walk-in freezer you can use this to find the maximum running watts. Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
Walk-In Freezer Wattage Examples
Let’s take a look at specific examples of how many watts a walk-in freezer draws. Below is a collection of modern walk-in freezer rooms with their listed power ratings.
| Walk-In Freezer Model | Power Rating (Watts) |
| Foster Advantage 5m3 | 1100 |
| Foster Advantage 10m3 | 2000 |
| Adexa Freezer Room 3.3m3 | 1125 |
| Tefcold Freezer Room 2.1m3 | 940 |
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different walk-in freezers. So you should take the time to check your own appliance.
How Much Electricity Does a Walk-In Freezer Use?
You can’t use a single watt number to work out the electricity use of a walk-in freezer room. As we’ve discussed, power levels vary all the time so there is no steady electricity usage.
To find out your electricity usage with a walk-in cooler or freezer you can attach a wattmeter over a long period of time, such as a week or month. The meter records the total energy used in kWh. With this number, you can calculate daily, weekly, monthly, and annual usage. Adding to this, you can work out the cost from your energy bill that notes your ‘price per kWh’. This average in the USA is around $0.15 per kWh.
Manufacturers often list the annual energy consumption of a walk-in and how much this might cost you.
This number varies depending on the size of your room but will be similar to 20kWh a day. That’s going to cost you $3 – $5 a day.
As you can see, a walk-in is one of the largest energy consumers in your business. But for many, it is a necessity and the benefit might be reduced wastage and increased profits to make it worth the expense.
Using a Walk-In Freezer Off-Grid
If you’re planning to use your walk-in freezer in an emergency situation, like a power outage, the information above is very important. It enables you to pick the correct backup power equipment and expected run time.
You’re best to rely on a generator to produce electricity. You will find it tough to run this equipment from an inverter and battery. The energy requirements are very high. Although a large inverter might cope, you would need an enormous battery capacity.
To make sure everything runs smoothly you should check two things on this equipment – wattage capacity and peak power.
Your power source, like a generator, should have a wattage capacity of at least 20% more than your walk-in freezer. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient. To run a freezer room, you will need at least 2500W power capacity. Plus, you should ensure your equipment can deal with a peak power surge during start up. This can be 2 or 3 times to maximum running wattage.
How Many Watts Does a Walk-In freezer Use Summary
I hope you now have an understanding of how many watts a walk-in freezer uses.
These are large commercial appliances that are often custom-built to your needs. This means there is no ‘standard’ power but you can expect it to be well over 1000W. In addition, remember that the equipment won’t draw this high power all the time. It will cycle on and off when it needs to reduce temperature. If you’re preparing for emergency power outages then make sure your energy supply can cope with the high demands.
