How much does your fridge really use?

Why your battery goes flat while you do nothing: the fridge.

A fridge does not draw its rated power. A compressor model only runs a fraction of the time, and that fraction depends on outside temperature, vent clearance, sun exposure and how often you open the door. A three-way fridge running on 12 V heats continuously, with no thermostat: it is the most common reason a battery empties while parked.

This calculator is built on consumption figures published by Dometic, Vitrifrigo and Isotherm, measured to EN 62552. It always gives a range, never a single number: between two units of the same volume the real gap exceeds 70 %, and no calculation can guess how well yours is insulated.

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Your fridge

litres
 °C
 °C
 
What it costs your battery
536 à 995 Wh over 24 hours
737 Wh Lead 100 Ah LiFePO4 100 Ah
037575011251500 Wh
At 12 V58 Ah
Running time60 %
Lead 100 Ah (50 % usable)115 %
LiFePO4 100 Ah (90 % usable)64 %

Model calibrated on 15 consumption figures published by Dometic and Mobicool (manuals and EU energy labels), spanning 10 to 104 litres: all 15 fall inside the range shown. Vent and sun penalties are estimates: no manufacturer publishes them.

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