Model
Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B
Rank #345 means 344 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 81st efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 81% of those models.
What does the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B cost to run per year?
The Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B holds rank #345 of 622 on running cost, at about $81 a year, an unremarkable but typical figure for the class. It uses 10% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $90/yr to run, a saving of roughly $9 a year. Few freezer models we track beat it on size-adjusted efficiency; it edges out 81% of the class once capacity is normalized. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 17 cu ft (the class spans 1.1 to 23), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Element EUF17CEEW at $81/yr runs a little cheaper and the Gaggenau RF461705 at $81/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A freezer typically stays in service for somewhere around 14 years; over that span, the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B's $81/yr adds up to roughly $1134 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Black+Decker BUC1700XB.
By the numbers
The Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $81/yr, here is what the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B costs about $810. That is roughly $90 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $900 over the same ten years.
How the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B compares
The freezer class we track runs from $25 to $120 a year. At $81/yr, it runs about $6 a year above the class median of $75, and it is about $56 a year more than the cheapest freezer to run at $25. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $90/yr, the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17 cu ft, the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B is a large freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, among freezer models, bigger capacity is the most common reason a running-cost figure lands on the high side, all else being equal.
- Interior volume. As with refrigerators, more cubic feet of frozen storage generally means a bigger compressor and a higher annual energy figure.
- Insulation and defrost type. Better-insulated cabinets lose less cold to the surrounding room, and frost-free (automatic-defrost) freezers run a periodic heating element that a manual-defrost model does not.
- Chest vs upright design. Door orientation affects how much cold air escapes per opening: top-opening chest designs generally hold cold better than front-opening upright ones.
Common questions
Is the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B cheap to run?
Roughly, yes. Its $81/yr figure is close to the class median, ranking #345 of 622, neither a bargain nor a splurge on running cost.
How much does the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B cost per month?
About $6.73 a month, which is the $81 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 435 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $81 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Farberware FW-UFR171-I3B for its size?
81st percentile once size is factored in, a fairly typical result for the class.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 355 | Element EUF17CEEW17 cu ft | $81 |
| 354 | Element EUF17CEES17 cu ft | $81 |
| 353 | Criterion® CUF17C1W17 cu ft | $81 |
| 352 | Conserv FR1700WREV17 cu ft | $81 |
| 351 | Conserv FR1700SREV17 cu ft | $81 |
Source
ES_1092528_FW-UFR171-I3B_09282023141054_80185223View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Farberware and FW-UFR171-I3B are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.