Model
Hisense HFU171N1AVE
Rank #374 means 373 of the 622 freezer models we track cost less to run each year; the 77th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 77% of those models.
What does the Hisense HFU171N1AVE cost to run per year?
The Hisense HFU171N1AVE costs about $81 a year to run, more than most of the 622 freezer models we track; it ranks #374. 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. Capacity-normalized, it ranks ahead of 77% of freezer models we track, a reasonably strong result for the class. 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 Hisense FV17C7BWE at $81/yr runs a little cheaper and the Insignia NS-UZ17*** 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE's $81/yr adds up to roughly $1134 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Avanti AV170VFLJM#**.
By the numbers
The Hisense HFU171N1AVE 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Hisense HFU171N1AVE 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE uses 10% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 17 cu ft, the Hisense HFU171N1AVE is a large freezer for its class, which spans 1.1 to 23 cu ft with a median of 13.8 cu ft, size is usually the single biggest lever behind a running-cost figure, and at this end of the range there is more capacity to service, which tends to push the number up.
- 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE cheap to run?
Its $81/yr running cost, rank #374 of 622, is above what most freezer models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Hisense HFU171N1AVE cost per month?
About $6.77 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: 438 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 Hisense HFU171N1AVE for its size?
77th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 380 | Hisense FV17C7BWE17 cu ft | $81 |
| 379 | Hisense FU171N3SSEL17 cu ft | $81 |
| 378 | Hisense FU171N3SSEC17 cu ft | $81 |
| 377 | Gaggenau RVF46779014.2 cu ft | $81 |
| 376 | Ellipse EDV166W17 cu ft | $81 |
Source
ES_1110877_HFU171N1AVE_031020250252370_5240130View certified freezer listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Hisense and HFU171N1AVE 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.