Model
Ellipse ERQE165S2
Rank #686 means 685 of the 1,000 refrigerator models we track cost less to run each year; the 60th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 60% of those models.
What does the Ellipse ERQE165S2 cost to run per year?
Among the 1,000 refrigerator models we track, the Ellipse ERQE165S2's $84/yr running cost ranks it #686, in the above-average-cost group. It uses 11% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $94/yr to run, a saving of roughly $10 a year. Size-adjusted, this model beats 60% of refrigerator models we track on efficiency, better than most of its class. This class has no published efficiency-factor figure beyond annual kWh itself, so at 16.5 cu ft (the class spans 1.2 to 31.7), size is the clearest lever we can point to for this model's running cost.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Commercial Cool CCR1800GIMB at $84/yr runs a little cheaper and the Upstreman FC165-BS at $84/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A refrigerator typically stays in service for somewhere around 12 years; over that span, the Ellipse ERQE165S2's $84/yr adds up to roughly $1008 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Upstreman FC165-BS.
By the numbers
The Ellipse ERQE165S2 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 $84/yr, here is what the Ellipse ERQE165S2 adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Ellipse ERQE165S2 costs about $840. That is roughly $100 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $940 over the same ten years.
How the Ellipse ERQE165S2 compares
The refrigerator class we track runs from $8 to $149 a year. At $84/yr, it runs about $20 a year above the class median of $64, and it is about $76 a year more than the cheapest refrigerator to run at $8. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $94/yr, the Ellipse ERQE165S2 uses 11% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 16.5 cu ft, the Ellipse ERQE165S2 is a mid-size refrigerator for its class, which spans 1.2 to 31.7 cu ft with a median of 12.6 cu ft, right in the middle of the capacity range, so capacity is roughly a wash compared with the rest of the class.
- Interior volume. More cubic feet of cold air to maintain generally means a bigger compressor and a higher running-cost figure, even among efficient models.
- Counter depth vs standard depth. Standard-depth models generally offer more interior volume per unit of width than counter-depth models, a tradeoff between built-in looks and cubic feet.
- Compressor technology. How a compressor cycles, full on/off versus a variable-speed inverter design, is one of the biggest hidden differences behind two fridges with similar cubic feet but different running costs.
- Placement and ventilation. Ventilation clearance around the back and top matters more than most owners expect; a fridge starved of airflow runs its compressor longer to hold the same temperature.
Common questions
Is the Ellipse ERQE165S2 cheap to run?
Its $84/yr running cost, rank #686 of 1,000, is above what most refrigerator models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Ellipse ERQE165S2 cost per month?
About $6.98 a month, which is the $84 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: 451 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $84 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Ellipse ERQE165S2 for its size?
60th 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
Source
ES_1125680_ERQE165S2_07032025113025_80261100View certified refrigerator listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Ellipse and ERQE165S2 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.