How many watts does a refrigerator use?

Between 132 and 600 watts running, and 1,200 to 2,800 watts for the second or so it takes the compressor to start. The spread is real rather than uncertainty: Honda Power Equipment rates an Energy Star refrigerator at 132 to 192 watts running and 1,200 to start, while Norwall PowerSystems rates a general refrigerator at 600 running and 2,800 to start. A recent efficient fridge behaves like the first figure and an older one like the second. Your own nameplate, inside the door or on the back, settles it for your appliance.

What is the difference between running watts and starting watts?

Running watts are the steady draw once an appliance has settled. Starting watts are the spike an electric motor pulls in the first fraction of a second, and as Norwall PowerSystems puts it, anything with a motor requires up to three times the amount of power to start as it does to run. A 1/2 hp sump pump runs on 1,050 watts and needs up to 3,200 to start. Anything without a motor, a kettle, a toaster, a resistance heater, draws the same watts starting as running.

How many watts does a furnace use?

A gas furnace's electrical draw is the blower fan only, because the heat itself is gas. Both published tables agree exactly here: 300 watts at 1/8 hp, 500 at 1/6, 600 at 1/4, 700 at 1/3 and 875 at 1/2. The starting figures diverge, from 1,000 to 1,600 watts on a 1/4 hp fan. That agreement across two independent tables on the running column is the cross-check that makes the rest of this chart usable.

How do I turn watts into amps?

Divide the watts by the voltage. Canadian household circuits are 120 volts, so a 600 watt fridge draws 5.0 amps and a 1,500 watt space heater draws 12.5. Large appliances such as an electric range, an electric dryer or an electric water heater run on 240 volts and draw half the amps for the same watts. The amps column on this chart uses the high end of the running range, because that is the figure that decides whether a circuit copes.

Why does this chart give ranges instead of one number per appliance?

Because the two published sources disagree, and averaging them would produce a figure neither one states. A dishwasher is 216 watts running to Honda, whose figure is for a cool-dry cycle, and 700 to Norwall, whose figure is general. Both are printed here with a note saying which is which. Where the two agree, as they do on the furnace fan and on the 2,100 watt electric range element, the chart shows the single number they share.

What do I do with these numbers?

Two things, mostly. If you are sizing a generator, add up the running watts of everything that must stay on and then add the starting watts of the one appliance that surges hardest, which is what our sizing calculator does with this same data. If you are working out why a circuit keeps tripping, the amps column tells you what each appliance is asking of it, though what breaker a circuit needs is a question for a licensed electrician rather than for a table.

Appliance Wattage Chart: Running and Starting Watts

Find an applianceTry refrigerator, furnace, sump, dryer.Room or system

Showing 23 of 23 appliances. Amps are at 120 V, from I = P / V. A 240 V appliance draws half these amps for the same watts.

Running watts, starting watts and amps at 120 volts for common household appliances, with the published source for each row.
Appliance	Running W	Starting W	Amps at 120 V
Gas furnace fan, 1/4 hpHeating and cooling · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsBoth tables print 600 running watts for a 1/4 hp furnace fan. Honda gives 1,000 starting, Norwall 1,600.	600	1,000–1,600	5.0 A
Gas furnace fan, 1/2 hp (larger or high-static system)Heating and cooling · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 2,350 starting at 1/2 hp; Norwall 3,250 at 3/5 hp, the nearest size it prints.	875	2,350–3,250	7.3 A
Central air conditioner, 24,000 BTU (2 ton)Heating and cooling · Norwall PowerSystemsHonda's home table has no central air conditioner. Norwall prints 3800(8750).	3,800	8,750	31.7 A
Central air conditioner, 36,000 BTU (3 ton)Heating and cooling · Norwall PowerSystemsNorwall prints 5000(11500). This single appliance is usually the largest surge in a GTA house.	5,000	11,500	41.7 A
Window air conditioner, 10,000 BTUHeating and cooling · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsThe two tables disagree sharply on the same nameplate: Honda 2200/1500, Norwall 3000(4500). Both kept.	1,500–3,000	2,200–4,500	25.0 A
Portable electric heater, 1,300 WHeating and cooling · Honda Power EquipmentHonda's recreational table, Radiant Heater 1300/1300. A resistance heater has no surge.	1,300	no surge	10.8 A
RefrigeratorKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda rates an Energy Star fridge at 132-192 running and 1,200 starting; Norwall rates a general one at 600(2800). The gap is real and it is mostly the age of the appliance, so both ends ship.	132–600	1,200–2,800	5.0 A
Chest or upright freezerKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda groups freezer with the Energy Star fridge row (132-192 / 1200); Norwall prints Freezer 2500(4700). A very wide band, published rather than narrowed.	132–2,500	1,200–4,700	20.8 A
Microwave oven, 1,000 WKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsNorwall prints Microwave 1000(1000); Honda prints 1500/1500 for a 1,000 W model, because a microwave draws more than its cooking rating.	1,000–1,500	no surge	12.5 A
Coffee makerKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 600/600 for a 4-cup; Norwall 850(850).	600–850	no surge	7.1 A
DishwasherKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda's figure is for a cool-dry cycle (540/216); Norwall's 700(2100) is a general one.	216–700	540–2,100	5.8 A
Electric range, one 8-inch elementKitchen · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsBoth print 2,100 for an 8-inch element. Honda marks it 240 V.	2,100	no surge	17.5 A
Sump pump, 1/3 hpWater and drainage · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 1300/800, Norwall 500(1700).	500–800	1,300–1,700	6.7 A
Sump pump, 1/2 hpWater and drainage · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsBoth print 1,050 running. Honda 2,150 starting, Norwall 3,200.	1,050	2,150–3,200	8.8 A
Well pump, 1/2 hpWater and drainage · Norwall PowerSystemsNorwall prints Well Pump 1/2HP 1050(3200). Honda's home table has no well pump.	1,050	3,200	8.8 A
Electric hot water heaterWater and drainage · Honda Power EquipmentHonda prints 4500/4500, 240 V. A gas water heater draws almost nothing and is not this row.	4,500	no surge	37.5 A
Lighting, five 100 W bulbsHousehold · Norwall PowerSystemsNorwall prints Lights 5 - 100Watts Bulb 500(500). Honda's row is 'as indicated on bulb'. LED bulbs draw roughly a tenth of this, so this row is the pessimistic case.	500	no surge	4.2 A
TelevisionHousehold · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 120 for a 20-inch flat screen and 190 for a 46-inch; Norwall prints 300(300).	120–300	no surge	2.5 A
Desktop computer and monitorHousehold · Honda Power EquipmentHonda: Desktop 600-800 plus LCD monitor 30. A laptop is 200-250 on the same table.	630–830	no surge	6.9 A
Clothes washerLaundry · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 1200/1200, Norwall 750(2300).	750–1,200	1,200–2,300	10.0 A
Gas clothes dryerLaundry · Norwall PowerSystemsNorwall prints Gas Dryer 700(2500). The heat is gas, so only the drum motor is on the generator.	700	2,500	5.8 A
Electric clothes dryerLaundry · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 6750/5400, Norwall 5750(7750). Both 240 V, and both large enough to change which generator you buy.	5,400–5,750	6,750–7,750	47.9 A
Garage door openerHousehold · Honda Power Equipment and Norwall PowerSystemsHonda 1420/720, Norwall 1/3 hp 725(1400). The closest agreement on this table.	720–725	1,400–1,420	6.0 A

Amps use the high end of the running range, because that is the figure that decides whether a circuit copes. Starting watts are what a motor pulls for a fraction of a second at switch-on and are the number generator sizing turns on; an appliance with no motor draws the same watts starting as running. What breaker a circuit needs is a question for the licensed electrician who pulls the ESA permit, not for a wattage table.

Why a fridge is 132 watts on one table and 600 on another

Because they are describing different fridges, and neither one is wrong. Honda's table specifies an Energy Star refrigerator and rates it at 132 to 192 watts running. Norwall's rates a general refrigerator at 600. A 2008 side-by-side and a 2024 counter-depth genuinely differ by that much, so this chart publishes both ends and names which is which on the row, rather than splitting the difference into a number neither source states.

The reason to trust the table despite that spread is the furnace fan. Both sources print exactly the same running watts across all five horsepower sizes: 300, 500, 600, 700 and 875. Two independently compiled tables landing on identical figures for five rows is a real cross-check, and it is what makes the rows where they diverge readable as a genuine range rather than as a guess.

Where the chart is thinnest: the lighting row assumes five 100 watt incandescent bulbs, which is Norwall's own figure and roughly ten times what the same five fittings draw on LED. It is left as published because it is the pessimistic case, but if your house is on LED throughout, that row is generous by an order of magnitude.

Using these numbers to size a generator

Add the running watts of everything that has to stay on. Then add the starting watts of the single hungriest appliance, not of all of them. That is how both published guides do it, and it is the step most online calculators skip, which is how people end up with a generator that browns out the first time the furnace calls for heat. Our generator sizing calculator reads this exact table and does that arithmetic for you.

The appliance that changes the answer most is central air conditioning at 5,000 watts running and 11,500 to start for a 3-ton unit, which is larger than most whole essentials lists put together. After that it is whatever in the house is electric rather than gas: an electric dryer is 5,400 to 5,750 watts against 700 for a gas one, because only the drum motor is electrical. If you want to know what the resulting machine costs, the cost calculator and the standby generator cost guide price it against published GTA quotes.

Frequently asked questions

How many watts does a refrigerator use?: Between 132 and 600 watts running, and 1,200 to 2,800 watts for the second or so it takes the compressor to start. The spread is real rather than uncertainty: Honda Power Equipment rates an Energy Star refrigerator at 132 to 192 watts running and 1,200 to start, while Norwall PowerSystems rates a general refrigerator at 600 running and 2,800 to start. A recent efficient fridge behaves like the first figure and an older one like the second. Your own nameplate, inside the door or on the back, settles it for your appliance.
What is the difference between running watts and starting watts?: Running watts are the steady draw once an appliance has settled. Starting watts are the spike an electric motor pulls in the first fraction of a second, and as Norwall PowerSystems puts it, anything with a motor requires up to three times the amount of power to start as it does to run. A 1/2 hp sump pump runs on 1,050 watts and needs up to 3,200 to start. Anything without a motor, a kettle, a toaster, a resistance heater, draws the same watts starting as running.
How many watts does a furnace use?: A gas furnace's electrical draw is the blower fan only, because the heat itself is gas. Both published tables agree exactly here: 300 watts at 1/8 hp, 500 at 1/6, 600 at 1/4, 700 at 1/3 and 875 at 1/2. The starting figures diverge, from 1,000 to 1,600 watts on a 1/4 hp fan. That agreement across two independent tables on the running column is the cross-check that makes the rest of this chart usable.
How do I turn watts into amps?: Divide the watts by the voltage. Canadian household circuits are 120 volts, so a 600 watt fridge draws 5.0 amps and a 1,500 watt space heater draws 12.5. Large appliances such as an electric range, an electric dryer or an electric water heater run on 240 volts and draw half the amps for the same watts. The amps column on this chart uses the high end of the running range, because that is the figure that decides whether a circuit copes.
Why does this chart give ranges instead of one number per appliance?: Because the two published sources disagree, and averaging them would produce a figure neither one states. A dishwasher is 216 watts running to Honda, whose figure is for a cool-dry cycle, and 700 to Norwall, whose figure is general. Both are printed here with a note saying which is which. Where the two agree, as they do on the furnace fan and on the 2,100 watt electric range element, the chart shows the single number they share.
What do I do with these numbers?: Two things, mostly. If you are sizing a generator, add up the running watts of everything that must stay on and then add the starting watts of the one appliance that surges hardest, which is what our sizing calculator does with this same data. If you are working out why a circuit keeps tripping, the amps column tells you what each appliance is asking of it, though what breaker a circuit needs is a question for a licensed electrician rather than for a table.

Where this chart comes from

Two published tables, with the source named on every row of the chart above. Wattage is a physical property of an appliance rather than a price, so unlike the cost figures elsewhere on Home Generator Index these are not restricted to Canadian sources; what they are held to is being printed on a named, published table, with both ends kept wherever the two disagree.

Your own appliance's nameplate beats any table. It is usually inside the fridge door, on the back of the unit or on the motor housing, and it normally gives volts and amps rather than watts: multiply them together to get watts.