Does Putting Magnets On Your Fridge Raise Energy Bills? Here's What We Found

You might have a refrigerator covered with unique and meaningful fridge magnets you've collected over the years. They definitely add personality to your kitchen, but does putting a magnet on your fridge raise your electric bill? There is a popular belief about fridge magnets raising electricity usage, which stem from an idea that magnets increase the fridge's electromagnetic field, thus making the fridge work harder to stay cool. Fortunately for you and your wallet, it's not true. Academics and energy companies refute this claim, stating it's merely a myth. However, while magnets aren't one of the reasons your energy bill is so high, they don't come without risk to your fridge door, potentially leading to scratches or marks.

Breaking down this myth, it makes sense why consumers would worry. A refrigerator is one of the largest appliances in your home and it runs consistently. The average fridge consumes around 300 to 800 kwH of electricity a year, making it a large part of your electricity bill. Yet even if magnets don't increase electricity use, other ways in which you use your fridge can definitely have an effect. Poor habits like repeatedly opening and closing your fridge lets warm air in, raising the interior temperature. The same warning applies if you simply stand with your refrigerator door open for more than a few seconds. As the warmer outside air enters the refrigerator, the cooling cycle starts again as sensors detect the difference. Restricted airflow due to a crammed refrigerator can do the same, as can dirty fridge coils and too high or low a temperature setting. It may seem small, but these habits can add up to dollars.

Your magnets are not an issue of concern for energy use. "The magnetic field generated by magnets on a refrigerator does not influence the appliance's operating principle," says Professor Selim Şeker, Chair of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Üsküdar University, "This is because the refrigerator operates at a power of 500–1000 watts, while a magnet's power is nearly zero. Also, if the magnet uses direct current, its frequency is zero. Devices, on the other hand, operate at 50 hertz." He adds that the energy a magnet generates is immeasurable, and that there haven't been any scientific studies about their effects of refrigerators, despite what blogs might report. Spanish utility company Endesa would agree, elaborating that the magnetic fields are not even powerful enough to cross the fridge door, much less tamper with the machinery.

With these factors in mind, there's no reason to be afraid to put that Grand Canyon magnet up, but you should be mindful about how you place and remove it on stainless steel appliances. Raised magnets with sharp corners may scratch the metal finish, so some manufacturers will urge consumers to skip magnets altogether or be very selective in what style they use. If you have a stainless steel fridge, Whirlpool recommends you only use flat, vinyl magnets on the surface. Appliance manufacturer GE also strongly advises consumers to avoid using magnets on their black stainless and fingerprint-resistant stainless fridge doors. Leaving too many magnets on the surface can also lead to rust on your stainless steel fridge if moisture becomes trapped underneath them.