Chest freezers do have much thicker insulation on all walls (as they aren't constrained by the standard widths (24 to 40 in in the US, I think? 60-90 cm in the

Chest freezers do have much thicker insulation on all walls (as they aren't constrained by the standard widths (24 to 40 in in the US, I think? 60-90 cm in the EU). Chest freezer seals are far better than upright freezer seals because: * The length of the seal is smaller compared to volume, * The height of the seal is not constrained by the closing magnets (as mechanical latches are not legal on consumer freezers), * The temperature differential at the top of the freezer is smallest. The specific heat capacity of air at constant pressure is ~1 kJ/kg K and 1 m^3 air has a mass of ~1.2 kg, so 1 kJ/kg K * 1.2 kg = 1.1 kJ/K. Even a freezer that exchanges 2 m^3 of air for outside air at say a 70K differential (the difference between -40C and a 30C room) for each opening only has to remove 1.1kJ/K * 2 * 70K = 154kJ, or 0.05 kWh, which is the standard unit of electricity. An unit of residential electricity in the most expensive US State (Hawaii) is 41.2c / kWh, so opening our enormous freezer in the worst possible conditions and completely exchanging the air using the most expensive electricity costs us 2¢. It's a complete non-factor. Source for prices: https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates-by-state.html https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates-by-state.html