Yeah, i wonder about the requirements under which energystar labels can be legally printed and displayed. Perhaps there are huge legal loopholes the marketing team can use to massage the numbers in an attempt to massage their bottom line further
Perhaps it is like the EPA highway MPG rating on some new vehicles which seems to be established at 45mph with a 20mph tailwind and on gasoline, not gasohol.
I'd not buy any fridge or freezer unless the condenser was visible and had adequate ventilation. Some of them seem to try and hide it behind the Skin and removing the heat from it becomes a much larger task.
I remember seeing A danfoss compressor's condenser for the first time on a Tundra fridge on a Boat, after being familiar with my Norcold's large passive condenser. A finned radiator style condenser with a 120mm computer fan attached seemed so much more efficient, and compact. And when the compressor cycled on I was amazed at how quiet it was compared to the Sawafuji compressor of my Norcold.
I added another low cfm low amp draw 120mm fan on the circuit to help evacuate the hot air behind this fridge on this boat when the compressor cycled on and the report was that a lesser thermostat setting was required after that, or things in the fridge, began to freeze.
A danfoss compressor controller can handle powering 0.5 amps of fans, and double that for 2 seconds on initial start up. The 120MM fan my Vitrifrigo came with was ~72cfm and 0.12amps and pulled air through the condenser. I replaced it with a Noctua NF-f12 at~ 53cfm for 0.05amp consumption and mounted it to push air through the condenser. Noise decreased, amp draw decreased by 0.07a, performance increased with shorter run times when the compressor did cycle on.
I added a 0.03amp 40MMx15mm Sunon Maglev fan to my fridge interior too, that takes 12v from the LED light, and runs 24/7. Helps keep much more even internal temps, cool down items placed within faster, and allows a 2.2 of 7 setting to maintain 33.5f or less, compared to 4 of 7 without it. It does not make the fridge use less battery power however.
I've no idea how accessible the danfoss compressor controller is on a chest style fridge. I did not take any tools to my friend's ARB when I had it for a few weeks to see.
I did blow out a rather astounding amount of dust from his fridge. My own fridge condenser gets dusty far quicker than expected. I've put an air filter on the intake to slow down the accumulation.
The air filter was inspired when I saw this:
Keep in mind a fridge does not make force things cool, it removes heat from the box and items placed within that box. This heat has to go somewhere, and its ease of removal directly relates to efficiency of the process.
So a 12v compressor fridge is built with efficiency in mind, but the process can still be improved upon with more insulation and better condenser venting.
personally I'm thinking short term on my build as after my 6 month trip I'll need to sell the rig to buy a daily driver. So I don't want to put in too much that I won't get out of it. But you're right about it being pretty complicated... I'm still not sold but this is good info to have going forward. 
