What the AVG RDTM181WE costs to run
At 363 kWh/yr, the AVG RDTM181WE's ENERGY STAR certification puts it about average for its category to run against every other certified refrigerator.
That $68 is priced at 18.8¢/kWh, the average of all 51 state rates this site tracks. Your own state's rate is one click away.
Efficient, or not, for a refrigerator
Against the category average of 386 kWh/yr, this model uses 6% less, ranking 2,580 of 4,704 refrigerators tracked here for running cost. That average is drawn from all 4,704 refrigerators ENERGY STAR currently certifies, not an outside number, a $4/year gap from this model at the national rate. Full sourcing is in the sourcing notes.
Right next to it on the list
A rank or two either side of the AVG RDTM181WE: AVG RDTM181SE ($68/yr, 363 kWh/yr), then Criterion 18TMF-B ($68/yr, 363 kWh/yr).
Comparing AVG's own models
Ranked 2 of AVG's 7 certified refrigerators, this sits between the RDTM181SE ($68/yr, the brand's cheapest) and the ARBM171DSE ($85/yr, its priciest).
AVG RDTM181WE over 13 years
Over the 13-year service life NAHB reports for this category, running the AVG RDTM181WE costs roughly $887 in electricity, separate from the purchase price.
Shopping for a new one
Efficient as certified refrigerators go, $68/year is a reasonable baseline if you're comparing what else is on the market.
See what else is certified in this category before you decide.
If you're keeping it
The AVG RDTM181WE already costs $68/year to run; a repair bill on top of that is the kind of expense a protection plan exists to smooth out.
Where this number comes from
Two sourced numbers, nothing modeled: ENERGY STAR's certified kWh/yr for this exact model, and EIA's published state electricity rate. The full Refrigerator category page shows all 4,704 refrigerators ranked by cost; the state-rate guide covers the half of this number that isn't the appliance.