Café CQE28DM*N***: running cost
The Café CQE28DM*N*** is certified by ENERGY STAR at 776 kWh a year, one of the more expensive models in its category to run among refrigerators currently certified.
That $146 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
The category average is 386 kWh/yr; this model runs 101% above it, ranking 4,663 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 $73/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 Café CQE28DM*N***: Samsung RF31CG7400** ($146/yr, 774 kWh/yr), then Samsung RF32CG5900** ($147/yr, 781 kWh/yr).
Comparing Café's own models
Of the 3 ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators Café makes, the CQE28DM*N*** costs the most to run, $93/year more than Café's cheapest, the CDE06RP*N***.
What this adds up to over time
NAHB's Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components puts a typical refrigerator's service life at 13 years; run the Café CQE28DM*N*** that long and it costs about $1,897 in electricity, on top of whatever it cost to buy.
Weighing a replacement
The Café CQE28DM*N*** runs above its category average. If the refrigerator you actually own is older still, likely well past ENERGY STAR's efficiency baseline when it was made, a current certified model could cost meaningfully less than this model's $146/year every year.
Compare current ENERGY STAR certified refrigerators before buying.
If you're keeping it
$146/year to run is the predictable cost of the Café CQE28DM*N***; a protection plan covers the unpredictable one, a repair bill.
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. At rank 4,663 of 4,704 for running cost, see the refrigerator category page for the rest of the field, or the guide to how much your state matters.